The Austin Police Department’s system for identifying officers in need of help and connecting them with support or wellness services is failing both the officers and the department, according to an audit released Tuesday. The audit, which was conducted by the Office of the City Auditor, found that the early intervention system used by APD […]
Austin Police Department
the law enforcement entity for the City of Austin.
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Group launches effort to put decriminalizing pot, ban on no-knock warrants on Austin’s November ballot
Austin effectively decriminalized marijuana last year. The city also effectively banned no-knock warrants, the controversial police tactic that led to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. But those policies are more or less guidelines; they’re not formally enshrined in the city’s charter. A group of city leaders, criminal justice advocates and political operatives wants to change that, […]
Posted inPolice
Nearly four dozen people have applied to be Austin’s next police chief. Here are four things to know.
The police chief in Wichita, Kansas. A commanding officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. An engineer with a cybersecurity firm. A real estate investor. These are some of the 45 candidates who have applied to be Austin’s next police chief. Austin’s been searching for the city’s next top cop since former Chief Brian Manley announced […]
Posted inAustin
Austin police officers clear homeless encampments around City Hall
Austin police officers on Monday cleared encampments around City Hall that were erected by people experiencing homelessness. The city said in a statement that officers were moving people from the corner of Guadalupe and Cesar Chavez streets for construction work. The city said officers met with people staying in tents in the morning and told them […]
Posted inPolice
Austin police can start ticketing people for panhandling and camping or sitting in public
The Austin Police Department will begin enforcing a city ban on camping in public that was reinstated by Austin voters last month. Proposition B, the citizen-led effort to reinstate the rules, officially went into effect May 11, but the city adopted a staggered approach to enforcing the ban, along with prohibitions on panhandling and sitting or lying down in […]
Posted inPolice
New police chief expected to be named by late summer
More than three dozen people have applied to become Austin’s next police chief, a role that comes with a number of challenges critical to the success of the city and its process to reimagine public safety. Recruitment for the position will continue until the position is filled. As of mid-afternoon, about 36 applicants had filed […]
Posted inPolice
Group behind Austin’s camping ban revival says it has new plan to put police staffing on the ballot
Save Austin Now, the local political action committee behind the campaign to reinstate rules against camping in public, has started circulating a petition to put a new proposition on the ballot – a mandate that would require certain levels of staffing at the Austin Police Department. “Austin … used to be one of the greatest places […]
Posted inAustin
Big-picture look at homelessness downtown shows challenges ahead
A cross-section of representatives briefed the Downtown Commission on Wednesday about an ambitious suite of strategies underway to house unsheltered individuals in Austin. Their message was clear: The city and its partners are doing an enormous amount of work toward providing housing and other services to people experiencing homelessness. The response from some commissioners was equally […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin won’t make arrests during first phase of reinstating rules related to homelessness
After voters passed Proposition B on May 1, Austin is reinstating rules that ban homeless encampments on public land, prohibit sitting or lying down in parts of the city, and place a nighttime curfew on panhandling. While those rules go into effect Tuesday, the city said enforcement would be phased in. In an announcement Monday, the city […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Breaking down the Reimagining Public Safety task force’s recommendations
Last month, the city’s newly formed joint city-community Reimagining Public Safety task force released its 2021 mid-year recommendations report. At over 70 pages long, the report’s proposals range from popular police reform policy changes to ideas that would fundamentally reshape the way the city operates. Early in the report, the task force makes its ambitions and worldview clear, […]
Posted inPolice
Austin will start training new police again this June, after a yearlong hiatus
City Council members voted Thursday to restart cadet classes after a pause to allow the police department to make changes to how it trains new officers. The next cadet class is set to start by June 7. It will be run as a pilot, so the department can test the changes it made, which include […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
With Prop C passage, Council can decide how to oversee police oversight office
Austin voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition C Saturday, paving the way for City Council to change who the director of police oversight reports to – an independent body or Council itself. According to the unofficial results, 62.9 percent (96,888 people) voted for the measure and 37.1 percent (57,271) voted against it. The Office of Police Oversight […]