During talks about a program that provides counsel at first court appearance, Bradley Hargis with Capital Area Private Defender Service shared the experience of a former client. The person had been charged and processed with a felony, and faced a multi-thousand-dollar bond. But Hargis and his team discovered that the felony had been dismissed and […]
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 inTransportation
Pedestrians accounting for a higher proportion of Austin traffic fatalities
Despite city efforts to implement its Vision Zero strategy and end traffic fatalities in Austin, crash deaths and injuries are on the rise. Pedestrians in particular are accounting for a higher percentage of fatalities. So, what can the city do to start making an impact? During a Monday update at the Public Safety Commission, Lewis […]
Posted inEMS
EMS using medication-assisted treatment to reduce overdoses
Two Travis County programs are proving successful at reducing opioid overdoses and connecting people in need with treatment at a time when deaths from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are on the rise nationally. Last week, the Public Safety Commission heard an update from Austin-Travis County EMS on the city’s opioid use disorder support and […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Crash deaths, injuries on the rise despite Vision Zero interventions
Traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries in the city of Austin have increased in 2022 compared with the five-year average, highlighting the barriers that stand in the way of the city’s Vision Zero goals. The Vision Zero program, which originated in Sweden in the 1990s, aims to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. City Council adopted […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Public Safety joins parks board effort to study crime in city parks
At its special called meeting Tuesday, the Public Safety Commission unanimously voted to send one of its members to a Parks and Recreation Board working group studying crime in city parks and tasked with coming up with recommendations for City Council. The call from the parks board is preceded by a memo PARD Director Kimberly […]
Posted inPolice
APD responds to concerns about LRAD crowd control measure
At the Public Safety Commission’s special called meeting Tuesday, the Austin Police Department answered follow-up questions about its ongoing use of long-range acoustic device, or LRAD, technology as a crowd control method amid concerns it could damage the hearing of protesters and officers alike. The commission learned about LRAD at an August discussion about the […]
Posted inPolice
Public Safety Commission discusses APD’s protest response
The Public Safety Commission heard from the Austin Police Department Monday about how it responds to protests, including how it uses the LRAD, a powerful speaker that some fear could damage protesters’ and police officers’ hearing. APD Commander Corey Wroblewski described the basics of APD’s protest response in his presentation. How the police department responds to protests – or […]
Posted inPublic Health
AFD on the front lines of effort to combat overdose crisis
The Austin Fire Department spoke about its use of naloxone to combat drug overdoses in its quarterly report at the Public Safety Commission’s July 5 meeting. The department’s report coincides with City Council’s declaration of opioid overdose deaths as a public health crisis. Council approved a resolution officially declaring a public health crisis at its […]
Posted inPolice
Public Safety Commission dives into data transparency at APD
The Austin Police Department gave a presentation on its efforts to improve data transparency at the Public Safety Commission meeting on Tuesday. The presentation, given by APD Research and Planning Division Manager Jason Matson, focused on how the public can access police department data sets. “Unless it’s protected by certain very narrow focuses of the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Public Safety Commission debates police department software
The merits of Lexipol software as a tool for the Austin Police Department was the focus of the Public Safety Commission’s Tuesday meeting. The crux of the debate between the commissioners and APD representatives was whether the software was worth the approximately $20,000 the department is currently paying for it each year. Lexipol is used by […]
Posted inBudget
Public safety departments present budget proposals to Public Safety Commission
Austin’s public safety departments – police, fire and EMS – are preparing for the annual budget process in July and August by forecasting budgets and drafting wish lists, all of which include additional funding to fill vacant positions. Meanwhile, a group of more than 30 community organizations has drafted a Community Investment Budget for Fiscal […]
Posted inPolice
City, police union negotiate new labor contract after eventful five years
The city of Austin and the Austin Police Association met for their sixth day of negotiations Monday as they work toward a new labor contract. The city’s bargaining team proposed changes to the contract’s drug-testing and promotion provisions, citing recommendations from a January 2022 report by a consulting firm hired to review the Austin Police Department. […]