Mandatory vehicle safety inspections have been eliminated for many Texas drivers. But in 17 counties – including Travis and Williamson – an emissions test is still required to renew your vehicle registration every year. The changes, which took effect Jan. 1, makes Texas the largest state not to require annual checks on noncommercial vehicles for things […]
Texas Department of Public Safety
Posted inPolice
Wait, so, what’s going on with DPS patrols in Austin?
The city of Austin has ended its agreement with the Texas Department of Public Safety to have state troopers supplement citywide police patrols. Mayor Kirk Watson and interim City Manager Jesús Garza decided to end the partnership Wednesday, after a couple of incidents involving troopers earlier this week. But state police are still going to […]
Posted inPolice
Austin again suspends its patrol partnership with DPS
Lee esta historia en español The city of Austin says it won’t forge ahead with its partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety to supplement police patrols. The plan was initially rolled out this spring but was met with pushback from Austinites who felt they were being profiled. It was then suspended when troopers […]
Posted inPolice
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 recommendation, which calls for “significant community engagement,” as well as parameters defining “goals, time periods, […]
Posted inPolice
Community groups demand permanent end to APD-DPS partnership
Community groups are denouncing the city’s decision to resume its controversial policing partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Groups including the Austin Justice Coalition, Grassroots Leadership and the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance are calling for a permanent end to the Austin Police Department’s partnership with DPS. Last week, the groups hosted the first […]
Posted inPolice
State troopers are going to patrol Austin streets again starting next month
State troopers will resume patrols on Austin streets July 2, the city said Thursday. The Austin Police Department partnered with the Department of Public Safety in late March to help out with patrols, but the deal ended after complaints from Austinites and a reassignment to the border. The police department said it’s changing its deployment strategy to […]
Posted inPolice
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 and responded – again – to City Council members’ concerns about equity and transparency. Austin […]
Posted inPolice
State police suspend controversial patrol agreement with Austin
The Austin Police Department says the Texas Department of Public Safety is ending its partnership with the city of Austin to supplement police patrols. APD told KUT Saturday that troopers were being reassigned to the Texas border following the expiration of Title 42, a Trump-era restriction on migration. In a statement, APD Chief Joseph Chacon […]
Posted inPolice
Community groups call for an end to APD, DPS partnership
Multiple community representatives and activists called for an end to the partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety during public comment at City Council’s regular meeting May 4. The concerns echo questions raised by Council members at Tuesday’s work session. “Subjecting these communities to constant surveillance and fear of […]
Posted inPolice
Council members grill APD, DPS chiefs over partnership’s impacts on Black and Latino Austinites
City Council questioned leaders of the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday about the disparate impacts its policing partnership is having on communities of color throughout Austin. The briefings took place during Tuesday’s work session. Mayor Kirk Watson opened with a statement reminding his colleagues that last year they’d […]
Posted inPolice
A month into Austin patrols, state police are disproportionately arresting people of color
New data from the Travis County Attorney’s Office shows Black and Latino people have been disproportionately arrested by state police in the last few weeks. The data provides a look into the first few weeks of the Austin Police Department’s partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety – and raises concerns about racial profiling. A […]
Posted inPolice
City Council interrogates APD, city staff about DPS partnership
More than three weeks after Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced a new partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety, City Council members had a chance to ask APD leadership and city staff about the recent deployment of state troopers. District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes echoed her colleagues’ questions […]