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Public Safety
APD investigates causes of traffic fatalities
As busy and congested as Austin streets have become, drivers have managed to keep the number of traffic fatalities from rising over the last few years. “We’re on a four-year downward trend,” Ron MacKay, Austin Police Department’s crime analysis division…
Public Safety • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 12, 2019
APD racial profiling statistics hold steady despite dip in traffic stops
Each year, the Austin Police Department releases a report to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement detailing the number of traffic stops and searches it makes and categorizing them by race. Recently released statistics show that while the Austin Police Department…
Police • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 8, 2019
Council-mandated sexual assault process review comes before Public Safety Commission
After City Council ordered an independent review of the Austin Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases, the city manager’s office went straight to work. Staffers requested proposals from non-governmental entities with expertise in the prosecution of the crime to…
Public Safety • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 6, 2019
In Austin, violent crime is down but hot spots persist
As Austin continues to experience explosive growth as it transforms into one of the nation’s larger metro areas, concerns about big-city-sized crime abound. However, despite meteoric growth, overall violent crime is down. Ron MacKay, the crime analysis division manager with…
Public Safety • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 5, 2019
Sendero misses enrollment target but breaks even
After Central Health’s board of managers gave up on Sendero Health Plans with a vote to disband the health maintenance organization on Sept. 12, 2018, a final effort to leverage more federal dollars has managed to save the nonprofit from…
Public Health • By Ryan Thornton • Feb 27, 2019
Venues face tough realities in city's active shooter training
“Remember that the intent of this person is to end your life.” Those sobering words, delivered last Wednesday by Austin Police Department Officer Josh Visi, came as something of a wake-up call for the 40 or so concert venue owners…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 26, 2019
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Medical school seeking ideas that think outside the doc's office
The Dell Medical School at the University of Texas is looking for local organizations with ideas on how to improve the health of Austin-area residents away from the doctor’s office. In partnership with the Houston-based Episcopal Health Foundation, the medical…
Public Health • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 19, 2019
Travis County and its growing number of sexual assault response teams
Sexual assault has become a hot-button topic in Austin over the past several weeks. Of course, this sort of crime is nothing new; sexual violence has been with us for centuries and has always been difficult to deal with. In…
Public Safety • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 6, 2019
APD Chief Manley addresses sexual assault audit
At the beginning of 2019, Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley called for a third-party audit of the department’s sexual assault cases. State auditors subsequently found that detectives had wrongly “exceptionally cleared” nearly a third of rape cases over a three-month…
Police • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 5, 2019
Western Travis County overlay ESD may provide critical revenue to struggling area
Emergency Services District 8 in western Travis County will soon be giving voters a chance to pay more taxes in exchange for much-needed service improvements. Following a public hearing Tuesday morning, the Commissioners Court unanimously approved ESD 8’s petition to…
Public Safety • By Ryan Thornton • Jan 31, 2019
Group forms to mediate conflict over sexual assault cases
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and former Texas state Senator Wendy Davis held a press conference Tuesday announcing their partnership in the creation of a Travis County Sexual Assault Prevention and Healing Work Group. Eckhardt and Davis were joined in…
Public Safety • By Ryan Thornton • Jan 30, 2019
EMS leader seeks changes in retirement system
Selena Xie, the newly elected president of the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Employee Association, has a mission. She wants to change the retirement system for EMS workers so it is more in line with the systems for other public…
