EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- The El Paso County Commissioners Court approved three proposals to help address the issue of high-speed pursuits in El Paso County by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers during their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The action came after hearing a study conducted by the El Paso County Attorney’sOffice that was presented to the Commissioners Court last week, the County Attorney's Office said. The study found that DPS’s vehicle pursuits are an "ongoing, pressing danger to the El Paso Community," the County Attorney's Office said. These are the three proposals approved by the Commissioners Court, according to the County Attorney's Office. Continue working with the El Paso State Legislative Delegation to propose legislationto modify DPS’s vehicle pursuit policy or otherwise bring transparency andaccountability for vehicle pursuits. El Paso County will be sending legislators a letterformalizing the request and sharing any further data and resources on this issue. Add the issue of high-speed pursuits to the County’s Legislative Agenda Valuesdocument so that Commissioners Court can take any actions on bills that address theissue. Reach out to the City of El Paso to share data about the high-speed chases and requestsupport from the City Council to address this problem. Since the implementation of Operation Lone Star (OLS), a state program with the goal of eliminating undocumented migration in Texas, El Paso County experienced a "dramatic increase" of 625% in DPS vehicle pursuits from 2022 to 2023, the County Attorney's Office said. "Even though the number of migrants encountered by immigration authorities at the U.S./Mexico dropped precipitously in 2024, the number of DPS vehicle pursuits in 2024 occurred at the same inordinate rate as in 2023," the County Attorney's Office said. “The safety of our community, including bystanders and law enforcement officers, is our toppriority,” El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said. “We support law enforcement’sefforts to keep our community safe and understand that in some situations pursuits are necessary; however, we are calling on a change to DPS’s vehicle pursuit policy, to include common-sense solutions and easy to implement policies in order to enforce the law without needlessly putting lives at risk.”“We are not asking DPS troopers to turn a blind eye to crime,” Sanchez added. “We are simplyasking them to follow best practices and avoid engaging in high-speed chases when the risk to the public and their officers is too great.”The study cited several alternatives to high-speed pursuits, including: Obtaining the fleeing vehicle’s license plate number for later apprehension. Employing technology like helicopters or drones to track the vehicle from a safedistance. Implementing strategic roadblocks or other measures to slow or contain the vehiclewithout resorting to dangerous tactics.