Working group aims for systemic overhaul of Austin’s handling of sexual assault cases

City Council will consider today three agenda items related to the Austin Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases. If approved, they would direct more than $443,000 in city and grant funds toward an outside review of such cases opened between 2021 and 2022, an audit of the department’s Sex Crimes Unit, and the hiring of five retired investigators to assist the unit. 

The agenda items arrive as APD’s new Collective Sex Crimes Response Model Project – a collaboration with sexual assault survivors and community advocates – gains speed. 

The project’s 44 members began work this spring, after years of scandal and scrutiny related to the Sex Crimes Unit, including the 2017 closure of its DNA lab, a 2018 investigative report highlighting its improper clearance of sexual assault cases, and two class-action lawsuits. Their task? To implement the 16 terms of the lawsuit settlements and 103 recommendations from a November 2022 evaluation of the unit. 

Hanna Senko is lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits and a member of the Austin/Travis County Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team, which is involved in the project. During a work session Tuesday, she briefed Council members on their approach.

“It is ultimately APD that is responsible and accountable for this work,” she said. 

So far, project members have begun work on or implemented nearly half of the 119 terms and recommendations that make up their scope.

Allison Roper, a consultant to APD, told Council members these items vary in complexity, from purchasing tripods for recording victim and witness interviews to launching an awareness campaign.

“Our model is unique, and the level of collaboration is new to many of us, so we’re feeling our way through,” she said. 

District 10 Council Member Alison Alter, who has long advocated for a comprehensive overhaul of the city’s handling of sexual assault cases, is heartened by this progress.

“I had to be very patient with this process, and I was able to do that because, for the first time, I really felt like everyone was coming to the table with the right spirit of addressing the problems that we’ve experienced in our system that have left our survivors vulnerable and their needs unmet,” she said Tuesday. “And also left our officers often without the resources that they needed.” 

Still, the project isn’t without its challenges. 

Lt. Chris Leleux, of the Sex Crimes Unit, told Council members these include identifying funds for certain project initiatives in a timely manner, team turnover and rebuilding community trust.

Alter also expressed disappointment that APD leadership had not yet met with survivors in accordance with the settlement terms. 

Assistant Chief Jeff Greenwalt responded that “legal constraints” had delayed the meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 10 and will include himself, interim Chief Robin Henderson and former Chief Joseph Chacon. 

In addition to this meeting, Alter expects APD leadership to improve retention within the Sex Crimes Unit, especially among its high-ranking members.

“We need people who are knowledgeable and can train other people, and that requires longevity in the role,” she told the Austin Monitor on Wednesday. 

Moving forward, the project’s members are focused on making budget requests and establishing “better expectations around timelines,” Senko said. 

Photo by University of Michigan made available under a Creative Commons license.

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