Tag Archives: Austin City Council Public Safety Committee
City considers acquiring new combined HQ for police, fire and EMS
Next week, City Council will consider approving a $107.8 million allocation to acquire an office campus along South MoPac Expressway that would serve as a consolidated headquarters for the city’s public safety agencies, which are located in outdated and cramped…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 16, 2024
Staff shortages are still a problem at APD
Before a scheduled briefing on the Austin Police Department’s community policing program, members of the City Council Public Safety Committee heard a pitch from Ethan Cheramie of On Scene Services proposing that his company take over the duties of officers…
Police • By Jo Clifton • Jun 11, 2024
Austin's Homeland Security and Emergency Management to get a communication tuneup, among other changes
An update from Ken Snipes, director of Austin’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management, to the Public Safety Committee showed a shifting approach in how the department is being run. Snipes told the committee that, due to “a multitude of threats…
Public Safety • By Elizabeth Pagano • Apr 26, 2024
Report finds mixed progress in APD’s work to implement police academy reforms
In assessing the latest analysis of the Austin Police Department’s Training Academy, members of City Council stressed the importance of a comprehensive audit system to ensure that years and money spent to improve the academy aren’t wasted. Concerns over the…
Police • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 27, 2024
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APD Training Academy audit shows improvement – but not enough to curb attrition
An external audit of the Austin Police Department’s 148th cadet class, which graduated in September, shows progress in “reimagining public safety,” but attrition remains a constant challenge. Under internal audit protocols developed by Kroll Associates in March 2022, APD is…
Police • By Emma Freer • Oct 19, 2023
Austin Police Department Training Academy attrition remains high amid reforms
An Austin Police Department audit revealed high attrition rates among recent cadet classes amid ongoing reforms and persistent staffing shortages. Police leadership reported the inaugural audit’s findings – based on the 147th cadet class, which graduated in May – to…
Police • By Emma Freer • Aug 9, 2023
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Fleet Mobility Services working to fix air conditioning in fire trucks
In late July, City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly wrote a memo pointing out that 20 trucks within the Austin Fire Department’s fleet “are currently lacking functioning air conditioning systems.” Not only is that a risk for firefighters, she wrote, but…
Fire • By Jo Clifton • Aug 8, 2023
Public Safety Commission recommends guardrails for APD-DPS partnership – or ending it
The Public Safety Commission recommended that City Council establish a plan governing the recently resumed partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety – or discontinue it altogether. Commissioners voted on Monday to approve the…
Police • By Emma Freer • Jul 12, 2023
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APD, DPS brief Public Safety Committee on suspended partnership
More than a week after the Austin Police Department announced its controversial partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety had come to a close, law enforcement officials on Monday briefed the city’s Public Safety Committee on the now-defunct deployment…
Police • By Emma Freer • May 24, 2023
APD pushes for return of license plate readers, nixed during 2020 police budget cuts
The Austin Police Department advocated for the reinstatement of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, during a May 23 presentation to the city’s Public Safety Committee, reigniting long-standing concerns about privacy and data sharing among law enforcement agencies. City Council…
Police • By Emma Freer • Jun 2, 2022
APD making headway toward academy reforms, but still a work in progress
The Austin Police Department is well on its way toward implementing recommended changes to its training academy, according to a presentation Monday from consulting firm Kroll Associates. APD has enacted nearly all of the short-term recommendations and just under half…
Police • By Jonathan Lee • May 25, 2022
No clear path forward for medical marijuana use by public safety employees
Now that medical marijuana is legal in Texas, will Austin allow its first responders to use it? A Monday afternoon briefing at City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting showed that the hurdle, for once, does not come from the state…
Public Safety • By Elizabeth Pagano • Mar 31, 2022
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