A new report released Monday from the Austin Police Department shows crime overall increased in 2018, with property crimes up 9 percent. Violent crimes dropped slightly, however. The report also acknowledges controversy surrounding the way APD handles sexual assault cases, after a state audit found the department incorrectly cleared 30 rape cases in 2017. Overall, […]
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APD racial profiling statistics hold steady despite dip in traffic stops
Each year, the Austin Police Department releases a report to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement detailing the number of traffic stops and searches it makes and categorizing them by race. Recently released statistics show that while the Austin Police Department has decreased its overall searches of individuals, the majority of people who were searched following […]
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APD Chief Manley addresses sexual assault audit
At the beginning of 2019, Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley called for a third-party audit of the department’s sexual assault cases. State auditors subsequently found that detectives had wrongly “exceptionally cleared” nearly a third of rape cases over a three-month period in 2017. Responding to these findings, Chief Manley called for an outside review of the […]
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Austin Police Department orders outside audit after state finds it misclassified cleared rape cases
The Austin Police Department has ordered a third-party audit of rape investigations after state auditors found it misclassified certain rape cases. “This review will look from the beginning to the end,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. “From the moment we receive the 911 call, the officer’s response to that call, all the way through […]
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Advocates say APD should focus less on how rape cases are coded and more on solving them
When Austin Police Chief Brian Manley announced last week that state auditors had found problems with the way police classify rape cases, some people were not shocked by the news. “It wasn’t a huge surprise to us,” said Kristen Lenau, who co-founded the Survivor Justice Project, an organization made up of advocates and survivors of […]
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Police department still waiting for explanation of DPS audit of sexual assault clearance rates
On New Year’s Eve, Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley gave a press conference in which he noted that nearly two-thirds of the sexual assault cases reviewed by Texas Department of Public Safety from January, November and December of 2017 had been misclassified. He explained that he could not go into further detail at the time […]
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2018: Manley takes the helm at APD
From a public safety standpoint, Austin police officers went through the wringer in 2018. Most of the year was spent without a contract with the city, in March a serial bomber created terror, and in July the entire fleet of Ford Explorer police cruisers was taken off the streets due to issues with carbon monoxide […]
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Office of the Police Monitor building a police oversight agency
For 16 years, the Office of the Police Monitor has been available for citizens and city staff to issue complaints against law enforcement. However, it appears not many Austinites take advantage of its services. Police Monitor Farah Muscadin found that of the 250 formal complaints investigated each year, 50 came directly from the community while […]
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Council approves labor contract with police after a year without one
Officers with the Austin Police Department are getting a new labor contract. After nearly a year of negotiations, City Council members unanimously approved a four-year and $44.6 million contract between the city and the local police union. Police reform activists celebrated the contract as a step toward more transparency – including the ability to file […]
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Casaday scolds Council over lack of contract
The president of the Austin Police Association lashed out at City Council during Thursday’s meeting over the city’s failure to reach an agreement with the union over police officers’ pay and benefits. “I want everybody on the Council to know that we’ve been waiting over 290 days to sit back down and work out our […]
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APD to make changes in mental health cases
As a result of Austin Police Department policies, “people experiencing a mental health crisis in Austin may be at higher risk of having a negative police interaction than people in a city that more closely aligns with best practices,” according to an audit report from the Office of the City Auditor, which was discussed at […]
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Office of the Police Monitor looks to revamp complaint process
According to a recent study by the Office of the Police Monitor, for many in Austin, being seen is being heard. At the Sept. 4 special called meeting of the Public Safety Commission, Police Monitor Farah Muscadin explained that many people first come into contact with the Office of the Police Monitor when filing a […]