Tag Archives: Austin Police Department
Monday, August 12, 2019 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Have some pride
Build that fence… The Austin Music Commission has asked the city to send a representative to its September meeting to update the group on work to address the recent rash of shootings and violence in the area around Red River…
Thursday, August 8, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Police
Public Safety Commission recommends increased funding for mental health first responder program
The Austin Police Department is working to revamp its tactics when handling calls related to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Fulfilling that goal starts with training officers so they are equipped to help in these tense situations.Public Safety Commissioner…
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 by Andrew Weber
Austin
Packed homelessness forum calls for more shelters, support: ‘We are dealing with human beings here’
As the city adjusts to new rules for panhandling, camping or sitting or lying in public, the Downtown Austin Alliance hosted a forum Tuesday to discuss the road ahead for dealing with homelessness and plans to expand emergency shelter access…
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 by Andrew Weber
Police
City audit says Austin police could be better about keeping track of body camera footage
The Austin Police Department is still working out the kinks in its body camera program, according to a new city audit.The report released today by the city auditor’s office looked at footage from 151 body cam videos from Aug. 1,…
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 by Andrew Weber
Police
Austin police report shows a slight uptick in property crimes in 2018
A new report released Monday from the Austin Police Department shows crime overall increased in 2018, with property crimes up 9 percent. Violent crimes dropped slightly, however.The report also acknowledges controversy surrounding the way APD handles sexual assault cases, after…
Thursday, May 9, 2019 by DaLyah Jones
City Hall
After 13-year-old’s arrest, black advocates demand library policies that create safe spaces for all
Teacher Njera Keith was entering the Carver Branch of Austin Public Library with a 6-year-old student when they saw a police officer patting down 13-year-old LaTashia Milligam. The teenager was handcuffed and had no shoes on.Keith said her young student…
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Public Safety
Fire and police response times lagging due to low staffing
In an effort to serve citizens as quickly, efficiently and proficiently as possible, Austin public safety departments have response time goals. For the Fire Department, this means response times of eight minutes 90 percent of the time, while police should…
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
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 manager,…
Friday, March 8, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Police
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…
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Public Safety
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…
Tuesday, March 5, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Public Safety
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 APD,…
Tuesday, March 5, 2019 by Nadia Hamdan
Courts
Sexual assault survivor accuses Travis County prosecutor of lying about her case
Lawyers for a woman who says she was sexually assaulted in Austin are asking a court to force Travis County prosecutors to answer questions and provide evidence after learning of a prosecutor’s phone call they say defames the woman.Emily Borchardt…
Monday, March 4, 2019 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporters Notebook: APD on ICE
Life after SB 4… Following Texas’ Senate Bill 4, also known as the “Sanctuary City bill,” Austin City Council asked that all instances of city collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement be tracked. A Feb. 28 memo from Austin Police Chief…
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Police
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…
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 by Andrew Weber
Transportation
Austin records first traffic death involving rented scooter
A 21-year-old scooter rider was killed in a crash last week, says the Austin Police Department. According to the department, it’s the first death related to a rented scooter in Austin.Police say Mark Sands was riding a Lime scooter on the…
Friday, February 1, 2019 by Audrey McGlinchy
City Council
City of Austin orders outside review of police handling of sexual assault cases
The city has ordered an independent review of the Austin Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases, asking investigators to track incidents from when they’re first reported to police to when they’re closed or handed off to the district attorney’s…
Monday, January 28, 2019 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: At long last, an end
Casar wins!… Friday’s news that the Texas Supreme Court has ended the long-running legal battle over the 2014 District 4 City Council race between since-re-elected Greg Casar and former opponent Laura Pressley broke quickly on Twitter, and came with a…
Thursday, January 17, 2019 by Audrey McGlinchy
Police
Austin Police Department orders outside audit after state finds it misclassified cleared rape cases
The Austin Police Department has ordered a third-party audit of rape investigations after state auditors found it misclassified certain rape cases.“This review will look from the beginning to the end,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. “From the moment we…
Wednesday, January 9, 2019 by Audrey McGlinchy
Police
Advocates say APD should focus less on how rape cases are coded and more on solving them
When Austin Police Chief Brian Manley announced last week that state auditors had found problems with the way police classify rape cases, some people were not shocked by the news.“It wasn’t a huge surprise to us,” said Kristen Lenau, who…
Tuesday, January 8, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Police
Police department still waiting for explanation of DPS audit of sexual assault clearance rates
On New Year’s Eve, Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley gave a press conference in which he noted that nearly two-thirds of the sexual assault cases reviewed by Texas Department of Public Safety from January, November and December of 2017…
