Must be a walk-in… At the most recent meeting of the Public Safety Commission, members decided it was time to take matters into their own hands to initiate a conversation about Uber and Lyft and the impact that transportation network companies might have on public safety. “It seems like we’ve been bypassed in the discussion […]
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 inPolice
Austin police emphasize mental health training
The Austin Police Department has altered its training and procedures in response to a growing consensus among experts that much of crime is linked to untreated mental illness. As a result, all new cadets in the Austin police academy receive 40 hours of training on mental health and on responding to situations involving people with […]
Posted inFire, Public Safety
Fire department touts improved flood performance
Larry Jantzen, chief of special operations with the Austin Fire Department, told members of the Public Safety Commission on Monday that the department was able to respond more quickly and effectively to the Oct. 30 floods because of improvements it had made since the floods that struck Austin on Halloween of 2013. For starters, the […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Austin police talk ‘open carry’ at safety commission
The Austin Police Department expects to be fielding more gun-related 911 calls after Texas’ recently passed open carry law takes effect in January. The new law allows licensed gun owners to have their weapons visibly holstered in public, but many people may continue to be alarmed by those who choose to pack heat openly. In […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Record rate of traffic fatalities confounds APD
Traffic fatalities are so frequent in Austin that it’s difficult to keep up. That much was clear at the Public Safety Commission meeting Monday, when a person who had been struck and killed by a car just that morning did not make it into officers’ tally of the dead. As the Austin Police Department briefed […]
Posted inCity Council
Zimmerman takes his turn criticizing nominations
City Council Member Don Zimmerman on Thursday doled out criticism usually targeted at his own nominations to boards and commissions, opposing an appointment to the Municipal Civil Service Commission and igniting a conversation about the merits of objectivity when it comes to considering people for volunteer positions. About an hour before Council convened, Zimmerman posted a […]
Posted inCity Council
Council again questions Zimmerman appointments
Facebook posts did them in. As City Council members nixed two of Council Member Don Zimmerman’s appointees — some citing comments made on social media pages — they debated Zimmerman’s judgment following what they said has been a string of controversial nominees to city boards and commissions. Council Member Greg Casar said he felt the […]
Posted inPolice, Public Safety
Public Safety Commissioners ask city to go slow on body cameras
The Public Safety Commission approved a draft recommendation Monday urging city staff to proceed carefully before equipping Austin police officers with body cameras. The commission’s recommendations were fourfold: consider any research analyzing the effects of body cameras on police work; devise a privacy policy to protect more sensitive cases such as sexual assault or child […]
Posted inPublic Safety, Roads
Safety chair questions commitment to Vision Zero
A city planner Monday gave the Public Safety Commission an update on the Vision Zero Task Force work toward devising a traffic safety plan for the city. The task force’s name reflects the blueprint it’s tasked with drafting: a Vision Zero plan aimed at reducing the number of traffic deaths to zero. However, at least one […]
Posted inPolice, Public Safety
Public Safety urges APD to wait on body cameras
The Public Safety Commission is urging the Austin Police Department to avoid making a hurried decision about when and how officers will wear body cameras. Commissioners said Monday they would consider adding a resolution on body cameras to next month’s agenda. Police Chief Art Acevedo announced in November department plans to outfit its officers with […]
Posted inPolice, Public Safety
ANC calls for body cameras for local police
The Austin Neighborhoods Council is calling for the use of body cameras by active-duty police officers. In a resolution approved last week, the ANC proposed the cameras, citing mistrust between neighbors and police; higher rates of incarceration, use of force and targeting toward communities of color; and a desire to “begin a larger process of dialogue […]
Posted inEMS, Public Safety
Decredentialing process gets public safety spotlight
Last week, the Public Safety Commission examined the continued tension between the city’s medical director and the Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Association over decredentialing. Medical Director for Austin/Travis County EMS Dr. Paul Hinchey spoke to commissioners about the de-accreditation process, and why it was employed despite the fact that it does not offer a […]