It may not be long before every Austin police officer is wearing a body camera. Since October, the Austin Police Department has equipped officers at three of its four substations with body cameras, Assistant Police Chief Ely Reyes told the Public Safety Commission Monday. The department plans to implement the cameras for officers at the […]
Austin Police Department
the law enforcement entity for the City of Austin.
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: APD contracts, the union
This week, Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday joins Austin Monitor freelancer Jack Craver for a discussion about City Council’s recent vote against a new Austin Police Department contract, where things stand now and next steps now that negotiations have stalled for the time being. Listen in below to get the latest: The Austin Monitor’s […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: APD contracts, the critics
In this edition of Austin Monitor Radio, editor Elizabeth Pagano sits down with Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition and Kathy Mitchell from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition to talk about City Council’s unanimous rejection of the Austin Police Department contract. Tune in below to hear more about why they opposed the contract up […]
Posted inPolice
Police decline further contract talks for now
The Austin Police Association on Tuesday resoundingly rejected the City Council’s request that it continue its current contract for a few months and return to the negotiating table. Groups that had urged Council to reject the new contract were apparently surprised by APA’s rejection, which means that Austin police will be operating under Texas Local […]
Posted inPolice
Advocates urge more assistance for sexual assault victims
A backlog of evidence going back to the 1990s is not the only major challenge the Austin Police Department has faced in prosecuting sex crimes and helping survivors of sexual assault heal. Advocates for survivors have also said the sex crimes unit is understaffed, with too few cops to investigate sexual assaults and too few […]
Posted inCity Council
In unanimous vote, Council rejects police contract, sends back to negotiations
City Council members voted unanimously to send a five-year contract between the city and the local police union back to the negotiating table late Wednesday. The contract, which dictates pay, discipline and oversight of Austin Police Department officers, is negotiated once every several years. The city and the Austin Police Association began negotiations back in […]
Posted inPolice
By outsourcing, APD has made major progress on sex assault kit backlog
The Austin Police Department’s embarrassing backlog of sexual assault kits will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. APD told members of the Public Safety Commission Monday that there are 856 kits from the backlog left to be analyzed, down from more than 2,165 in February and more than 4,000 when the police department’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
Public Safety Commission endorses police union contract
Rejecting the pleas of police accountability activists, the Public Safety Commission voted Monday night to recommend the approval of the proposed new union contract between the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association. Both Police Chief Brian Manley and APA President Ken Casaday stressed that if a contract is not approved, police officers will […]
Posted inPolice
Commission fails to endorse police contract
Citing a lack of information, the Public Safety Commission on Monday declined to endorse the union contract recently hammered out between the Austin Police Association and city labor negotiators. In addition to concerns expressed by some commissioners about shortcomings of the contract cited by activists urging greater police accountability, some members of the commission voted […]
Posted inPolice
Police contract with city heads to vote
If an agreement finalized between the city and the Austin Police Association on Tuesday is adopted, the Office of the Police Monitor will have more power to investigate allegations of police misconduct and Austin police will get a 9.5 percent wage increase over a five-year period. The union will vote on the contract in mid-November […]
Posted inPolice
Police chief describes new community policing focus
The Austin Police Department is no longer recruiting new officers by promising them an action-packed thrill ride. In a presentation to City Council members on Tuesday, Interim Police Chief Brian Manley described the video that the department used as part of its hiring efforts. “It was the SWAT team, it was our bomb patrol, it […]
Posted inAustin
Homeless service providers say pilot program made downtown Austin safer
An effort to reduce crowds loitering outside the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless has made downtown safer, local service providers say. A 30-day initiative was launched last month to address homelessness outside the ARCH, where dozens of people congregate on lawn chairs and blankets on any given day. The goal was to disrupt the […]