Austin Police Department developing five-year strategic plan

The Austin Police Department is hosting community input sessions this month as part of its process of developing a new strategic plan. That plan is intended to serve as the department’s road map for the future and provide direction and priorities for the next five years.

The first two meetings have already taken place. The third and final meeting of the series is scheduled for June 22 at the upRising church (8601 South First St.). The session will start at 6:30 p.m.

At the first two meetings earlier in June, community members were asked four questions about the city’s policing situation:

• What does it mean to you to feel safe in your home or community?
• What challenges/issues, if any, contribute to you or your community not feeling safe?
• What role should Austin Police Department play in creating a safe community? What should it change or do differently?
• How can the department continue to improve trust and build stronger relationships with the community over the next five years?

Austin Police Department will use the feedback gathered at these sessions as it works on its plan. This fall, the department will host another series of engagement sessions to discuss the input with the community at large.

The meetings come at a time of tension between the city and the police department. In February, a poll found that Austinites wanted both increased staffing and transparency at the department. The Austin Police Association only agreed with half of that wish list.

In May, Austin voters overwhelmingly approved a sweeping police oversight measure aimed at increasing department transparency and accountability. That same month, the Texas Department of Public Safety ended its controversial partnership with Austin Police Department to patrol city streets. State police disproportionately arrested Black and Latino people during the first weeks of the partnership, according to the Travis County Attorney’s Office.

This week, the Austin Monitor reported that the police department’s training academy and process to revamp its curriculum continue to face resistance from within the department. The current cadet class started with 34 members and currently comprises just 14.

And Christopher Taylor, the first Austin police officer ever to face a murder indictment as the result of an on-duty shooting, will go on trial in October. Austin Police Association maintains the shooting, which resulted in the death of 42-year-old Mike Ramos, should not have resulted in an indictment.

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