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Tag Archives: Austin Police Department

Council members seek better system to help troubled officers

In response to an audit that found Austin Police Department is using an outdated system to identify police officers in need of help, interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon told the City Council Audit & Finance Committee Wednesday that while his…

Audit finds APD failing officers who need help

The Austin Police Department’s system for identifying officers in need of help and connecting them with support or wellness services is failing both the officers and the department, according to an audit released Tuesday. The audit, which was conducted by…

Group launches effort to put decriminalizing pot, ban on no-knock warrants on Austin's November ballot

Austin effectively decriminalized marijuana last year. The city also effectively banned no-knock warrants, the controversial police tactic that led to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. But those policies are more or less guidelines; they’re not formally enshrined in the city’s charter.…

Nearly four dozen people have applied to be Austin’s next police chief. Here are four things to know.

The police chief in Wichita, Kansas. A commanding officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. An engineer with a cybersecurity firm. A real estate investor. These are some of the 45 candidates who have applied to be Austin’s next police…

Austin police officers clear homeless encampments around City Hall

Austin police officers on Monday cleared encampments around City Hall that were erected by people experiencing homelessness. The city said in a statement that officers were moving people from the corner of Guadalupe and Cesar Chavez streets for construction work. The…

Austin police can start ticketing people for panhandling and camping or sitting in public

The Austin Police Department will begin enforcing a city ban on camping in public that was reinstated by Austin voters last month. Proposition B, the citizen-led effort to reinstate the rules, officially went into effect May 11, but the city adopted a staggered…

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New police chief expected to be named by late summer

More than three dozen people have applied to become Austin’s next police chief, a role that comes with a number of challenges critical to the success of the city and its process to reimagine public safety. Recruitment for the position…

Group behind Austin's camping ban revival says it has new plan to put police staffing on the ballot

Save Austin Now, the local political action committee behind the campaign to reinstate rules against camping in public, has started circulating a petition to put a new proposition on the ballot – a mandate that would require certain levels of staffing…

Big-picture look at homelessness downtown shows challenges ahead

A cross-section of representatives briefed the Downtown Commission on Wednesday about an ambitious suite of strategies underway to house unsheltered individuals in Austin. Their message was clear: The city and its partners are doing an enormous amount of work toward providing…

Austin won't make arrests during first phase of reinstating rules related to homelessness

After voters passed Proposition B on May 1, Austin is reinstating rules that ban homeless encampments on public land, prohibit sitting or lying down in parts of the city, and place a nighttime curfew on panhandling. While those rules go…

Breaking down the Reimagining Public Safety task force’s recommendations

Last month, the city’s newly formed joint city-community Reimagining Public Safety task force released its 2021 mid-year recommendations report. At over 70 pages long, the report’s proposals range from popular police reform policy changes to ideas that would fundamentally reshape the way the…

Austin will start training new police again this June, after a yearlong hiatus

City Council members voted Thursday to restart cadet classes after a pause to allow the police department to make changes to how it trains new officers. The next cadet class is set to start by June 7. It will be…

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