Ranks of the Austin Fire Department are down by 76 members and that number is growing every month as veterans retire, according to Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr. Kerr says at that rate, the department would have around 100 vacancies by the end of the fiscal year. The fire department’s predicament stems from its […]
Public Safety
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety
Attorneys protest Travis County Jail’s cooperation with ICE
Pressure is growing for the Travis County Jail to halt its participation in a federal program to put immigration holds on certain inmates for possible deportation, as a group of more than 100 attorneys and law professors are calling the program unconstitutional. The group sent a letter Thursday to members of the Travis County […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Despite settlement, city and firefighters remain at odds over hiring
In a letter penned April 29 to Shayna Bloom with the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Austin Firefighters Association attorney B. Craig Deats reports that the firefighter applicant at the center of a recent hiring discrimination case has settled with the City of Austin. Still, according to Deats, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity […]
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety, Resources
Community group seeks organized assistance for flood victims
A community organization called the Travis Austin Recovery Group (TARG), formed in the aftermath of the historic 2013 Halloween floods, is noting the six-month anniversary of the event with the release of a Draft Recovery Plan for the people and businesses affected by the disaster. Though copies of the plan were sent to officials […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
City set to participate in early fire detection system
The severe drought gripping Central Texas brings a high degree of risk for wildfires, and that is a major concern for local fire officials, who do not want a repeat of the massive blazes that devastated areas like Bastrop and Spicewood in recent years. The Austin City Council could take a major step today […]
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety
Lawsuit says sheriff’s office, phone vendor violating inmates’ rights
A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses several local law enforcement agencies with violating defendants’ constitutional rights by listening in on conversations between inmates at the Travis County jail and their lawyers and using that information to gain a conviction. The Texas Civil Rights Project filed the suit, naming the Travis County Sheriff’s Department, telephone […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Public Safety
Martinez proposes that city issue debt to buy out flooded homes
Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez will announce a proposal at 10 a.m. today that would have the potential of greatly accelerating buyouts for homeowners whose houses were damaged or destroyed in last year’s Halloween floods on Onion Creek. Martinez’ plan targets homes in the Onion Creek region not currently covered by the city’s […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Audit finds problems with how APD stores, destroys old evidence
A city audit found that drugs and firearms confiscated by the Austin Police Department are in some cases not adequately protected, with drugs sometimes stored in cardboard boxes outdoors. In response, APD officials say they are re-evaluating the department’s evidence control policies. The City Auditor’s Office presented its audit of the APD’s Evidence […]
Posted inLocal Government, Local Politics, Public Safety, Uncategorized
Travis County seeks new way to appoint attorneys for poor defendants
Travis County is considering revamping its system to assign court-appointed attorneys. For years, its system was a model for defending the poor. But now, judges and staff are looking west for a new model to adapt to the county’s needs, to of all places, Lubbock County. They are also looking for grant funding in […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Morrison wary of adding private institutions to Intelligence Center
A proposal to include a handful of new police organizations as members of the Austin Regional Intelligence Center, called the ARIC, raised a red flag for Council Member Laura Morrison Tuesday. Morrison didn’t appear to have an objection to the inclusion of the Austin Community College, Texas State University, the City of Cedar Park, […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Halloween flood report points to shortcomings of emergency response
An after-action report on the City of Austin and Travis County’s response to the Halloween flood released last week said that there were myriad serious problems with the response to the emergency. Chief among them was a lack of ability for emergency officials to communicate with people in the affected area. According to the […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Public Safety Commissioner criticizes APD’s sting operations
A member of the city’s Public Safety Commission is criticizing the Austin Police Department’s tactics in two recent sting operations in the downtown area. Commissioner Kent Anschutz last week accused police of clogging the jails and courts with people accused of petty drug crimes snared by undercover officers instead of pursuing violent felonies. Anschutz’s […]