Starbase hires Cameron County to police its streets and jail its offenders

Starbase is a city without a police department, but not without police.

For months, Cameron County sheriff’s deputies have patrolled the roads and beaches surrounding SpaceX’s sprawling rocket facility in South Texas. Now, less than a year after Starbase residents voted to incorporate, the city has signed formal agreements making those deputies its de facto police force and Cameron County jails the destination for anyone arrested within city limits.

The two interlocal deals, approved in September and effective beginning Wednesday, are sweeping. One requires Cameron County to dedicate eight deputies to Starbase, though only two will patrol the city during a single shift.

The other sees Cameron County providing “jail services,” with Starbase agreeing to pay $100 per day per inmate and to reimburse the county for additional expenses, like medical care or psychiatric services for inmates.  

It’s a way of standing up a criminal justice system overnight, without having to build one from scratch. Such arrangements are not unheard of in Texas, especially for the myriad small or newly incorporated towns that may not be able to stand up a full police department on their own.

But Starbase is not a typical town. The population is small, and most of the residents work for SpaceX. The city itself was finalized only after SpaceX bought up old properties in Boca Chica Village and spread its launch-and-manufacturing activities further afield.

The law enforcement contract sets up more than just routine patrols. Starbase can also opt to pay for security during “special events” — likely rocket launches, when thousands of spectators descend on the small beach town of Boca Chica to watch Starship’s spectacular flights.

The clause allowing extra police for special events is a shrewd move, and it reinforces the idea that Starbase is not a traditional municipality, but a company town built around one purpose: getting Starship flying — frequently.

The agreement reinforces this fact. While Starbase has its own mayor and commissioners, public safety is carried out by Cameron County. Body camera footage and other records remain with the county, per the agreement, and Starbase residents who have an issue with the local policing will have to take it up with their next-door neighbors. For now, SpaceX has built a town of its own, but the power to enforce laws is still with someone else.