Police
Police chief says Austin has seen a big drop in violent crime since state troopers started helping out
Austin’s police chief says the department has seen a 25 percent drop in violent crime since a partnership with Department of Public Safety troopers began late last month. At a news conference Friday, APD Chief Joseph Chacon said the partnership…
Police • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Apr 17, 2023
Public Safety Commission chair joins family's calls for more information on Austin Police shooting death
The chair of the Public Safety Commission on Monday joined the family of a man fatally shot by Austin police in calling for more information from Chief Joseph Chacon. The comments from Chair Rebecca Bernhardt came during Monday’s meeting, after…
Police • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 7, 2023
New APD-DPS partnership sparks pushback, arrests
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson cited long-standing police staffing shortages, which have led to a “decentralized” approach to traffic enforcement among other things, when he announced last week that the Texas Department of Public Safety would soon begin playing a supportive…
Police • By Emma Freer • Apr 6, 2023
Austin Police revert to decentralized traffic enforcement approach
The Austin Police Department’s staffing shortages are leading it to take a decentralized approach to traffic enforcement, the city’s Public Safety Commission learned during a traffic enforcement and management update on April 3. Most of the crashes that happen on…
Police • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 5, 2023
City Council delays vote on police dash-cam contract
City Council voted unanimously to postpone voting on a three-year, $3.8 million contract to update the Austin Police Department’s fleet of dashboard cameras, citing concerns about the vendor’s built-in automated license plate reader, or ALPR, technology. “There’s lots of things…
Police • By Emma Freer • Mar 29, 2023
State police to supplement APD officers amid ongoing staffing problems
The city has entered into a partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety to supplement the Austin Police Department amid its ongoing staffing shortage and a public perception that the city has too few police officers. The partnership was…
Police • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 28, 2023
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Report: APD Training Academy curriculum review flawed, hampered by resistance to reform
A third-party evaluation of the Austin Police Department Training Academy’s curriculum review process found it lacked “a clearly defined mission and scope, which hampered its effectiveness from the beginning,” and that it suffered from instructors’ resistance to reform and did…
Police • By Emma Freer • Mar 22, 2023
City Council takes step to restart Community Police Academy
After a three-year pandemic hiatus, the Austin Police Department’s Community Police Academy, a 14-week program designed for members of the public, may soon resume classes. City Council voted last week to direct city staff to report back on the possibility…
Police • By Emma Freer • Mar 15, 2023
City announces police pay package ahead of police labor contract expiration
The city of Austin announced a plan to preserve police pay and benefits and to address long-standing staffing shortages when the current police labor contract expires at the end of this month with no likely successor in place. “We are…
Police • By Emma Freer • Mar 3, 2023
Council adopts ordinance to preserve police benefits
City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve an ordinance that preserves the pay and benefits Austin police officers currently receive and directs interim City Manager Jesús Garza to come up with incentives for new recruits to the department. Council also directed Garza…
Police • By Jo Clifton • Feb 27, 2023
Mayor seeks to add sweeteners to ordinance for cops
At Tuesday’s City Council work session, Mayor Kirk Watson added some details to the police pay and benefits ordinance that will be on this Thursday’s agenda. Council Member Ryan Alter authored the proposal in line with ideas Watson outlined on…
Police • By Jo Clifton • Feb 22, 2023
Ordinance would extend officer benefits if police labor contract expires
City Council will consider an ordinance Thursday that would preserve the current police labor contract’s provisions for officer pay and benefits, even if the contract expires without a successor in place, after the Austin Police Association said it wouldn’t negotiate…
