The Public Safety Commission unanimously supported a recommendation on Tuesday night to end the late-night curfew currently enforced against Austin’s youngsters. The proposal, brought forward by Commissioner Daniela Nuñez, drew support from Austin’s interim police chief, Brian Manley, who explained that an ongoing community conversation that began this summer has convinced him to switch course […]
Public Safety Commission
The Public Safety Commission is a City Council advisory body charged with oversight of budgetary and policy matters concerning public safety These include matters related to the Austin Police Department, the Austin Fire Department, and the Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Department.”
Posted inPublic Safety
Public Safety Commission hears update on Austin’s homeless
Representatives from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) and the Austin Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Street Team (HOST) briefed the Public Safety Commission Monday night on the state of the city’s homeless population. “I think in Austin we know what we need to do,” said Ann Howard, executive director of ECHO, “but we need to […]
Posted inPolice
Public Safety Commission has a HOT debate
As the city of Austin scrounges for money to hire more police officers, firefighters and paramedics, it shouldn’t look to the tourism industry for help. That was the message delivered to the Public Safety Commission Monday by Bill Worsham, a member of the Visitor Impact Task Force, which recently approved a report endorsing a 2 […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Public safety agencies envision big staff increases
In presentations to the Public Safety Commission Monday, leaders of the Police Department, Fire Department and Emergency Management Services called for significantly boosting staff in the coming years, both to make up for existing shortages and to keep up with the city’s rapidly growing population. Jasper Brown, the assistant chief for Austin-Travis County EMS, told […]
Posted inBudget
Public Safety Commission weighs in on tight city budget
In advance of what promises to be a budget process full of tough choices, the Public Safety Commission received a briefing from the Budget Office on Fiscal Year 2017-18 at its meeting May 1. The presentation included information and findings from various city department reviews. Included in the presentation was a five-year outlook of General […]
Posted inAustin
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 in 2016, an increase of 400 individuals from the 1,800 people reported in 2015. […]
Posted inAustin
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 big impact on the lives of many of the city’s homeless population since it began […]
Posted inPolice
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 the DNA rape kit backlog has been in the public eye. At a Public Safety […]
Posted inPublic Safety
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 to the APD’s handling of a freezer malfunction that could have jeopardized DNA evidence from […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
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 come. In other words, the marquee runoff race – the battle between District 10 City […]
Posted inPolice
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 weeks to the Southwestern Institute of Forensics Science, the lab run by Dallas County that […]
Posted inPublic Safety
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 diverse individuals in the fire department,” said Assistant Chief Richard Davis to the commission. “In […]