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Tag Archives: Public Safety Commission
AFD under fire for handling of sexual harassment claim despite policy updates
After Austin Fire Department Lieutenant James Baker pleaded guilty to hiding a camera and filming firefighter Kelly Gall in the fire station restroom, AFD revised its harassment policies and implemented the Electronic and Anonymous Reporting System. EARS is intended to…
Fire • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 9, 2019
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…
Police • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 8, 2019
Public Safety Commission backs adoption of international wildfire code
The Public Safety Commission is again recommending tighter wildfire protection standards for structures built between the city’s wildlands and urban center. On Monday the commission endorsed adoption of a Wildland-Urban Interface Code that would expand ember protection and structure hardening…
Public Safety • By Ryan Thornton • Jun 5, 2019
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…
Public Safety • By Jessi Devenyns • May 8, 2019
Commission zeros in on scooter safety
A landmark study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Austin Public Health Department documented that 192 dockless scooter riders were injured between Sept. 5 and Nov. 30 last year. During that time, “There were about two…
Transportation • By Jessi Devenyns • May 7, 2019
Public safety departments cite $3.5M in unmet needs
At Monday’s Public Safety Commission meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to send a memo to City Council recommending an additional $3.5 million in funding for the 2020 fiscal year. The money would fund initiatives including a $10,000 raise for future police…
Budget • By Jessi Devenyns • Apr 3, 2019
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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
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
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
Report: West Campus needs more lights
Two and a half years after the murder of a UT student spurred calls to improve safety in the West Campus neighborhood, campus safety advocates and city transportation officials say it’s time for the city to improve lighting in the…
