The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced Jason Bobo as the new Chief of the Texas Rangers Division (TRD) The promotion was the Public Safety Commission (PSC) during its meeting at DPS Headquarters. Bobo takes over for Chief Scotty Shiver, who is retiring after 31 years of dedicated service with the department.
Bobo brings more than two decades of investigative and law enforcement experience to his new role as Chief of the Texas Ranger Division. Bobo began his career with DPS in 1999 as a Highway Patrol Trooper, serving in that role until 2005. He was then promoted to sergeant in the Criminal Law Enforcement Division, where he worked in both narcotics and auto theft investigations until 2009. In 2010, he joined the Texas Rangers, where he has since served in a variety of leadership and investigative capacities.
He previously served as the Team Leader for Company “F” Crime Scene Team, Bobo was a long-standing member of the Texas Rangers Major Crime Scene Investigation Team and the division’s Crime Scene Working Group, where he contributed to statewide training, policy development and the implementation of advanced investigative techniques. He was named Ranger Assistant Chief in August 2025.
He is a certified crime scene investigator through the International Association for Identification and a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s National Forensic Academy. Bobo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Police Science from Sam Houston State University and is certified as a Master Peace Officer and Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Basic Instructor.
With Bobo’s promotion, Ranger Major Kip Westmoreland is being promoted to Assistant Chief of the Texas Ranger Division. Kip Westmoreland began his career with the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1998. Westmoreland first served in the Texas Highway Patrol in Alvin, the DPS Narcotics Service in Houston and Rosenberg and then as a Texas Ranger in Eastland, Richmond, Tyler, Austin, Garland and Houston.
Westmoreland has served as a member of the Texas Ranger Reconnaissance Team, along the Texas-Mexico border. Most recently, as a Ranger Major, Westmoreland served as Company Commander for Ranger Company A, which encompasses the 35 counties making up DPS’ Southeast Texas Region.