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Tag Archives: Public Safety Commission
Public Safety Commission calls for refined counting measures of city's homeless population
Andy Hofmeister, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services division chief, addressed the Public Safety Commission at its May 1 meeting. Hofmeister answered questions of concern regarding the city’s growing homeless population. According to Hofmeister, there were roughly 2,200 homeless individuals in…
Austin • By Sommer Brugal • May 3, 2017
Austin Police tout results of homelessness engagement program
As part of a new initiative to combat homelessness, a small group of cops, mental health specialists and medical personnel have been taking to the streets to engage directly with Austin’s homeless. The Homeless Outreach Street Team has had a…
Austin • By Jack Craver • Apr 6, 2017
Safety commission discusses staffing for APD sexual assault unit
The Austin Police Department’s struggle to indict perpetrators of sexual assault crimes could be due in part to a lack of staffing, according to data examined by its Sex Crimes Unit. For nearly a year, the APD’s battle to clear…
Police • By Kara Nuzback • Mar 8, 2017
APD still years away from clearing DNA backlog
Austin’s Public Safety Commission gave mixed reviews to the Austin Police Department’s attempts to recover from the shutdown of its DNA lab and its backlog of thousands of untested rape kits. At its meeting on Monday, the commission responded favorably…
Public Safety • By Cate Malek • Feb 7, 2017
Reporter's Notebook: Kerfuffles big and small
Behold the future… Rejoice, for this Tuesday will at last bring to a close 2016’s relentlessly sadistic cycle of political campaigning. Despair, however, for the events leading up to it may also presage a ghoulish spectacle of local tactics to…
Reporters' Notebook • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 12, 2016
APD updates commission on DNA backlog
The Austin Police Department hopes to have the backlog of sexual assault kits eliminated within the next year, Assistant Chief Troy Gay told the Public Safety Commission on Monday. APD will soon begin sending 100 batches of evidence every two…
Police • By Jack Craver • Dec 6, 2016
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Public safety departments discuss diversity strategies
Austin’s public safety agencies are not as diverse as the city they serve, according to a presentation by police, fire and EMS officials at a meeting of the Public Safety Commission last week. “We need to show we do have…
Public Safety • By Jack Craver • Nov 10, 2016
Commission deadlocks on new police proposal for impounding cars
The Public Safety Commission deadlocked on a proposal to expand the Austin Police Department’s ability to impound a car when the driver does not have a driver’s license. The proposed ordinance, put forth by the Austin Police Department, would allow…
Police • By Jack Craver • Oct 4, 2016
Public Safety Commission calls for $5.6M to clear DNA backlog
The Public Safety Commission upped the ante Tuesday, calling for an additional $5.6 million to tackle a backlog of DNA cases that continue to accumulate while the city’s lab remains shuttered. With a week left to pass the city’s budget,…
Police • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 7, 2016
Austin police short-staffed and underprotected, advocates say
In the aftermath of two shootings in Austin last weekend, City Council should increase police numbers as well as invest in better body armor, advocates say. Those shootings, along with a fierce national debate over the role police should be playing…
Budget • By Cate Malek • Aug 2, 2016
Fire Dept. on Barton Creek drownings: There's only so much we can do
There is only so much the city can do to prevent people from putting themselves at risk in Barton Creek or other area waterways, an Austin Fire Department official told members of the Public Safety Commission on Tuesday. “Water is…
Public Safety • By Jack Craver • Jul 7, 2016
Commission wants ongoing scrutiny of police body camera policies
Activists and city leaders who pushed for the Austin Police Department to equip its officers with body cameras continue to voice concerns about the implementation of the program, including whether it will bring the intended transparency and protect the privacy…
