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[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
UH, I AM.WHEN YOU CALL ROLL, PLEASE Y'ALL HEAR ME.
UM, DID ANYONE ELSE HEAR HER ANSWER? YOU DID HEAR HER.
THIS IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION WE'RE MEETING ON DECEMBER 7TH OF 2020.
WE'RE MEETING VIRTUALLY AND I'M CHAIRING TODAY BECAUSE I'M REBECCA MENTHOL WITH HAS A COVID EMERGENCY IN HER FAMILY.
SO SENDING HER BEST THE FIRST, UM, LET ME CALL US TO ORDER OFFICIALLY.
UM, THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE HAVE UP IS JUST CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
MS. JACKSON, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS? THERE ARE NO CITIZENS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY.
SO NOW Y'ALL, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH AND THEY WERE SENT TO YOU ON FRIDAY.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS CHANGES CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTE? ALL RIGHT HERE, DOES ANYONE NEED MORE TIME NOW? OKAY.
HEARING NO CORRECTIONS, WE CAN DEEM THOSE APPROVED.
[2. Public Safety Organizations Quarterly Report – Austin Police Department]
AND SO THE NEXT ITEM WE HAVE IS SUBSTANTIVE AND IT IS THE QUARTERLY REPORT THAT WE RECEIVE FROM EACH DEPARTMENT.WE, WE HEAR FROM EACH DEPARTMENT, UM, AT EACH MEETING.
AND SO WE HEAR FROM EACH DEPARTMENT FOUR TIMES A YEAR, AND THIS MONTH, UH, DECEMBER, 2020, IT'S THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE US ON SOME USUAL DATA POINTS THAT THEY TELL US ABOUT, ABOUT VACANCIES AND RESPONSE TIMES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND THEN ALSO A, UH, EXTRA BIT OF QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD ABOUT COVID.
WELL, HOW ARE YOU DOING COMMISSIONERS? I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT HOLIDAY, UH, AND, UH, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, QUARTERLY REPORT, UH, WE WERE GOING TO START OFF WITH SOMETHING NEW, WHICH IS OUR CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, PROPERTY AND SOCIETY.
AS WE HAVE MOVED FROM A UCR REPORTING STRUCTURE TO A NEIGHBOR'S REPORTING STRUCTURE, UH, IS BY THE CHANCES DOCTOR CRINGING IN THE WAITING ROOM.
I SEE HIM ON THE PARTICIPANT LIST.
UH, WHAT I WANTED TO DO WAS ACTUALLY, UM, DR.
CRINGING HAS BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR, UH, WITH OUR CHIEF DATA OFFICER WITH WORKING, UH, WITH OUR TRANSITION TO NEIGHBORS AND WANTED HIM TO START OFF BY GOING OVER OUR STATISTICS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CRIME AND SORT OF EXPLAIN TO YOU GUYS THE DIFFERENCE IN HOW WE'RE REPORTING AND WHERE YOU CAN LOCATE THAT INFORMATION.
I JUST WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, AND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP WITH REPORTING, UH, GIVEN THAT WE'RE IN THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE NEIGHBOR'S TRANSITION PERIOD, UM, FOR ANYONE WHO'S NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, UM, HISTORICALLY AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS CALCULATED ITS UNDERSTANDING OF CRIME USING THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING STANDARD OF THE FBI.
UM, AND THE FBI HAS, UH, AN INITIATIVE THAT'S ONGOING, UH, TO TRANSITION POLICE DEPARTMENTS TO USING
[00:05:01]
THE NATIONAL INCIDENT BASED REPORTING SYSTEM.AND SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE SEE HERE WHEN CRIME HAPPENS.
WE WOULD MAYBE THINK ABOUT THAT AS A CRIME INCIDENT.
UM, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT COUNT IT, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS UNDER THE OLD UCR RULES, THAT INCIDENT WAS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OFFENSE THAT OCCURRED DURING THAT INCIDENT AND EVERYTHING ELSE BELOW THAT AS LOST IN THE UCR STANDARD.
RIGHT? SO IF WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT SOMETHING WHERE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN, UM, WHERE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN MAYBE A DRUG RELATED CHARGE ALONG WITH A VIOLENT CHARGE, THE VIOLENT CHARGE IS MORE SERIOUS, AND THAT IS WHAT THE INCIDENT WOULD BE COUNTED AS THAT UNDERLYING DRUG RELATED CHARGE WOULD NOT BE COUNTED.
NOW THE NATIONAL INCIDENT BASED REPORTING SYSTEM ACTUALLY COUNTS ALL DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES DURING AN INCIDENT.
AND SO THE RESULT IS THAT WHEN YOU COUNT THINGS, YOU'RE COMING UP WITH VERY DIFFERENT COUNTS, WE KNOW THE SAME, EVEN IF IT'S ON THE SAME DATA, RIGHT? SO WHEN THAT HAPPENS, UM, WHAT WE BEGAN TO DO IS BE ABLE TO, WITH THE NEIGHBOR'S DATA, THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE INCIDENTS, THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE VICTIMS, OR THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE SUSPECTS, UM, AND RECOGNIZING THAT ANY SINGLE INCIDENT CAN BE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CRIMES WITH POTENTIAL DIFFERENT NUMBER OF SUSPECTS IN DIFFERENT ENVELOPES VICTIMS. SO THE COMPLEXITY IS, IS, UH, ACTUALLY SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER, UM, AND IT DOES RELATE TO ISSUES AND COMPARE ABILITY.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED EVERYONE TO BE AWARE OF.
UH, AGAIN, 2018 IS THE LAST YEAR THAT WAS REPORTED UNDER THE UCR STANDARD.
UH, 2019 WAS REPORTED UNDER THE NEIGHBOR'S STANDARD.
AND CURRENTLY FBI HAS NOT RELEASED NATIONAL NEIGHBORS NUMBERS.
SO WE HAVE A LIMITED ABILITY TO MAKE COMPARISONS TO WHAT'S GOING ON NATIONALLY.
WE ALSO HAVE A LIMITED ABILITY TO MAKE HISTORIC COMPARISONS HAVING SAID THAT WE CAN MANIPULATE DATA IN SOME WAYS TO GET COMPARISONS.
UM, BUT IT'S A MUCH MORE INVOLVED PROCESS IN DOING THAT.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF KEY THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, RECOGNIZING THE OTHER ISSUE THAT HAPPENS IS THAT THE CATEGORIZATIONS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT UNDER NEIGHBORS.
UM, THE VERY, PROBABLY THE BIGGEST EXAMPLE IS ROBBERY.
UM, UNDER THE UCR REPORTING SYSTEM, ROBBERY WAS TREATED AS A VIOLENT CRIME, UM, AND THE NATURE OF THE INTERPERSONAL ACTIVITY OF IT, UM, WAS USED TO SORT OF PLACE IT IN THAT CONTEXT UNDER THE NEIGHBORS STANDARD.
IT IS A PROPERTY CRIME, RIGHT? SO ANYTIME WE LOOK AT THINGS THAT ARE EVEN GENERIC, LARGER CATEGORIES LIKE PROPERTY CRIMES, THE WAY WE MIGHT CONCEPTUALLY THINK ABOUT THAT, UM, THEY'RE GOING TO BE DIFFERENCES AS WELL.
BASED UPON THAT CLASSIFICATION, NEIGHBORS ACTUALLY COUNTS THINGS AS CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS RATHER THAN VIOLENT CRIMES.
THAT'S LIKELY THE MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO VIOLENT CRIMES.
AND WHEN YOU COUNT UNDER NEIGHBORS CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, YOU'RE COUNTING VICTIMS, NOT IN SENTENCE.
UM, THEY ALSO USE A CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT TO PROPERTY CRIMES.
UM, AND WHEN YOU COUNT PROPERTY CRIMES, YOU'RE ACTUALLY COUNTING FENCES, NOT IN NOT INDIVIDUALS.
UM, THE FINAL CATEGORY UNDER NABERS IS CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY.
UM, AND THAT'S ALSO GOING TO ACCOUNT, UH, USING THE OFFENSE LEVEL COUNTING, UM, RATHER THAN THE, THE VICTIM OR SUSPECT LEVEL COUNTING.
SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES THAT WE NEED KIND OF BE, UH, KIND OF BE, YOU KNOW, PREPARED TO UNDERSTAND.
SO, UM, IN CRIME ANALYSIS WE CAN GO BACK AND, AND LOOK AT THESE THINGS, TRYING TO RENDER COMPARISONS.
AND WHEN WE DO, AND WE BASICALLY RECODE THE DATA BACK INTO THE UCR MODEL, THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT WE SEE THAT ARE COMING UP ACTUALLY DO RELATE TO, UH, INCREASES IN, UH, RELATED TO VIOLENT CRIME.
AND SO THE ONES WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT ARE SPECIFICALLY THAT OUR CURRENT YEAR TO DATE COUNTS, UH, FOR MURDER ARE UP 50% FOR THE YEAR.
UM, AND COMPARING OCTOBER OF 2020 TO OCTOBER, 2019.
UM, WE ACTUALLY SEE A 400% INCREASE FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.
WE HAD A WEEKEND WHERE THERE WERE A NUMBER OF MURDERS THAT OCCURRED ON THAT WEEKEND, AND IT HAS VERY MUCH SPIKED IN THE MEASURE.
UM, I ALWAYS WANT TO ADVISE CAUTION WHEN THINKING ABOUT PERCENTAGES, WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THINGS WHERE THE COUNTS TEND TO BE QUITE LOW, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CHANGES OF 50% OR 400% AND AN EVENT THAT WE MIGHT HAVE THOUSANDS OF, UM, THAT'S A MORE MEANINGFUL UNDERSTANDING OF A PERCENTAGE THAN WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT AT MURDER, UM, WHERE THE ACTUAL COUNT IS, IS QUITE LOW.
SO, BUT WE DO SEE IT IN OTHER CATEGORIES AS WELL.
UM, IN PARTICULAR AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, WHICH UNDER THE NEIGHBORS MODEL, WE ACTUALLY DO A LITTLE BIT MORE BREAKDOWN IN, WE REPORTED AS AGGRAVATED ASSAULT RELATED TO FAMILY VIOLENCE OR NON FAMILY VIOLENCE.
UM, YOU WANT TO NOTE THAT THAT'S UP BY ABOUT 32% FOR THE YEAR.
SO NON-FAMILY VIOLENCE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT IS GOING UP.
UH, IT APPEARS, UM, AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A HIGH PREVALENCE OF GUNS AND A HIGH PREVALENCE OF GUN CRIMES, RIGHT? SO WE'RE UP ABOUT 43% IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 22, 2020, UM, FOR
[00:10:01]
VIOLENT CRIMES INVOLVING FIREARMS. AND IF YOU, UM, IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT IT, WE CAN SAY THAT, UH, IF WE GO BACK AND WE WANT TO COUNT THIS FOR COMPATIBILITY SAKE UNDER THE OLD UCR RULES, UM, IF WE LOOK AT SAY VIOLENT OFFENSES INVOLVING FIREARMS, UH, WE ARE ALREADY PAST YEAR TO DATE.AS OF THE END OF OCTOBER, WE WERE ALREADY PAST THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FIREARM-RELATED VIOLENT OFFENSES FOR 2019 AND ALL PREVIOUS YEARS SINCE GOING BACK AS FAR AS 2020.
SO WE WILL DEFINITELY END THE YEAR, MUCH HIGHER, DOES SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A REASONABLE INCREASE IN, UH, VIOLENT CRIMES RELATED TO FIREARMS AND IN PARTICULAR, UM, THAT IS PLAYING OUT WHEN WE BREAK THE DATA DOWN AND WE BREAK THEM DOWN INTO THE CATEGORIES OF THE VIOLENT CRIMES THAT FIT UNDER UCR OF MURDER, RAPE ROBBERY, AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT.
UM, IT'S PRIMARILY HAPPENING IN THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CATEGORY, UH, THAT THE FIREARM USAGE IS, UM, GOING UP, UH, IN PARTICULAR THAT NON FAMILY VIOLENCE, UH, VARIANTS OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE SINGLE LARGEST INCREASE.
SO THOSE ARE THE KEY, UH, CRIME TRENDS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN OUR LAST COMPSTAT MEETING.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF.
CAN YOU MOVE THE SLIDE TO PROPERTY CRIMES NOW, DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THE, THE CITYWIDE, THE FIRST SLIDE? OKAY.
I WOULD JUST RECOMMEND IT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU WERE SAYING, WHEN NUMBERS ARE REALLY SMALL PERCENTAGES, DON'T HAVE ANY MEANING.
I WOULD ALMOST ESTABLISHED LIKE A RULE OF THUMB BECAUSE SOMEBODY'S GOING TO LOOK AT THAT 400% AND THINK, OH MY GOD, WE'VE ALL GONE TO HELL.
UM, SO I, I JUST I'D RATHER SEE THAT BE A BLANK SET OF 400% THERE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONSIDER IT, IT IS HIGHLY ADVISABLE TO THE PARTICULARLY WHEN THINGS TEND TO BE UNDER ABOUT 10, WE THINK ABOUT THE VARIOUS PROPERTIES OF SMALL NUMBERS.
IF IT GOES FROM ONE TO TWO, IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT INCREASE, RIGHT? SO THE OTHER ISSUE THAT WE HAVE, UM, THE TENDENCY IN, IN MOST REPORTING IS TO BREAK THINGS DOWN BY MONTHS, A WINCHING EFFECT, RIGHT, WHICH THE MONTH IS RELATIVELY ARBITRARY.
SO AS WE HAVE AN EVENT THAT MIGHT OCCUR ON THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH THAN IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, IT MIGHT'VE OCCURRED ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEXT MONTH, UM, THAT WILL SKEW THOSE PERCENTAGES, UM, SUBSTANTIALLY.
SO WE ALWAYS WANT TO THINK ABOUT REALLY CAN'T THINK OF OCTOBER WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER.
UM, AND WE'LL HAVE OUR NOVEMBER DATA, UH, SITUATED IN THE NEXT WEEK.
SO THAT WE'LL HAVE A SENSE OF WHETHER WE SEE THAT CONTINUING INTO NOVEMBER OR WHETHER WE SEE A DROP OFF THERE.
CRIM ARE, ARE, DO YOU SEE A TREND HERE IN THIS SLIDE OR ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM WHAT WE CAN SEE HERE IN THIS SLIDE? YEAH, SO IN OUR ANALYSIS AND OUR ANALYSIS, THE ONE THAT I WANT TO ACTUALLY, THAT'S HARDEST TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, IS ACTUALLY IN THAT AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CATEGORY.
UM, AND THAT IS THE CATEGORY THAT WE WANT TO PAY THE MOST ATTENTION TO, PARTICULARLY IT'S NOT DIS-AGGREGATED HERE, BUT IN THAT NON FAMILY VIOLENCE AREA.
UM, AND, AND WE SEE THOSE INCREASES THAT THAT 13% CHANGE THE YEAR TO DATE 19% CHANGE.
UM, AS WE BREAK THAT DOWN INTO THE FAMILY VIOLENCE AND NON FAMILY VIOLENCE, THAT'S PRIMARILY HAPPENING IN THE NON FAMILY VIOLENCE AREA.
AND AGAIN, IF WE THEN SUBSET THAT LOOKING ONLY AT THE FIREARM RELATED ONES, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING THIS VERY IMPORTANT INCREASE, UM, TREND ANALYSIS IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT WITH LIMITED TIME PERIODS.
UM, AND GIVEN THAT WE WERE IN THE PANDEMIC, IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE CHALLENGING TO ASCERTAIN WHERE THE THINGS ARE TRENDING OR WHETHER THAT'S SHORT-TERM VOLATILITY.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THE INITIAL INDICATION IS THAT IN THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, NON FAMILY VIOLENCE WITH A WEAPON, IT LOOKS TO BE A TREND AND SAFE TO SAY THAT YOU DO NOT SEE A TREND WITH REGARDS TO MURDERS, AND YOU'RE NOT DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS WITH REGARDS TO MURDER.
I WOULD SAY THAT GIVEN THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF MURDERS THAT OCCUR IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, THAT IS A NUMBER THAT WE WOULD RARELY EVER SEE A TREND WE'D HAVE EVER BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE AS A TREND.
UM, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, IF WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL MURDERS, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, IF YOU HAVE, AND I, I POINTED OUT TO THE FACT THAT WE HAD A BAD WEEKEND, UM, WHERE WE HAD SEVERAL MURDERS ON THAT PARTICULAR WEEKEND, UM, MORE, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE ON A WEEKEND.
AND THAT CREATED A VERY HUGE SHIFT IN THE PERCENT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MONTH.
AND SO, SO WE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANT TO CALL THE MURDER CHANGE A TREND PER SE.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY STATISTICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT.
UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONCERNED
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ABOUT GIVEN THE GRAVITY, UM, AND WHATNOT.AND WE DO WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE THAT WE HAVE SEEN THAT THIS NUMBER IS HIGHER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.
AND SO ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM THAT? I MEAN, 26 PEOPLE IS HORRIBLE AND 40 PEOPLE IS HORRIBLE.
UM, BUT ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS IN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2019 AND 2020? NOT AT THIS POINT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THIS IN THE NEWS A LOT LOCALLY, EVERY TIME THERE'S A MURDER.
UH, WE HEAR, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR ALARM THAT THE, THAT WE'VE HAD MORE MURDERS THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR.
DO YOU THINK THAT THAT ALARM IS WARRANTED? SO I, I WOULD SAY, AND THAT'S, THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE GRAVITY OF MURDER AS A CRIME, UM, AND THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER AND THE FREQUENCY OF MURDER.
UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, AND THIS IS, THIS HAS BEEN SORT OF ONE OF THE KIND OF INFORMAL POLICIES ABOUT IT AS A DEPARTMENT.
IT'S ACTUALLY MORE FUNCTIONAL TO LOOK AT THE COMBINATION OF MURDER AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND ROBBERY.
TRADITIONALLY, WHEN ROBBERY IS, IS PLACED IN AS A VIOLENT CRIME, UM, GIVEN THAT PARTICULARLY IF THOSE INVOLVE USE OF A FIREARM, BECAUSE FRANKLY, AND SCIENTIFICALLY IT'S UNDERSTOOD THAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MURDER AND AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT WITH A FIREARM HAS A VERY RANDOM PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
IF THERE IS A GUNSHOT IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE, WHETHER IT IS A MURDER OR NOT BECOMES A LEGAL CLASSIFICATION AND SOMETHING THAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED BASED UPON TIME TO HOSPITAL, YOU KNOW, THE FACILITIES THAT WERE THERE, ET CETERA.
UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S BETTER TO PUT ALL OF THE VIOLENT CRIMES SORT OF TOGETHER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS AS A TREND RATHER THAN TO PARSE OUT ANY INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY LIKE MURDER.
WHEN WE DO THAT AGAIN, WE'RE, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE INCREASES, PARTICULARLY BEING DRIVEN BY NON-FAMILY VIOLENCE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, LOSING FIREARM, THOSE ARE EVENTS THAT COULD VERY WELL BE MURDERS, UM, HAD THEY HAPPENED SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE DOES.
AND THEN, UM, JUST, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY THAT THIS ISSUE, UM, YOU KNOW, CRIME DATA POINTS HAS BEEN LAID OVER THE ISSUE OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR CITY COUNCIL FUNDS, AS FAR AS PUBLIC SAFETY AND WHAT ITS PRIORITIES ARE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE 400% MURDER, UH, UPTAKE FOR INSTANCE, THAT YOU HAVE PUT HERE ON THIS SLIDE AND RELAYED THAT TO THE CITY COUNCIL'S DECISION TO REPRIORITIZE HOW IT PAYS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARE YOU DRAWING ANY CONCLUSIONS BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCILS? UM, IT'S CHANGE IN PRIORITIES AND THE CRIME STATISTICS? SO I WOULD SAY SCIENTIFICALLY THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THERE'S A RELATIONSHIP OR NOT, TO ME AS A, AS A SCIENTIFIC QUESTION AT THIS POINT, WE ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS OR NOT IS NOT THE CASE.
UM, SO I WOULD BE HESITANT TO, TO RENDER SOME KIND OF CONCLUSION.
IT WOULD LARGELY JUST BE AN OPINION.
UM, AND SO I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE CONCERNS RELATED TO WHAT HAPPENS WITH PREDOMINANT WITH PARTICULARLY POLICE PATROL IN THE CITY.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT MAKING A STATEMENT THAT SAYS THAT IS CAUSAL, UM, OR RELATED TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF, UH, CHANGES, PARTICULARLY GOING BACK AND POINTING OUT THAT 400%.
UM, AND IT IS A TERRIBLE SERIES OF EVENTS, BUT 400% IN MURDER RELATES TO FOR PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS.
UM, AND SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DRAW, UM, YOU KNOW, A CONCLUSION THAT THERE, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS, AS WE HAVE MORE DATA, WE WILL BE EXPLORING IT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S OF GREAT CONCERN TO US, AND WE'LL BE DEDICATING SOME RESOURCES TO UNDERSTANDING HOW THE FUNCTIONAL OPERATIONS CHANGE AS A RESULT OF CHANGES IN PERSONNEL AND BUDGET, UM, AS WELL AS HOW CRIME PATTERNS CHANGE.
AND OVER TIME, WE'LL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING.
AND YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN OPINION ON IT.
DO YOU MIND SHARING THAT WITH US? UH, MY EX MY, MY SENSE IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, NON-SCIENTIFIC, UM, MY SENSE IS, IS THAT OVER TIME YOU WILL LIKELY SEE WITH LESS POLICING, YOU WILL LIKELY SEE MORE CRIME.
AND SO, UM, AND YOU'RE PARTICULARLY TALKING ABOUT LESS, UH, HOURS PATROLLING, UH, PARTICULARLY IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, SCIENTIFICALLY WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT EARLY KIND OF RESEARCH INTO PATROL SAID, LOOK, THERE WAS NO EFFECT PATROL DOESN'T DO ANYTHING.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MAINTAINED THAT PERSPECTIVE KIND OF LATER MORE SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT ACTUALLY A WELL-ORGANIZED PATROL CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN DETERRING CRIME AND REDUCING LEVELS OF CRIME.
UM, AND SO THE ISSUES THERE ARE, THOSE ARE PRIMARILY RESOURCE ISSUES TO RUN
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A LARGE SCALE, STRONGLY SUPPORT, EVIDENCE SUPPORTED, DIRECTED PATROL PROGRAM.YOU NEED A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ANALYSIS.
UM, YOU NEED A SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION DISSEMINATION SYSTEM, AND YOU NEED THE PATROL RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE PRIMARILY DO AS AN AGENCY, WHICH IS RESPOND TO CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UM, SO THE CALL FOR SERVICE DEMANDS ARE ALWAYS CHALLENGING, UM, IN ANY POLICE ORGANIZATION.
AND SO THAT'LL NECESSARILY CREATE AN INTERPLAY BETWEEN WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH PROACTIVE PATROL.
UM, SO, SO MY, MY, MY OPINION IS THAT BASED UPON MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OVER TIME, IF YOU REDUCE RESOURCES FOR PATROL, IF YOU REDUCE RESOURCES FOR ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT PATROL, YOU WILL LIKELY SEE CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF CRIME.
I THINK, UM, THIS IS NOT A SLIDE THAT WE HAD REQUESTED, AND IT'S NOT PART OF OUR QUARTERLY, UH, REQUESTS TO YOUR DEPARTMENT.
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S TELLING THAT YOU DECIDED TO PUT IT AS THE FIRST SLIDE ON YOUR PRESENTATION.
DO YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHY YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO START WITH? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ANSWER THAT JONATHAN? IT WAS, IT WAS MY DECISION TO PUT THAT ON THE SLIDE.
I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO LET YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEIGHBORS AND, UH, UCR DATA.
THIS WAS MORE OF AN INFORMATIONAL, UH, UH, SLIDE, AS YOU CAN TELL THAT OUR OVERALL PERSONS, AND THEN AGAIN, OUR PROPERTY ARE DOWN 1%, SORRY, I'M GETTING SOME FEEDBACK, BUT IT WAS JUST MORE OF A, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE TOOL AND HOW TO LOOK AND, UH, READ THE, THE DATA BETWEEN NEIGHBORS AND UCR.
I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT UCR ON THIS, IS THAT ON HERE? AND I'M JUST MISSING IT.
WE HAVE HISTORICALLY REPORTED ON UCR FOR THE LAST MANY, I DON'T KNOW, 20 YEARS OR SO.
SO THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY SINCE WE WERE TRANSITIONING TO REPORTING, UH, USING NEIGHBORS, THIS WAS MORE OF A OPPORTUNITY AND AN INFORMATIONAL TIME TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU THE, THE CHANGES.
I'LL JUST, I THINK THAT IT'S, UM, IT COULD, IN SOME WAYS BE MISCONSTRUED AND JUST BY DR.
KELLY'S, UH, ADMONITION THAT WE BE CAREFUL ABOUT TRENDS.
I THINK THIS, I DON'T KNOW, I WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED IF WE SAW SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE FUTURE, WITHOUT AT LEAST SOME OF THAT CONTEXT IN IT.
UM, AGAIN WAS JUST TRYING TO GIVE YOU A, A VERY ROBUST OVER, UH, IN THIS QUARTERLY REPORT.
UM, BUT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT US TO REMOVE AND NOT TO REPORT ON, THEN I WILL REMOVE IT FOR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
I THINK, I THINK IT IS VERY APPROPRIATE CHIEF TO HAVE WHAT WE TYPICALLY HAVE, WHICH IS A YEARLY, LONGER DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CRIME FROM THE YEAR BEFORE, TYPICALLY IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH.
I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS VERY INFORMATIVE, BUT I WOULD NEVER ASK YOU TO NOT GIVE US INFORMATION.
SO I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO INCLUDE IT.
AND THEN I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CONTINUE TO PUT THE CAVEAT ON IT.
UM, IS THIS, IS THIS AVAILABLE TO US AND CITIZENS, UH, ON TO LET GO AND SEE THE OTHER MONTHS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, DR.
SO WE MAKE ALL OF OUR MONTHLY REPORTS AVAILABLE.
UM, THEY'RE ALL DISSEMINATED VIA THE WEBSITE.
AND SO CITIZENS HAVE ACCESS TO THESE, UH, FOR EVERY MONTH.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE PROVIDE OUR END OF MONTH REPORTING IS GENERALLY REPORTED ABOUT THE 15TH OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH.
AND SO THOSE GO UP, UH, AT THAT POINT, SO THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE, UM, TO THEM.
AND WILL YOU JUST TELL PEOPLE WHAT THAT WEBSITE IS? I'LL HAVE TO ACTUALLY PULL THE LINK FOR YOU IT'S THROUGH THE DATA PORTAL.
SO, UM, SO IT'S TO GO TO THE APD WEBSITE AND THEN FIND THE DATA PORTAL.
SO IF YOU JUST GO TO THE APD, UH, WEBSITE, AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND CORNER, IT SAYS, UH, CHIEFS MONTHLY REPORT.
SO YOU, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO, UH, GATHER ALL THE REPORTS, UH, FROM THAT LINK.
AND I'LL JUST REITERATE TO GATE, I WOULD NEVER ASK YOU TO NOT GIVE US INFORMATION.
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IN FORMATION, YOU KNOW, BE GIVEN US THE PROPER CONTACT.CRINGING HAS DONE A VERY, UH, GOOD JOB AT PROVIDING THAT, UH, YOU INFORMATION AND PUTTING IT INTO THE CONTEXT THAT IS DESERVING.
ARE YOU READY TO GO TO PROPERTY CRIMES? I HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, UH, THERE WAS SOME DISTINCTION MADE OR SOME PARSING OF THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT THAT GLORIOUS, NOT NON-FAMILY VERSUS FAMILY VIOLENCE.
IS THAT SORT OF PARSING ALSO AVAILABLE FOR THE MURDER CATEGORY? UM, THE MURDER CATEGORY, WE, THE, THE MURDER CATEGORY HAS NOT PARSED THAT WAY.
UM, AGAIN, AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEIGHBORS, UM, MODEL, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WAYS OF, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WAYS OF DOING SOME PARSING, GENERALLY SPEAKING, BECAUSE MURDER IS SUCH A RARE EVENT.
UM, WE DO A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF, UH, DO A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF FOLLOW UP INTO EACH MURDER, UM, SO THAT WE HAVE, UH, UH, A LARGER UNDERSTANDING.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE ARE IN MANY JURISDICTIONS, I WILL SAY IT THIS WAY.
UM, THERE ARE REASONABLE CONCERNS ABOUT GIVEN THE LOW SAMPLE SIZE, GIVEN THE FEW EVENTS THAT THERE ARE ABOUT WHAT YOU ACTUALLY REPORT, UM, RELATED TO MURDER.
UM, AND OTHER WORDS, IT'S MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN AVENUE ANONYMITY IN A MURDER THAN IT IS, UH, IN ANY OTHER CRIMINAL EVENTS.
SO THE ONLY OTHER CATEGORY THAT REALLY FALLS INTO THAT REGULARLY AND DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE KIND OF ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, WOULD BE SORT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, RIGHT? AND SO THOSE TWO AREAS WERE PURPOSELY, UH, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERED ABOUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE RECORDED THERE INTERNALLY.
UM, WE DO A SUBSTANTIAL DIVE INTO WHAT THE FACTORS ARE RELATED TO EACH MURDER, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, THE, UH, THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT COMES UP IN IT, WHICH IS WORTH UNDERSTANDING IS THAT FROM TIME TO TIME, YOU WILL ENCOUNTER.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY WORK ON FROM A COMMUNICATION STANDPOINT, UM, TO GETTING PEOPLE WHO ARE THE PRIMARY USERS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DATA, UM, TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE MURDER NUMBER ACTUALLY CAN GO DOWN FROM TIME TO TIME.
UH, THE REASON IT CAN GO DOWN IS THAT THERE, THERE IS ALSO A LEGAL ASPECT ABOUT WHAT THE DETERMINATION IS.
AND SO AT TIMES WE WILL COUNT MURDERS AT A CERTAIN NUMBER.
UM, AND THEN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL COME IN.
ONE OF THE VERY COMMON ONES IS ACTUALLY THE ROAD RIGHT BELOW.
IT IS THAT IF IT IS LEGALLY DETERMINED THAT IT'S NOT MURDER AND IT DID INVOLVE PERHAPS A GUNSHOT, IT DID INVOLVE SOMEONE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T INVOLVE A DEATH.
UM, BUT IF IT LEGALLY SHIFTS AWAY FROM BEING MURDERED WILL ACTUALLY COME OUT OF THAT CATEGORY.
SO WE DO SEE TIMES WHERE THE NUMBER ACTUALLY GOES DOWN.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF.
DO YOU WANT TO SHIFT THE SLIDE TO PROPERTY CRIMES? GO AHEAD, JOHN.
SO AS WE LOOKED INTO CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THAT WE'RE SEEING THE CATEGORIES THAT WE SEE THE LARGER PERCENTAGES IN.
AGAIN, UM, YOU MIGHT NOTICE AN EXTORTION FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THOSE ARE CATEGORIES THAT HAVE VERY, VERY FEW EVENTS COMMONLY.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT SEEING A LOT THERE, RIGHT? PER SNATCHING, YOU MIGHT NOTICE IS A HUNDRED PERCENT INCREASE.
UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE SEEMS TO BE MORE INDICATIVE OF WHAT WE WOULD JUST CATEGORIZE AS TEMPORAL VARIATION, RIGHT? WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING HERE THAT IS, UH, JUMPING OUT AS A SUBSTANCE IT'S, YOU KNOW, SUBSTANTIAL, UH, INCREASES.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME FOR US LAST QUARTER OF THE YEAR END.
UM, AND THIS'LL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE GENERALLY MORE INFORMATIVE AT THE YEAR END.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO FOR THE PURPOSE OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR THE PURPOSE OF PATTERNS THAT ALLOW THAT ASSIST WITH SORT OF MANAGEMENT AND THE ORGANIZATION.
WE DO A LOT OF THE COMPARISONS LIKE OCTOBER OF 2020 TO OCTOBER, 2019.
UM, AS WE STRETCH THOSE TIME PERIODS OUT AND LOOK AT WHOLE YEARS, IT GIVES US A BETTER PICTURE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PROPERTY CRIMES? CAN WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? THIS IS A NEW SLIDE THAT, UH, WE, UH, IS INCLUDED NEIGHBORS.
AND SO THIS IS SORT OF A NEW AREA.
I JUST WANTED TO JONATHAN QUICKLY TO, UH, TALK TO HIM ABOUT THAT.
SO CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY IS, IS USEFUL AND THE NEIGHBORS MODEL, IT'S A VERY HELPFUL, UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THESE ARE THE SORT OF SOCIAL ORDER VIOLATIONS, UM, THAT WE WOULD DEAL WITH.
UM, BUT THEY, THEY GIVE US ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND THE NEIGHBOR'S MODEL IS THAT MANY OF THESE ARE THINGS THAT WOULD, UH, LEGALLY WHAT WE MIGHT REFER TO AS
[00:30:01]
A LESSER INCLUDED.UM, OFTENTIMES THESE ARE THINGS THAT WOULD COME UP WHERE THERE'S ANOTHER CRIME INVOLVED THAT UNDER THE UCR ACCOUNTING RULES WOULD BE A HIGHER LEVEL CRIME.
AND SO A LOT OF THIS ISN'T COUNTED VERY WELL IN THE UCR MODEL, RIGHT? UM, AGAIN, THE EXAMPLE THAT I GENERALLY USE IS THAT IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT INVOLVING DRUGS, AS WELL AS VIOLENCE UNDER THE UCR MODEL, IT'S GOING TO REPORT THE VIOLENCE, BUT NOT THE DRUGS.
AND SO THIS, UH, CATEGORY OF, OF CRIMES, UM, WILL BE, SHOULD BE VERY USEFUL, PARTICULARLY AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND BEGIN TO ESTABLISH SOME BASELINE DATA.
UM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE, UH, THAT IS IMPORTANT IN THE NEIGHBOR'S MODEL.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT DOES GIVE US A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS AND PARTICULARLY, AND I WOULD SAY THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DRUG RELATED OFFENSES, UH, AND PARTICULARLY THINGS THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT TO SITUATIONS IN WHICH HIGHER ORDER CRIMES MAY OCCUR.
THANK YOU, JONATHAN, ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY AND JUST FOR YOUR, UH, INFORMATION, UH, AS YOU CAN TELL A LOT OF THESE PARTICULAR, UH, CRIMES, THERE'S A LOT OF THEM, SO YOU MAY NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE DEFINITIONS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE.
WHEN YOU GO TO, UH, THE REPORTS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE DEFINITIONS LINED OUT.
SO IF YOU'RE CURIOUS OF WHAT THE LEGAL DEFINITIONS ARE FOR THOSE PARTICULAR CRIMES, YOU CAN FIND THOSE ON OUR WEBSITE ATTACHED TO THE REPORT.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO A CITY-WIDE RESPONSE TIMES AND CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR TARGET IS A 10 FOR PRIORITY ZERO AND ONE, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE MOST URGENT, UH, CALLS THAT, UH, EITHER PROPERTY OR LIVE FOR, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RESPOND TO QUICKLY FOR JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST.
UH, YOU CAN TELL THAT WE WERE A LITTLE BIT OVER OUR RESPONSE TIME, UH, GOALS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FOR OUR RESPONSE TIMES, IF WE WOULD GO AHEAD AND I KNOW THAT THE NEXT TWO SLIDES ARE JUST BROKEN OUT SPECIFICALLY IN AREAS, UH, WERE THERE ANY AREAS THAT ANYONE HAD ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON REGARDING OUR CALL VOLUME AND RESPONSE TIMES? OKAY.
CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE EIGHT? UH, OVER TIME SPENT IS YOU CAN TELL OUR OVERTIME BUDGET IS ABOUT 3.5 MILLION, UH, UH, TO DATE.
UH, WE ARE AT 53% SPENT OF 1.9 MILLION.
I'VE BEEN TRYING TO ASK A QUESTION.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ADD TO THIS REPORT, THE RATE THAT, THAT PROPERTY CRIMES CRIMES AGAINST PEOPLE AND CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY ART ARE BEING SOLVED? YES, WE DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE INCLUDE IT.
IF NO QUESTIONS ON OVERTIME, WE'LL GO TO STAFFING.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, OUR AUTHORIZED STRENGTH IS 1809.
UH, THIS REPORT WAS, UH, GATHERED OR AT LEAST OUR NUMBERS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DAYS AGO.
I BELIEVE WE'RE AT 43 NOW, UH, FOR OUR CURRENT VACANCIES, UM, FOR OUR CIVILIANS, UH, WE DID HAVE 76 VACANCIES FOR OUR CIVILIANS.
UH, WE WERE GIVEN THE APPROVAL TO GO AHEAD AND FILL SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS.
WE'RE STILL CARRYING ABOUT 31 CIVILIAN VACANCIES THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN AS WE, UH, ARE MEETING OUR COST SAVING MEASURES, WE'LL BE FILLING THOSE POSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
WE DID HAVE A GRADUATING CLASS, THE ONE 43RD, UH, UH, FIT.
UH, THEY ENDED WITH 42 AND OCTOBER, AND THEY WILL BE RELEASED ON JANUARY 17TH.
UH, AND AT THAT POINT WE WILL HAVE THE NO CADET CLASSES AT THAT TIME WRITING OUT.
UH, EVERYBODY WILL BE, UH, ON THE FULL SERVICE.
THAT IS THE END OF THIS PARTICULAR PRESENTATION, UH, BEFORE WE TRANSITIONED TO THE COVID, UH, PRESENTATION.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE,
[00:35:01]
UH, QUARTERLY REPORTING OR ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS, UM, PRESENTATION? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THE, UM, ON THE GRADUATES FROM THE ACADEMY, ANY IDEA WHY YOU LOST FOR THE ATTRITION THERE FROM 58 TO 42 IS 70% ABOUT TYPICAL FOR WHO PASSES FOR THE PASSING RATE.DID YOU SAY, WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE DID YOU HAVE? WE USUALLY LOSE LOSE BETWEEN, UH, 18 TO 20%, UH, EACH, EACH YEAR.
SO THIS IS ABOUT HAVING COURAGE, UH, BUT IT'S FOR VARIOUS REASONS OF EITHER THEY CHOSE TO RESIGN, OR IT WAS ACADEMIC OR PHYSICAL FITNESS REASONS TO WHERE THEY, UH, THEY WERE REMOVED FROM THE ACADEMY AND OCCASIONALLY IT'S THROUGH INJURY AND THEIR, UH, THEIR INJURY.
THEY'RE USUALLY PROCESSED INTO THE NEXT ACADEMY, WHICH I BELIEVE WE HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW THAT IS, UH, BEING REPROCESSED DUE TO AN INJURY.
I ACTUALLY WOULD, UM, REALLY LIKE TO SEE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO LIKE, CROSS-REFERENCE THIS DATA THIS WAY, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE WEAPONS LAW VIOLATIONS IN RELATION TO THE VIOLENT CRIMES INVOLVING FIREARMS FOR ARMS. UM, IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE TO SEE HOW THAT DATA CORRELATES TO EACH OTHER.
AND HOW MANY OF THOSE CRIMES ARE COMING FROM LAWFUL WEAPON, UM, OWNERSHIP VERSUS NON LAWFUL.
WE WILL SEE IF WE CAN TRY TO INCORPORATE THAT.
ANYTHING ELSE, DOCTOR, THANK YOU.
AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE, UH, RICK RANDALL.
HE IS OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER OUR EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
HE HAS TAKEN THE LEAD ON OUR COVID EFFORTS AND I BELIEVE THAT HE WILL PROVIDE YOU A, UH, THE, THE BEST PRESENTATION REGARDING, UH, OUR COVID, UH, EFFORTS IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
HOPE EVERYONE'S HAVING A GOOD DAY AND STAYING SAFE AND HEALTHY.
UH, I'M GONNA THE NUMBERS THAT I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE NUMBERS THAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE SLIDE.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE PUT THESE NUMBERS OUT TO 10 30 THIS MORNING, AND I HAVE A LIVE SHEET THAT UPDATES ME CONSISTENTLY THROUGH THE DAY, UH, WITH THE LATEST NUMBERS.
SO IT'S NOT BIG DIFFERENCES, BUT YOU WILL NOTICE THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF OUR POSITIVE COVID CASES.
WE'VE BROKEN OUT THE SWORN VERSUS THE CIVILIAN.
WE HAD S WE HAVE TO DATE GOING BACK TO MARCH.
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 78 POSITIVE COVID CASES AMONG OUR SWORN PERSONNEL AND 35 AMONG OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
UM, SO ROUGHLY THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 69% OF OUR CASES HAVE BEEN ON THE SWORN SIDE, UH, ABOUT 30% OR SO, UH, HAVE BEEN ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS, UM, THE, UH, POSITIVE COVID CASES THAT WERE COVERED BY WORKERS' COMP.
SO THAT WOULD BE, YOU GET PEOPLE THAT ARE COVID POSITIVE BECAUSE THEY WERE, THEY GOT AN EXPOSURE AT WORK AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE COVID POSITIVE BECAUSE THEY HAD EXPOSURE OUTSIDE OF WORK, FAMILY, FRIENDS, ET CETERA.
SO WORK RELATED, UH, WE HAD 57 OF OUR CASES ON THE SWORN SIDE WERE, UM, COVERED BY WORKERS' COMP.
SO THAT'S LIKE 73% OF OUR, UH, SWORN CASES AND THEN 24 OR, UH, 69% OF OUR, UH, CIVILIAN CASES.
SO IN BOTH CASES, THE MAJORITY OF THE POSITIVES WERE COMING FROM WORK-RELATED AS OPPOSED TO, UH, FAMILY RELATED.
NOW I'LL PUT THIS CAVEAT ON THERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE FOR ABOUT THE LAST FIVE WEEKS OR SO.
WE WE'VE SEEN THAT KIND OF TURN A LITTLE BIT WHERE WE'RE GETTING MORE CASES THAT ARE CAUSED BY FAMILY EXPOSURE AND ARE CAUSED BY A WORK-RELATED EXPOSURE, LOOKING AT THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY OFF, UH, THAT ARE, UM, DUE TO COVID-19.
UH, WE HAVE 40 SWARM THAT ARE OFF, UH, 14 CIVILIAN AND CUMULATIVELY.
UH, WE'VE HAD, WE HAD A LITTLE GAP THROWING MY GLASSES ON, UH, BEFORE TAKING ONES OUT THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY EXPOSED, WHICH IS 358 SWORN AND 119 CIVILIAN THAT PREVIOUSLY WERE POSITIVE.
THAT GIVES US A TOTAL OF 398 OF OUR SWORN PERSON CHANEL HAVE, UH, HAD COVID OVER OUR, OUR TESTED, UM, OR OFF
[00:40:01]
DUE TO COVID.AND 123 OF OUR CIVILIANS WERE OFF DUE TO COVID.
AND THAT WOULD COVER NOT JUST PEOPLE THAT TESTED POSITIVELY FOR COVID, BUT WHO WERE OFF WITH CHILDCARE ISSUES BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OR A SPOUSE SPOUSAL RELATED.
UH, SO EMPLOYEES THAT WERE GIVEN ADA ACCOMMODATIONS DUE TO COVID, WE HAD NINE OF OUR SWORN PERSONNEL AND NINE 18 OF OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL THAT SOUGHT ADA ACCOMMODATION DUE TO COVID.
I KNOW ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAD WERE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE TELEWORKING BECAUSE OF COVID AND WE'VE MADE TELEWORKING, UH, SO AVAILABLE.
WE HAVEN'T KEPT TRACK OF THAT IN RELATION TO COVID, UH, EXPOSURES.
SO PRETTY MUCH ANYBODY THAT WAS ABLE TO WORK WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE WORKING, UH, WITH, UH, EITHER FROM HOME OR, UM, BY TAKING TIME OFF.
SO EMPLOYEES WHO RECEIVED, UH, CITY EMERGENCY LEAVE, WE HAD 136 ON THE SWORN SIDE, RECEIVED THE EMERGENCY CITY, LEAVE 110 ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, AND, UH, EMPLOYEES WHO RECEIVED CITY EMERGENCY LEAVE, UH, DUE TO, UH, AN EXPOSURE THAT WAS RELATED TO WORK WOULD HAVE BEEN 113 OF THAT, 136 ON THE SWORN SIDE AND 60 OF THE 110 ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE.
AND THOSE WHO RECEIVED A CITY EMERGENCY LEAVE AND EXTENDED, UH, FMLA FOR, OF THEIR CHILDREN.
WE HAD 114 ON THE SWORN SIDE AND 45 ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THE DEFAULT IN OUR MECHANISM HAS BEEN, WE ASSUME THAT THE EXPOSURE IS WORK-RELATED UNLESS WE GET SPECIFIC INFORMATION OTHERWISE.
SO THE ONLY NO ONE HAS HAD TO USE PERSONAL SICK LEAVE TO COVER, UM, THEIR COVID ILLNESS.
IT'S EITHER BEEN COVERED BY EMERGENCY LEAVE, EMERGENCY CITY LEAVE OR EMERGENCY CITY LEAVE, PLUS SOME EXTENDED FMLA.
SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH OUR NUMBERS, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, IT WAS ACTUALLY JUST ABOUT ANY ATTRITION.
HAVE YOU GUYS HAD ANY ATTRITION JUST STRAIGHT UP, UM, YOU KNOW, VERIZON RESIGNS BECAUSE OF COVID? NO, WE HAVEN'T HAD NONE.
AND WE HAVE, WE HAVE HOWEVER HAD CASES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE APPLIED FOR SPECIAL CONSIDERATION AS WE'VE HAD TO DO OUR STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS AND WHERE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE, UH, AT, UP TO THIS MOMENT TO ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE WHO HAD, WHO NEEDED TO GET A WORK, A SPECIAL WORK ASSIGNMENT DUE TO COVID CONCERNS LIKE A FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAD COVID OR THEY HAD A FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAD, UH, WHO WAS A HIGH RISK AND THEY WANTED TO BE SURE THAT THEY COULD TAKE CARE OF THEM.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FORTUNATELY UP TO THIS MOMENT TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THOSE, ANYONE ELSE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT? OKAY.
MY LAST THING, AND IT'S, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR NOT MAKING PEOPLE KNOW FOR ALLOWING PEOPLE TO USE THESE EMERGENCY LEADS AND NOT MAKING THEM USE THEIR ACCRUED LEAVE.
WELL, WE, WE TRY, PARTICULARLY SINCE UNDER CHIEF MANLEY'S LEADERSHIP, WE CREATED THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIVISION AND BROUGHT OUR PHYSICIAN, OUR MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH COMPONENTS ALTOGETHER.
WE HAVE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE, UM, BECAUSE WE DO BELIEVE THEY'RE OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET.
AND TO THAT END TO DATE, WE HAVE TESTED ALMOST 1100 OF OUR FOLKS, UM, FOR COVID.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS AS BEST WE CAN I ASK ABOUT, UM, UH, THE COVID, UM, POTENTIAL FOR GETTING THE IMMUNIZATIONS, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED INTO ANY OF THAT.
IS THERE ANY PLAN ON HOW, UM, HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK IF WE GET THAT OFFER FROM, UM, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FOLK? YES.
AND THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, SO THE STATE HAS DESIGNATED IN THE FIRST ROLLOUT OF VACCINATIONS, A ONE, A ONE B ONE A WILL BE THOSE WHO WORK IN HOSPITALS, NURSING, UH, PATIENTS IN NURSING HOMES, MORTUARY CARE WORKERS WHO ARE DOING EMBALMING ON FOLKS THAT ARE COVID POSITIVE, THEY'LL GET THE FIRST DOSES.
SO IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY DOSES WE ARE DELIVERED AS TO WHETHER WE MOVE INTO ONE B, WHICH IS THE FIRST RESPONDERS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE TIERED OUR WORKFORCE SO THAT WE HAVE A LEVEL ONE, WHICH IS EVERYONE WHO'S INTERACTING
[00:45:01]
WITH THE PUBLIC LEVEL.TWO IS EMPLOYEES WHO ARE INTERACTING WITH EMPLOYEES WHO ARE INTERACTING WITH THE PUBLIC AND LEVEL THREE IS THOSE WHO ARE COMPLETELY TELEWORKING.
SO WE'RE READY TO PHASE IN TO ROLL OUT IN PHASES FOR VACCINATION TO TAKE CARE OF OUR MOST AT RISK EMPLOYEES, JUST AS SOON AS WE GET THE GREEN LIGHT, THAT LIBEL THAT IS LIKELY TO BE NOT UNTIL THE END OF JANUARY OR END OF FEBRUARY, WE THINK THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO, TO TRY OUR BEST TO GET, UM, THIS PERSONNEL MOVED INTO ONE 80 CATEGORIES, I GUESS WE JUST KIND OF HAVE TO WAIT, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
IT'S, IT'S COMPLETELY DEPENDENT UPON THE, UH, UPON THE STATE.
THAT'S THE WAY THE STATE IS ALLOCATED AND PRETTY MUCH ALMOST EVERY STATE HAS DONE THAT, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CDC FOR HOW TO ROLL OUT THE NEXT.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN FOR OUR FOLKS.
THANK YOU, JACQUELINE RANDALL, ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE HIM.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM? SO A QUICK TIME CHECK, WE ARE EIGHT MINUTES BEHIND, BUT I HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THAT WE'LL MAKE IT UP.
[3. Anti-Transgender Violence Discussion]
SO NEXT STEP WE HAVE, UH, AN AGENDA ITEM SPONSORED BY ME AND MISSIONARY LANE.IT'S ABOUT ANTI TRANSGENDER VIOLENCE.
AND, UM, MR. LANE, DO YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE SPEAKING WHILE I TEE UP THE VIDEO? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I JUST, UH, I'M GOING TO LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES WHEN THEY GET ON HERE, BUT I DID BLINK Y'ALL SOME OF THE, UM, SOME OF THE TOP MINDS, SOME OF THE TOP PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING GRASSROOTS WORK RIGHT NOW.
UM, I WANTED TO UPDATE YOU ALL THAT, UM, THIS, UM, IS A COALITION OF PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND THEY SENT IN A GRANT.
RE-IMAGINING HOW WE MIGHT PROVIDE CARE AND, UM, SUPPORT TO THIS COMMUNITY THAT IS EXPERIENCING INCREASING LEVELS OF VIOLENCE DUE TO ANTI-TRANS RHETORIC.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT BY THEM TALKING TO YOU ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE SEEING AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN, THIS WILL HELP, UM, ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS THAT I HEAR MAJORLY BROUGHT UP.
WHENEVER WE TRY TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
UM, AT THE CITY LEVEL, I HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN PUBLIC SAFETY SPECIFICALLY ASKING ME FOR ACCESS TO PROPS, TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THESE IDEAS THEY HAVE.
I THINK THE CITY IS INTERESTED BECAUSE THEY AWARDED A GRANT, UM, FOR WHAT SOME OF THIS WORK IS THAT'S HAPPENING THEN IS HOUSING FIRST AND SOME OTHER VERY IMPORTANT WORK.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GIVE YOU ALL ESSENTIALLY A BRIEFING, UM, AND ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS IF WE CAN.
BUT I TRIED TO BRING YOU ALL PEOPLE THAT I THOUGHT COULD ANSWER SOME, SOME OF THESE MAJOR QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING BREAKDOWN FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I WANTED TO WELCOME YOU ALL IF WE RUN OUT OF TIME TO JUST MESSAGE ME AFTER, AND I'LL TRY TO GET YOU FOLLOW UP DETAILS, UM, TO SUPPORT WHAT'S GOING TO BE HEARD TODAY AND I'LL PASS IT OVER TO CHAIR FOR THE VIDEO.
SO, UM, CAN Y'ALL GIVE ME A THUMBS UP IF YOU CAN SEE THIS VIDEO AND CAN YOU HEAR THE MUSIC STARTING? GIVE ME A THUMBS UP PLEASE NOW.
I AM GOING TO SPIRIT WITH ME ONE SECOND.
HOW ABOUT NOW? COULD YOU ALL HEAR THE SOUND NOW? NO.
MIGHT BE BETTER TO JUST SEND IT OFF FOR THEM TO WATCH IT LATER AND LET THEM GET STARTED.
WOULD THAT WORK? GIVE ME ONE MINUTE TO SEE IF I CAN SOLVE THIS ROCKY.
CAUSE IT'S A REALLY GOOD VIDEO.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAD EVERYBODY.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE HERE, I THINK, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ALMOST EVERYONE THAT'S NOT DOING IT.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE AUDIO IS NOT GOING TO GO, UH, TO US FROM YOUR MACHINE.
UM, SO IF THERE WAS, UH, A BETTER WAY FOR US TO GET, UH, TO SHOW THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEND IT TO US DIRECTLY, OR IF YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE TOO MUCH TIME.
I THINK IT'S GOOD TO PROBABLY LET THEM TRY TO WORK ON IT ON THE TECH SIDE AND LET THEM START THE PRESENTATION IF THAT'S OKAY.
[00:50:01]
UM, CITY HALL, AB ONE, MAY I, WHAT SHOULD I, WHO SHOULD I SEND IT TO? YOU WANT THEM TO SEND IT TO ME? OH, TO MS. JACKSON? YEAH, GO AHEAD.SEND IT TO ME, MS. WEBER, PLEASE.
THANKS VERY MUCH, MS. JACQUELINE.
UM, ROCKY, UM, I SEE YOUR PEOPLE HERE.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I NEED TO DO TO GET THEM ON CAMERA? OH, I, WE WEREN'T SURE IF THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO SHOW THEIR CAMERAS.
SO I TOLD THEM TO JUST BE PREPARED FOR AUDIO.
UM, UH, DO YOU NEED THEM TO TAKE THEM ON CAMERA? SOME FOLKS THEY WANT? I THINK COOL.
I THINK, UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MATEO, UM, YOU CAN UNMUTE AND THAT WE HAVE EVERYBODY IN ON THIS SIDE.
UM, AND THEY SAID THEY WANT YOU TO JUST SHOW THE VIDEO AFTER THEY PRESENT.
UM, BUT MATEO, CAN YOU TRY TO UNMUTE AND TELL ME IF EVERYBODY IS IN AS FAR AS YOU CAN TELL? UM, I CAN SEE SEMINARIAN.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUST, UM, IF YOU DON'T MIND, LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUST BEGIN THE PRESENTATION, EVERYONE THAT IS SPEAKING IN ORDER TO JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF BRIEFLY.
SO WE HAVE TIME IF THAT'S OKAY.
I NEED TO KNOW THE NAME SO THAT I CAN GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO UNMUTE.
I'VE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE ATTENDEE SIDE THAT I DON'T KNOW WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE SPEAKING FOR THIS ITEM.
UNDERSTOOD IF WE CAN, UH, DO A ROLL CALL.
UM, THEY CAN EVEN THEY'RE TELLING ME AND, UH, UM, AND A CHAT WHO IS SPEAKING FIRST, I CAN CALL THEM UP.
WOULD THAT HURT? WOULD THAT HELP 81? UM, I MEAN, YOU CAN DO A ROLL CALL.
I MEAN, THE ONLY ONES I HAVE FOR SURE ARE, UH, DEVIN HARRIS AND MATEO DELATORRE YEAH.
AND THEN FIRST UP IS RAINEY FRASER.
UM, THEN CC B A N AND THEN DEVIN, THEN I BELIEVE LISTED AS I'M NOT SURE, BUT LIST AS MISS AMAZING HEAD IS THE FINAL.
AND THEN, UH, NINE ON THE FEN.
SO RAINY IS FIRST RANDY FRASER.
UM, I'M ONLY SEEING A RAINY DEVIN AND MATEO.
SO I WILL WORK ON GETTING THE OTHERS, BUT WE'LL LET RAINY GO FIRST.
I'M UH, I'M GETTING THEM OVER.
I THINK THEY WERE CONFUSED ON WHICH PLACE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE.
SO IF WE CAN LET RAINY START, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE BROUGHT PEOPLE FROM THIS COMMUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU.
ALSO, SOME OF THEM WERE PRETTY NERVOUS AND SOME OF THEM HAVE NEVER HAD ACCESS.
AND THAT'S LARGELY WHAT I'M TRYING TO BRING TO THIS COMMISSION'S ATTENTION.
SO THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO ACCESS Y'ALL AND TELL YOU WHAT THEY NEED.
SO I'D LIKE TO LET RAINY BEGIN, AND I WILL TRY TO GET THE OTHERS OVER TO TECH ASAP.
Y'ALL UM, ALL RIGHT, I'LL GO AHEAD.
CAN EVERYONE, WE CAN HEAR YOU RAINY AND NOW WE CAN TRY AGAIN.
I AM A TRANSGENDER WOMAN AND DECADE LONG RESIDENT AND SOCIAL WORKER HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I'VE COME TODAY TO SPEAK TO THIS COMMITTEE AS PART OF A COALITION OF LOCAL TRANSGENDER LEADERS, ORGANIZERS, AND ACTIVISTS, ADVOCATING FOR THE SAFETY AND NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND OF COURSE, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ALSO MASS UPRISINGS AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE, UM, AS TRANS NON-BINARY AND GENDER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE FROM BIRTH THROUGHOUT CHILDHOOD AND INTO ADULTHOOD, WE FACE SYSTEMIC TRANSPHOBIC DISCRIMINATION IN ALL AREAS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE.
AS YOUTH WE'RE OFTEN SUBJECTED TO SOCIAL ISOLATION, FAMILY REJECTION, AND ABANDONMENT CRIMINALIZATION OF OUR VERY EXISTENCE IN THE PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, PHYSICAL SEXUAL, MENTAL ABUSE, MEDICAL PATHOLOGIZATION INVASIVE VIOLENT, AND NON-CONSENSUAL SURGERIES IN THE CASE OF INTERSEX INDIVIDUALS AND EVEN SUBJECTION TO CONVERSION THERAPIES.
ACCORDING TO THE WILLIAMS INSTITUTE, APPROXIMATELY 40% OF HOMELESS YOUTH IN THE UNITED STATES IDENTIFY AS LGBT A STAGGERING NUMBER THAT REFLECTS THE MONUMENTAL ADVERSITIES WE WERE PRESENTED WITH ESSENTIALLY FROM BIRTH.
THESE EARLY CONDITIONS ARE FOLLOWED INTO ADULTHOOD BY PERSISTENCE, SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRANSPHOBIA, CREATING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT, HEALTHCARE AND HOUSING.
ACCORDING TO THE 2015 US TRANSGENDER SURVEY IN TEXAS, 15% OF OUR COMMUNITY FACED UNEMPLOYMENT AND 34% WERE LIVING IN POVERTY.
30% OF TRANSGENDER TEXANS REPORTED EXPERIENCING
[00:55:01]
HOMELESSNESS.AND AMONGST THAT PORTION, 30% REPORTED AVOIDING STAYING IN A SHELTER DUE TO FEAR OF MYSTERIES THAT TREATMENT ON THE BASIS OF BEING TRANS IN ORDER TO GET BY OUR COMMUNITY IS OFTEN FORCED INTO UNDERGROUND ECONOMIES TO SUBSIST AND PERSIST FROM DAY TO DAY.
AND OFTEN ARE VERY ACTS OF SURVIVAL ARE CRIMINALIZED, REGARDLESS OF THEIR NECESSITY TO US AND CRITICALLY THEIR HARMLESSNESS.
WHEN YOU FACTOR IN RACISM, SEXISM, ABLEISM, AND XENOPHOBIA, THE VARIOUS INTERSECTIONS OF OUR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES CAN CREATE A GAUNTLET OF OPPRESSIONS THAT THREATEN OUR LIVES.
WE EXIST IN EVERY GROUP WITHIN THE SOCIETY, BUT BLACK INDIGENOUS AND MIGRANT TRANS WOMEN ARE PARTICULARLY TARGETED AND DISENFRANCHISED BY THE INSTITUTIONS OF POLICING AND THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.
AND THEY ALSO FACE AN EPIDEMIC OF DEADLY DOMESTIC AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE.
60% OF TRANS PEOPLE IN TEXAS WHO REPORTED INTERACTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED EXPERIENCING MISTREATMENT RANGING FROM HARASSMENT, PHYSICAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OR COERCION, AND 60% REPORTED.
THEY WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT, PERHAPS MOST APPALLINGLY, THE NATIONAL INCARCERATION RATE FOR BLACK TRANS PEOPLE IS A HARROWING 47% COMPARED TO 12% FOR WHITE PEOPLE.
AND THAT'S FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY AS A MEMBER OF THE TRANS COMMUNITY HERE IN TEXAS, I CAN UNFORTUNATELY SHARE THAT THESE STATISTICS ARE AFFIRMED BY COUNTLESS ANECDOTAL CASES.
I KNOW FROM BOTH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, TESTIMONIALS OF FRIENDS AND PEERS, AND FROM MY DIRECT EXPERIENCE, WORKING WITH CLIENTS IN BOTH THE NONPROFIT SECTOR AND STATE HEALTH SERVICES, AS A COALITION, WE SUPPORT ECHO AND WISH TO ELABORATE ON VARIOUS ABOLITIONISTS DEMANDS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED BY FELLOW AUSTIN, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS COMMUNITIES OF COLOR UNITED.
WE JOINED THE COFFERS OF FUNDING, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND REINVESTING IN ALTERNATIVE CIVIC AND COMMUNITY BASED INITIATIVES THAT SERVE PUBLIC HEALTH.
THESE INCLUDE THE DOMAINS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, EMS, HOSPITALS, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, COMMUNITY, HEALTH WORKERS, ET CETERA, LOW INCOME AND PUBLIC HOUSING RISE FUNDS AND THE EQUITY OFFICE.
WE ALSO ADVOCATE FOR THE DE-STIGMATIZATION AND DECRIMINALIZATION OF SEX WORK, RECOGNIZING THAT PUNISHMENT FOR SUBSISTENCE METHODS OF SURVIVAL IS INHERENTLY VIOLENT.
PARTICULARLY WHEN THIS LABOR IS OFTEN COERCED DUE TO SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION IN ORDER TO SERVE THE TRANS COMMUNITY FROM A PLACE OF INFORMEDNESS.
WE PROPOSE ONGOING CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROGRAMS THROUGH THE CITY INCLUSION OF US IN POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP IN DECISION DECISION-MAKING ADVISORY BODIES, SUCH AS THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE CAN HELP BEGIN TO PROMOTE THIS AS WELL AS THE ADAPTATION OF EXPLICIT INSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS, POLICIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR TRANS PEOPLE.
FURTHERMORE, DIRECT SUPPORT FOR OUR OWN COMMUNITY-BASED INITIATIVES, SUCH AS THE HOUSING CRISIS FUNDING AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS OF BLACK TRANS LEADERSHIP OF AUSTIN IS ESSENTIAL.
AND THROUGHOUT THIS WORK, WE AS A COMMUNITY AND A CITY MUST CENTER THE NEEDS OF BLACK INDIGENOUS AND OTHER TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR.
I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, AND I CAN ALSO GIVE, UH, CITATIONS FOR THOSE STATISTICS IF NEEDED.
I THINK THAT IS A HORRIFYING PICTURE OF, OF WHAT IT'S LIKE.
UM, YOU WOULD YOU HAVE NEXT COMMISSIONER CHAIR? UM, I HAVE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE STUCK.
UH, THEY'RE RAISED, THEY'RE TRYING THE NAOMI AND THE NEXT ONE IS SEEDS TO FULFILL YOUR FLORES IS NEXT TO SPEAK AND I'M PRETTY SURE THEY ARE IN THE, UM, LIKE ATTENDEES LIST AND NEED TO BE BROUGHT INTO THEM.
I'VE GOT, UH, CECILIA FLORES FLORES AND, UH, NAOMI WILSON.
SO, UH, CECILIA, UM, I'M NOT ABLE TO BRING YOU OVER TO THE PANELIST SIDE, BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO SPEAK NOW.
MS. NAOMI, YOU ARE ALSO FREE TO SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE READY.
IS THIS NAOMI? NO, THIS IS CC.
I AM A NON-BINARY PERSON OF COLOR AND I USE THEY THEM PRONOUNS.
I WORK AT OUT YOUTH ON THE TRANSGENDER WELLNESS TEAM OUT YOUTH HAS SERVED THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS.
IT IS A PLACE WHERE YOUTH ARE FREE TO EXPLORE THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITIES, A PLACE WHERE YOUTH ARE ACKNOWLEDGED AND ACCEPTED FOR EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE
[01:00:01]
ON ANY GIVEN DROP-IN CENTER DAY, YOUTH SNACK, LISTEN TO MUSIC AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS.OTHER HANGOUT OUTSIDE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ARE PRESENT THROUGHOUT PROGRAMMING AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR CHECK-INS.
HOW YOUTH HAS DEVELOPED A TRAINING WITH STRATEGIES FOR DEESCALATION OF MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
THIS TRAINING WAS GROUNDED IN THE FRAMEWORKS OF TRANSFORMATIVE AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WHILE ALSO HIGHLIGHTING VERBAL DEESCALATION AND MENTAL HEALTH.
FIRST AID RECENTLY WE'LL DROP IN CENTER WAS HOLDING IN-PERSON SERVICES, BUT YOUTH MADE AN OUTCRY TO STAFF DO YOUTH EXPRESS EMINENT SUICIDALITY, AND MADE A CONCURRENT REPORT OF ABUSE IN THE HOUSEHOLD, MAKING THIS AN INSTANCE WHERE CALLING NINE ONE ONE WAS THE ONLY CURRENT OPTION THE YOUTH IDENTIFIED AS TRANSGENDER.
SO OUR STAFF MADE EXPLICIT TO THE OFFICERS, THE CLIENT'S NAME AND PRONOUNS, AND ASKED TO BE PRESENT DURING THE INTERACTION, GIVEN THE CLIENT'S FEAR AND MISTRUST.
IN THIS CASE, THE INTERACTION WITH THE SUICIDAL YOUTH WENT RELATIVELY SMOOTHLY.
HOWEVER, THE PRESENCE OF THE POLICE MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR OUR STAFF TO CONTINUE TO CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE OTHER YOUTH.
THE YOUTH REPORTED TO STAFF THAT THEY FELT EXTREMELY DISTRESSED WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVED.
AND THIS STORY IS ONE DEMONSTRATION OF THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIVES TO POLICE AND MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS INTERVENTION.
AND THEY, AND THEY 2013 WILLIAMS INSTITUTE SURVEY FELT THAT 48% OF LGBTQ PLUS VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, REPORTEDLY EXPERIENCED POLICE MISCONDUCT.
AUSTIN'S LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY DESERVES ALTERNATIVES TO POLICE BEING INVOLVED IN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
I SAYS THERE ARE COMMUNITY MEDIATION AND INNER PREVENTION PROGRAMS THAT ARE RISING IN DIFFERENT FORMS. THERE ARE ALREADY CITIES DOING THIS.
CAN YOU, GENE OREGON COMMUNITY SERVICE CLINIC HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR 30 YEARS.
MAKING CRISIS WORKERS SHOW UP TO SITUATIONS IN CASUAL APPEARANCE WITH DEESCALATION CRISIS TRAINING AND THE KNOWLEDGE OR RESOURCES, SAN FRANCISCO AS AMENDMENTS.
PELLADY JUST COMMITTED TO A PILOT PROGRAM.
WE'RE GOING TO TEAM UP CRISIS WORKERS, PEER SPECIALIST PARAMEDICS ARE DIRECTED TO NON-VIOLENT AND NON-CRIMINAL CALLS.
INSTEAD OF POLICE, WE CAN LEARN AND STUDY THE DIFFERENT MODELS OUT THERE.
I LOST THE CELIA DOL STILL HERE, CC.
I THINK CC'S HAVING A LITTLE TECH ISSUE.
SEE, SEE IF YOU CAN HEAR US, UM, WE HEARD YOU TO SAY THAT WE SHOULD, OUR CITY SHOULD BE LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES WHO HAVE MODELS THAT ARE DOING THIS BETTER AND I AGREE COMPLETELY.
SO, UM, WE CAN LEARN AND STUDY THE DIFFERENT MODELS OUT THERE TO SEE HOW THOSE PROGRAMS ARE WORKING FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE THOSE COMMUNITIES ARE DIFFERENT FROM AUSTIN'S POPULATION AND HISTORY OF RACIAL DYNAMICS.
WE'RE ASKING FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON TO COMMIT TO ALTERNATIVES, TO MENTAL HEALTH DEPUTIES FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND ALSO FOR YOUR WORK WITH YOUTH THAT'S.
UH, COMMISSIONER LANE, WHO DO WE HAVE NEXT NEXT? WE HAVE DEVIN HARRIS, I BELIEVE ON THE NEXT.
AND I THINK WE MAY HAVE LOST SOMEONE.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR LISTEN FACING HEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE IN, UM, FOR THE AFTER THAT, BUT SO NEXT UP SHOULD BE DEVIN HARRIS.
DEVIN, WE'RE EXCITED TO HEAR FROM YOU.
UM, SO HI, MY NAME IS DEVIN HARRIS.
SHE, THEY PRONOUNCE AND I WORK AT THE CFO ALLIANCE AND A RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAM.
I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS IN AUSTIN AND VARIOUS PROGRAMS, UM, SAFE AND OTHERWISE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE ON AUSTIN'S COC EQUITY TASK FORCE, STRIVING TO MAKE HOUSING INITIATIVES IN THE CITY, MORE INTENTIONALLY INCLUSIVE FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
ACCORDING TO THE POINT IN TIME, COUNT THE RATES OF TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS ARE INCREASING AT AN ASTONISHING RATE.
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS INCREASED 113% SINCE 2016 AND THE NUMBER OF ADULT TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS LIVING ON THE STREET INCREASED BY 88% DURING THE SAME PERIOD, TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY
[01:05:01]
ON THE STREETS.63% ARE LIVING IN THESE SITUATIONS FOR COMPARISON ABOUT 49% OF CISGENDER PEOPLE ARE LIVING ON THE STREETS AND LIMITED AN INFORMATION EXISTS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF TRANSGENDER AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS HERE IN AUSTIN.
THERE ARE VERY FEW DATA SETS FOR THESE POPULATIONS, BUT NATIONALLY, ALL THE DATA TELLS A SIMILAR STORY, TRANSGENDER, AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE UNSHELTERED THAN THEIR CISGENDERED PEERS.
AND THOSE WHO ARE UNSHELTERED HAVE CONSIDERABLY MORE HEALTH AND SAFETY CHALLENGES.
AND THOSE WHO ARE SHELTERED, ACCORDING TO THE CURRENT DATA FROM ECHO HERE IN AUSTIN, 99% OF THE PEOPLE WE HAVE LIVING ON THE STREETS ARE CISGENDERED AND LESS THAN 1% ARE TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NONCONFORMING.
THIS IS INCONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL DATA AND THE 30% OF TRANSGENDER FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS THAT RAINY CITED EARLIER IS POINTS TO A LACK OF INTENTIONAL ATTEMPTS TO COLLECT THIS INFORMATION LOCALLY IN OUR VI, FOR THAT THE VULNERABILITY INDEX SERVICE POPULATION DECISION ASSISTANCE TOOL THAT DETERMINES WHO GETS SERVICES FOR HOUSING PROGRAMS, UM, IT GETS INTO LIKE SERVICES FOR HOUSING PROGRAMS IN THE CITY.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT GENDER OR SEXUALITY, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NON-CONFORMING ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE, TO END UP LIVING ON THE STREETS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
AND THOSE WHO DO GET SERVED ARE FORCED TO ENDURE MORE HARM BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF TRAINING AROUND THEIR IDENTITIES AND LACK OF RESOURCES TO HELP THEM MOVE OUT OF THEIR CURRENT SITUATIONS.
MOST TRANS AND GENDER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS, CAN'T FIND SAFE PLACES TO SHOWER AS SAYS, MOST SHOWERS HAVE GENDER AND THEY AREN'T GIVEN ACCESS TO SHOWERS THAT ALIGN WITH THEIR GENDER AND FEW SHOWERS IN THE CITY ARE STALLED.
SO THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE WHEN TRYING TO ACCESS SOME SHELTERS UNLESS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE CAN PASS.
THEY'RE TURNED AWAY FROM SPACES THAT THEY WOULD FEEL MOST SAFE.
AND ESPECIALLY SINCE SHELTERS IN THE CITY ARE RUN BY RELIGIOUS.
MOST SHELTERS IN THE CITY ARE RUN BY RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS THAT DON'T WHEN YOU'RE LIVING ON THE STREET IT'S AND TRYING TO SURVIVE.
GETTING YOUR NAME LEGALLY CHANGED IS NOT ON THE TOP OF YOUR PRIORITY LIST.
AS A RESULT, WHEN YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THE SYSTEM, PEOPLE ARE DEADNAMING YOU BECAUSE OF OUR CURRENT HOMELESSNESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY STRUCTURED.
THERE IS NO PLACE FOR YOUR CHOSEN NAME AND SAID, THERE'S A SPACE FOR AN ALIAS, WHICH MOST SERVICE PROVIDERS DISREGARD IN FAVOR OF A LEGAL NAME.
I'D SAY IF WE HAVE CLIENTS WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE PROGRAM FOR MONTHS AND ARE STILL BEING DEADNAMED, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY TIMES WE CORRECT THE SERVICE PROVIDERS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LITTLE TRAINING IN TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NONCONFORMING NEEDS AND RIGHTS, AND THEY DON'T SEE THIS TRAINING AS A PRIORITY.
THE VIEW OF OUR CLIENTS HAVE BEEN PUT IN HOUSING THAN ECHO IS AWARE AS TRANSPHOBIC AND HOMOPHOBIC AND HAVE LATER BEEN KICKED OUT OF THEIR HOUSING.
BECAUSE OF THIS, I WAS IN A MEETING A FEW WEEKS AGO, WHERE WE WERE TOLD AND THE CLIENT TO SPECIFY THEIR NEEDS FOR NON TRANSPHOBIC OR HOMOPHOBIC HOUSING AT THEIR HOUSING INTAKE.
BUT WHEN A CLIENT IS LIVING ON THE STREETS, THEY'RE IN SURVIVAL MODE, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO LAY THEIR HEAD EVERY NIGHT.
IT SHOULDN'T BE ON THEM TO SAY THAT THEY WILL, THEY WANT A PLACE.
THEY WANT THAT PLACE TO BE SAFE.
YOU SHOULD BE WORKING TO ENSURE THAT THOSE SPACES WE PUT THEM IN ARE SAFE.
MANY PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO OUT THEMSELVES AROUND THEIR IDENTITY BECAUSE THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE NO ATTEMPTS TO CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR THEM TO DO SO.
RIGHT NOW, THE CITY IS DOING HARM TO THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS BY NOT INTENTIONALLY SERVING OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR ASK TODAY IS THAT THE S THAT AUSTIN COMMITS TO MAKE HOMELESSNESS RARE, BRIEF, AND NON-RECURRING FOR ALL PEOPLE LIVING IN THE STREETS, NOT JUST FOR CISGENDER COMMUNITY, THIS CITY NEEDS SAFE SHOWERS FOR PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS.
WE NEED TRAININGS THAT PEOPLE DOING DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING PEOPLE THROUGH THE VA, BUT AT HMS HMES ARE NOT DOING HARM BY DEHUMANIZING AND DISREGARDING TRANS AND GENDER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE'S IDENTITIES.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE NEED SAFE TRANS AND GENDER NON-CONFORMING QUEER SHELTERS FOR THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY TO LAND AND HAVE ACCESS TO RESOURCES TO HELP THEM GET ON THEIR FEET SO THAT THEY CAN CREATE SO THEY CAN WORK TO CREATE LIVES THAT THEY WANT FOR THEMSELVES.
ALL RIGHT, DEVIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, UH, WITH UNHOUSED PEOPLE.
UM, JUST CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR DOING THAT IMPORTANT WORK.
DOES ANYONE HAVE, UH, QUESTIONS? DISCUSSION.
LET'S GO ON TO WHOEVER YOU HAVE NEXT.
SO, UM, WE'RE WAITING ON ONE PERSON WHO'S TRYING TO RECONNECT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO NA NAOMI WILSON RIGHT NOW.
HELLO? CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YES.
MY NAME IS NAOMI WILSON AND I AM A CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF BLACK TRANS LEADERSHIP, AUSTIN.
UH, WE ARE LOCAL BLACK QUEER ACTIVISTS, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT COMMUNITIES AND NEED ARE OVER POLICE.
AND WE'VE COME TOGETHER TO ORGANIZE THIS SPACE WHERE WE CAN GROW AND CONNECT SAFELY.
[01:10:02]
AND WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING RESOURCES TO INTERVENE AND SUPPORT, UH, PEOPLE 10 STEPS AHEAD OF WHEN THE POLICE ARE EVER CALLED, UH, ATWE SEE THE CORRELATION OF COMMUNITIES BEING HISTORICALLY DENIED, UH, OPPORTUNITY AND RESOURCES, AND, AND THAT EQUALING BEING LESS SAFE IN AMERICA AT BCLA.
WE FOCUS ON PREVENTING WORST-CASE SCENARIOS, UH, FOR BLACK AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, WHILE ALSO CREATING A WAY TO UPLIFT OUR, UH, LOSS OF CREATING A WAY TO UPLIFT OUR LEADERSHIP, UH, THE AVENUES AVAILABLE, UH, TO US.
UH, THE AVENUES AVAILABLE TO US ARE TRYING WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET ARE CRIMINALIZED, BUT SORRY, I HAVE TYPOS HERE TRYING TO MAKE, TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET IS A CRIME IN AMERICA.
UM, BUT REALLY THE CRIME IS NOT HAVING YOUR INS YOUR, YOUR, YOUR NEEDS MET AND ONE OF THE BEST CITIES TO LIVE IN AMERICA, ACCORDING TO BUSINESS INSIDER, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES TO CREATE SPACES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OURSELVES TO THRIVE.
AND HISTORICALLY IT HAS BEEN THE POLICE'S ROLE TO SHUT DOWN AND CRIMINALIZE OUR EFFORTS TO SURVIVE.
OUR COMMUNITY IS OFTEN FORCED TO EXIST OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLIC EYE, DUE TO HARASSMENT AND SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION.
COVID 19 HAS ALSO EXACERBATED THIS REALITY, AND WE NOW HAVE EVEN LESS RESOURCES TO CONNECT TO, UH, TO CONNECT YOU BECAUSE OUR SAFE SPACES IN AUSTIN HAVE BEEN SHUTTING DOWN DUE TO LACK OF SUPPORT FROM OUR GOVERNMENT.
UH, THIS IS PUTTING US FURTHER AT RISK AND AN INCREASING OUR CHANCES OF HAVING, UM, POLICE BECOME INVOLVED IN OUR LIVES.
A QUOTE FROM MISS MAJOR, UH, GRIFFIN GRACIE, ONE OF THE LAST SURVIVING LEADERS OF THE STONEWALL UPRISING SAID, UH, THEY DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT WHAT IT IS TO LIVE A LIFE LIKE WE HAVE, AND THEY HAVE NO COMPREHENSION AS TO WHAT IT IS.
UH, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT REALLOCATING RESOURCES TO BLACK AND BROWN LED GRASSROOTS INITIATIVES, INITIATIVES THAT ARE BEING DESIGNED TO PROVIDE MATERIAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE, UH, ESPECIALLY THOSE ORGANIZED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR AND THE LGBT COMMUNITY.
UH, BECAUSE IT, IT IS, IT IS A WORK OF OUR ORGANIZATION THAT IS ACTUALLY PROTECTING AND SERVING OUR COMMUNITY FROM THE FAULTS OF OUR SOCIETY TO FIND COMMUNAL RESOURCES THAT WOULD IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL PEOPLE IN AUSTIN, AS MUCH AS IT INVEST IN THE POLICE, AUSTIN WOULD TRULY BE ONE OF THE BEST CITIES TO LIVE IN ACCORDING TO THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY LIVE HERE.
UM, WHY ARE PROCOP GROUPS ON THE REGION RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE? UM, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THEY HAVE THEIR PURPOSE HERE, ESPECIALLY WHEN DIRECTLY IMPACTED COMMUNITIES ARE NOT FULLY REPRESENTED WHEN WE ARE DREAMING OF BETTER FUTURES FOR OURSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITY.
THIS VISION DOES NOT INCLUDE, UH, CREATING THE PERFECT POLICING PRACTICES.
UH, WE SHOULD BE WORKING TOWARDS A CITY THAT MEETS AND PROVIDES OUR MATERIAL NEEDS.
UM, AND WITH THE SMALL AMOUNT OF REDISTRIBUTED FUNDS FROM THE POLICE, OUR COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO ORGANIZE SAFER SPACES FOR US AND CREATE, AND WE'VE CREATED MUTUAL AID RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE IN CRISIS WITHOUT SUPPORT.
UH, THAT BY ITSELF IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF OUR WORK.
AND THAT'S ALREADY 10 TIMES MORE IMPACTFUL THAN ANY COP HAS EVER BEEN, HAS EVER DONE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SHARED TODAY IS PROOF AS TO WHY IT IS NECESSARY TO DETERMINE PUBLIC SAFETY STANDARDS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE MOST HARMED BY OUR CURRENT SYSTEM OF POLICING.
WE KNOW HOW TO CONNECT TO COMMUNITIES WHO ARE HUNTED BY THE POLICE AND THEN TURNED INTO PROFIT AND A PRISON CELL.
WE UNDERSTAND THE REALITY OF WAKING UP AND KNOWING THAT WE DO NOT HAVE MANY ALLIES.
AND IN THAT MOMENT OF CRISIS, THE POLICE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE OUR SIDE OR PROTECT US FROM THE EVERYDAY THREATS WE RECEIVE.
THE POLICE ARE PROFITING FROM OUR STRUGGLE AND THEY NEED US FOR THEIR CHECKS.
REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY NEEDS TO BE ABOUT A WORLD WHERE POLICE ARE NOT NEEDED.
UH, WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM, THE POLICE ARE PUTTING THE PUBLIC AT RISK.
UH, IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A VISION WHERE THE VISION, WHERE THE, WHERE THE PUBLIC IS SAFE, YOU, UH, YOU NEED TO EMPLOY, PROTECT, AND SUPPORT AND FUND OUR PROJECTS.
WE ARE THE, WE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THERE BEFORE ANYONE IS IN CRISIS.
AND IF WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO UPLIFT, YOU WOULD NEVER SEE OUR COMMUNITY FALL.
UH, OUR COMMUNITY HAS EXPERIENCED DECADES OF INTERSECTIONAL, UH, SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION AND SOCIETY, SOCIETAL ABUSE.
WE NEED TO BE AT THE TABLE LIKE WE NEED TO BE AT THE TABLE AND WE NEED TO LEAD THE DISCUSSIONS LIKE, UH, THIS COUNTRY HAS GOT PROBLEMS AND WE NEED OUR SOLUTIONS IMPLEMENTED.
UH, WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN AND IT DOESN'T START BY TRYING TO REFORM THE POLICE, BUT INSTEAD BUILDING UP COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY ORGANIZED SOLUTIONS AS TRANSGENDER NON-FIRST NONBINARY COMMUNITY, UH, WE'RE ALWAYS THE FIRST ONES TO SHOW UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
[01:15:01]
AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN NEEDS TO START WORKING WITH US TO START IMPROVING ITS CITY INSTEAD OF USING ITS POLICE TO JUST CLEAN UP THE STREETS AND MAKE WAY FOR THE STRUGGLES, UH, MAKE WAY FOR STRUGGLE, MAKE WAY FOR STRUGGLE FOR ITS CITIZENS.UM, AND THEN, UH, LET'S, LET'S KEEP IT REAL HONEST HERE.
THIS INITIATIVE IS NOT GOING, UH, TO PROVIDE THE CHANGE WE NEED, UH, TO, TO TRULY FEEL SAFE IN OUR COMMUNITY AS A MEMBER OF OUR, UH, AS A MEMBER AND LEADER IN THE COMMUNITIES WHO ARE MOSTLY DIRECTLY MOST DIRECTLY IMPACTED, BY THE WAY, WE'VE BEEN DOING PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE CITY AND WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT SAFETY AS HARM.
IT IS NOT A SURPRISE THAT WE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, OUR VISION FOR LIBERATION AND MY COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN POINTING TO ARE NOT BEING ENGAGED OR CONSIDERED IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY TODAY.
UH, THIS BODY WILL VOTE ON ADDING A TRANS AND GENDER NONCONFORMING, UH, MEMBER TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE, TASK FORCE.
UM, BUT I WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW THAT THAT IS A MINIMUM OF, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT THE TASK FORCE AND THE CITY COUNCIL WILL NOT MOVE TO ADOPT THE SOLUTIONS WE'VE LAID OUT.
O W WE NEED TO KNOW THAT, UH, UH, LET'S SEE SOLUTIONS.
WE'VE EXPECTED TO SEE AN INITIATIVE TO THE TABLE, SORRY.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUBLICLY EXPRESS AND MOBILIZE FOR FUTURE WITHOUT POLICE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, JUST A QUICK TIME CHECK, UM, FARRAH MUSCADET CAME ON EARLY TO LISTEN TO THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING.
SHE IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, AND SHE SUGGESTING ROCKY THAT WE RESCHEDULE HER PRESENTATION LATER, SO THAT WE DON'T CONTINUE TO FEEL RUSHED HERE.
DO YOU JUST HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER? I BELIEVE SO.
I THINK WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS MISS AMAZING HEAD ALSO KNOWN AS QUEEN, UM, WHO IS SOMEWHERE IN THIS.
THAT'S, UH, AS ONE MORE, AND THEN WE CAN OPEN IT UP FOR THEM.
AND I THINK, UM, IF AB, IF YOU COULD PUT, UH, MS. FARRAH MUSCADET IN, IN THE, UM, THE MIX HERE SO THAT SHE CAN REACT AND THEN WE WILL, UH, RESCHEDULE, DO I NEED TO LET, UH, MR. OAKS KNOW FARRAH THAT WE RESCHEDULED.
SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, NAOMI, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.
THANK YOU FOR FOUNDING BLACK TRANSLATORS.
HAVE AUSTIN JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE WAS A NEED FOR THAT.
AND, UH, SO THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING.
NOW, I'M GOING TO INVITE, UM, THIS AMAZING HEAD, UH, QUEEN FROM THE AUSTIN QUEER CULTURAL CENTER TO SPEAK, UH, FOR THESE FINAL MONTH MOMENTS.
HI, I'M NOT GOING TO BE TOO LONG.
I JUST WANT TO END THIS WITH VERY, UM, IMPORTANT, UM, AVENUES THAT WE NEED HERE, AUSTIN, NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US.
THEY CALLED THIS CULTURAL ADOPTION OF, OF THEIR EXISTING SERVICES AS WE ARE THE LEISURE SERVICES BIDING, THE GAP BETWEEN RESOURCES AND PEOPLE THAT NEED THEM.
THAT THAT WAS BIG CAN WORK FROM, UM, MY FAMILY FELLOW ALLY ROCKY.
ONCE I HAVE MOVED BACK TO AUSTIN, I'M ORIGINALLY BORN AND RAISED HERE IN AUSTIN.
NUMBER REALIZED THERE'S NO REPRESENTATION FOR ME AND MY CITY.
I DO PREACH AND BELIEVE THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE US TO HAVE US SITTING AT THE TABLE AS WELL.
AND THAT BEING BROUGHT UP IN CONVERSATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN, FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN, UM, AUSTIN IS LACKING, UM, A BUNCH OF RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY IN THE URBAN QUEER COMMUNITY.
AND IF WE CAN ALL COME TOGETHER JUST AS, UM, AS WE FORMED UP BT LA AND ALL THESE OTHER GREAT SERVICES HERE IN AUSTIN, I BELIEVE THAT THE CITY SHOULD BE ABLE TO BACK US UP AND HELP US.
UM, I DIDN'T HAVE TOO MUCH TO SAY, I JUST WANT TO COME IN AND SPEAK MY PIECE AND SAY THAT, UM, THIS COMMUNITY IS NOTHING WITHOUT THE COMMUNITY AND TO KNOW WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS, YOU NEED TO BE IN THE COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE THE COMMUNITY AND WE ARE THE CULTURE AND OF AUSTIN, AND WE NEED TO BE FRONT LINE AND HAVE A VOICE AND BE MORE VALID.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND QUEEN, CAN WE JUST HAVE YOU FOLLOW UP REAL QUICK? I KNOW YOU MENTIONED SEX WORKERS ARE EXPERIENCING INTIMIDATION, PROTESTERS ARE EXPERIENCING INTIMIDATION.
IS THERE ANY OTHER WORDS YOU WANT TO MENTION ON THAT FROM YOUR POINTS BEFORE WE CLOSE AND OPEN FOR THE NEXT PRESENTER? UH, PRETTY MUCH.
[01:20:02]
UH, THANK YOU.NO, UM, NO, I CAN'T COME UP TO THINK OF RIGHT NOW.
I KNOW THAT WE PUT, WE WROTE DOWN A LOT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM WHEN WE SPOKE AND I APPRECIATED YOU BRINGING THAT, THAT POINT UP FOR US TO MENTION AND BRING UP FOR, UH, SOME OF THE CONCERNS WE'RE SEEING WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SPEAKING, AND I WILL SEND IT BACK TO YOUR CHAIR.
AND SO WE'RE, I WANT TO HEAR FROM FARRAH TO SEE WHAT REACTIONS SHE HAS AND THEN THE V WE ALSO HAVE THE VIDEO, BUT I JUST WANTED TO NOTE Y'ALL THAT, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S CRIME STATS, UH, YOU KNOW, LISTS SEX WORK UNDER, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY CALLED IT, BUT, UM, WHAT IS IT CRIMES AGAINST AND SOCIETY, IT'S WHAT IT WAS DISCUSSED AS CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY.
AND I NOTED IT ALSO THAT WE, WE SEEM AS A CITY TO HAVE ARRESTED A LOT MORE SEX WORKERS THAN THOSE SOLICITING SEX WORK.
AND THOSE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY STARK.
I THINK IT WAS 10 TIMES AS MANY SEX WORKERS ARE ARRESTED OR CHARGED UNDER, UNDER THE STATISTICS THAT WE SAW EARLIER.
SO WAS LIKE, THERE'S A LOT TO TALK ABOUT.
THE LIST IS A MILE LONG CHAIR, AND THAT'S WHY I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THIS COMMISSION TO DISCUSS IT WIDELY.
UM, I THINK THAT THESE, THESE FOLKS ARE BRINGING REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS FORWARD.
SO, UM, MS. MUSCADET, DO YOU WANT TO JUMP IN AND, UH, SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE THAT CAME ON AND TELL THEM HOW THEY CAN, UM, INTERACT WITH YOU AND GO AHEAD.
YEAH, NO, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY CHAIR WEBER.
AND I ALSO WANT TO THINK, UM, COMMISSIONER LANE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UM, PART OF WHY I ASKED TO, UM, TO RESCHEDULE THE RACIAL PROFILING CONVERSATION IS BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ELEVATE THE VOICES OF THOSE THAT WE DON'T OFTEN HEAR FROM THAT ARE MARGINALIZED.
AND OUR, OUR TRANS COMMUNITY IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN ADVERSELY AFFECTED ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, AND AS IT RELATES TO POLICING.
SO I FELT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE PROVIDE THAT SPACE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO SPEAK AND HEAR THEIR VOICES.
AND SO I, AS A MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM ON THE RE-IMAGING PUBLIC SAFETY, I AM, UM, OBVIOUSLY AVAILABLE AND OPEN AND WILLING TO SIT DOWN WITH, UM, THE SPEAKERS THAT WE HAD TODAY TO TALK ABOUT AND BRING THEIR PERSPECTIVES TO THE TABLE, I THINK IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, POLICING IMPACTS EVERYBODY, AND WE REALLY NEED TO HEAR FROM EVERYBODY'S PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO I'M HAPPY TO BE THAT BRIDGE, UM, TO, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THEIR VOICES ARE HEARD AT THE TABLE.
UM, I'LL SHARE MY CONTACT INFORMATION WITH COMMISSIONER LANE, UM, AND HOPEFULLY THAT CAN BE FORWARDED ON TO THE SPEAKERS, BUT FOR ME, I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE, WE, WE ALLOCATE THE TIME AND SPEND THE TIME, LISTEN TO THOSE VOICES.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING THAT CHAIR AND ALSO INVITING ME TO, TO, TO LISTEN AND PARTICIPATE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I HOPE THAT'LL HAPPEN COMMISSIONER LANE, BUT, UM, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT TOGETHER TO SPEAK TODAY WILL MEET WITH THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE.
BUT THE OTHER ISSUE THAT HAS KIND OF BEEN BROUGHT UP BY SOME OF THE SPEAKERS IS THAT THERE IS NO TRANS AUSTINITE ON THAT TASK FORCE.
AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING, UM, MS. MUSCADET, IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT WHETHER SOMEONE COULD STILL BE ADDED OR, UM, WHY WILL YOU JUST SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, SO I THINK IT'S JUST A CHALLENGE THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE WHEN WE'RE PUTTING TASKFORCE AND COMMISSIONS TOGETHER.
I KNOW I HAD THAT CHALLENGE WHEN I WAS PUTTING TOGETHER THE, UM, THE POLICE OVERSIGHT WORKING GROUP IS THAT YOU, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO TOUCH EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT YOU ALSO WANT TO KEEP, KEEP IT MANAGEABLE.
AND SO I THINK THE TASK FORCE RIGHT NOW HAS APPROXIMATELY MAYBE 20 TO 22 MEMBERS.
BUT I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE IS THAT THE TASK FORCE IS NOT THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY FOR VOICES THROUGHOUT AUSTIN AND THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY TO BE HEARD.
UM, IT IS VERY MUCH INTENTIONAL FOR US TO, TO GO OUT, UM, BROADLY TO GET THOSE PERSPECTIVES.
BUT I'M NOT SAYING THAT TO SAY, NO, IT'S NOT A POSSIBILITY.
WE, THE TASKFORCE HAS BYLAWS NOW.
AND SO THERE'S LIKE AN APPROVAL PROCESS TO ADD ADDITIONAL MEMBERS ON IT.
SO THAT, THAT IS STILL A POSSIBILITY.
UM, BUT I, I DON'T WANT THE COMMUNITY PER SE, TO THINK THAT THE TASKFORCE IS THE END, ALL OF THE, BE ALL FOR PROVIDING INPUT ABOUT RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY.
IF THAT IS NOT THE CASE, BECAUSE OF COURSE, 22 PEOPLE CAN'T REPRESENT A CITY OF 1.2 MILLION, YOU KNOW, ONE, 1 MILLION PEOPLE.
[01:25:01]
UM, SO I W I THINK WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT THAT'S WHY I ENCOURAGE THEM TO REACH OUT TO ME, UM, REACH OUT TO OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT ARE ON THE TASK FORCE, UM, BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE HEAR THIS PERSPECTIVE, 100% CHAIRMAN, UH, ASKING A QUESTION.SO I THINK, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS CONVERSATION.
I KNOW YOU AND I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO MEET YET, OR I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO BRING THE COMMUNITY FORWARD, BUT I WILL SAY THAT, UM, THIS TASK FORCE IS, LIKE WE SAID, THE MINIMUM, IT'S REALLY AN ISSUE THAT WE, THE FEW PEOPLE THAT WE DO HAVE THAT ARE TRANS AND CAN GIVE SOME PERSPECTIVE AND ARE KIND OF RUNNING THIN.
SO THE FEW TRANS LEADERS WE HAVE CITYWIDE ARE FEELING LIKE THEY'RE RUNNING THIN, THEY'VE TRIED MULTIPLE WAYS TO GET THIS INFORMATION FORWARD.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE SOME PRETTY DIRECT, LIKE QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESENTERS ON WHY ARE, OR WHERE YOU, WHERE YOU'RE AT RIGHT NOW ON OUR REQUEST TO HAVE THIS BODY, UM, TRY TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT.
AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE, UM, WE KEEP GETTING PUSHED BACK, UM, ON THIS CONCEPT OF PUTTING LEADERSHIP IN PLACE.
SO AS A LEADER, I'M NOT HERE LIKE TO, TO KIND OF PUSH THE AGENDA, BUT RATHER WHAT I KEEP HEARING PEOPLE SAY IS I COME UP, I TRY TO BE SUPPORTIVE.
I TRY TO PARTICIPATE, AND I'M STILL GETTING PUSHED BACK TO A SECONDARY POSITION.
UM, AND I'M WONDERING IF, IF THERE IS, IF THERE HAS, I, I'M SORRY TO, TO OPEN THIS UP.
UM, BUT I, I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING FROM THEM IS, OH, NO, WE KEEP GETTING PUSHED BACK ON THIS.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH US SAYING, WE NEED A TRANS PERSON, UM, LISTED SOMEWHERE.
SO IF IT'S NOT THIS COMMISSION OR THIS TASK FORCE, WHERE WOULD IT BE? BECAUSE WE DON'T EVEN HAVE LIKE ONE PERSON OR ONE, YOU KNOW, GROUP OR WORK GROUP OR ANYTHING.
SO WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING IS GETTING PULLED APART.
IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, UM, SOMEBODY OVER HERE IN THIS DEPARTMENT OVER HERE IN THIS DEPARTMENT WITH NO OVERSIGHT ON WHAT IS LIKE WHAT WE KNOW AS BEST PRACTICES FOR, UH, THE REGION, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN.
AND I THINK WHAT WE, THE REASON WHY WE CAME BACK IS BECAUSE THERE WAS SOME ATTEMPT TO DISCUSS THIS OUT OF COMMISSION.
AND I THINK THAT THAT GOT THAT, THAT SIMILAR THINGS WERE BROUGHT UP LIKE, OH, WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO DO THAT.
BUT THIS IS A LARGE COMMISSION.
AND I THINK W WE'RE SEEING INFORMATION ON OUR END THAT SHOWS THAT WE HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY WITHIN THIS SPECIFIC COMMUNITY.
AND THAT THE FASTEST WAY IS TO GET SOMEBODY IN A POSITION OF MAKING CHOICES.
SO IS THIS THE WRONG WAY, I GUESS, FOR US TO BE ASKING FOR THAT SEAT AT THE TABLE? UM, BECAUSE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT I'M STARTING TO GET SOME PEOPLE GOING, WELL, WHY IS THAT? WHY IS WHAT WE'RE ASKING NOT RIGHT.
AND I DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER.
I THINK WHAT YOU SAID WAS, WAS VERY USEFUL, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE KEEP RUNNING UP AGAINST.
SO CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME IDEAS, WHAT I SHOULD DO WHEN I'M FEELING KIND OF UP AGAINST A WALL OR US AS A COMMUNITY THAT WOULD REALLY BE HELPFUL? YEAH.
I MEAN, I THINK WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER, BECAUSE I, I GET IT.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S OFTENTIMES VERY DIFFICULT TO KIND OF CRACK THE CITY GOVERNMENT, UM, BUREAUCRACY AND, AND, AND GET ACCESS.
AND I THINK PERHAPS THE FIRST STEP, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, IS I'LL JUST OFFER MYSELF IS NOT ONLY, YOU KNOW, MY ROLE AS THE DIRECTOR OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, BUT I AM VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY.
I AM ON THE EXECUTIVE TEAM THAT HOW ABOUT WE START WITH MEETING WITH ME FIRST AND SEEING, YOU KNOW, I'LL WRITE DOWN THE CONCERNS AND SEEING IF I CAN ADDRESS THEM IN SOME WAY, IF I, IF I DON'T KNOW, THEN I'LL TAKE THEM AS A FOLLOW-UP AND THEN I CAN CERTAINLY BRING UP TO THE, UM, TASK FORCE THAT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, A MEMBER FROM THIS COMMUNITY WANTS TO BE ADDED TO IT.
AND SO AT LEAST THAT, THAT CAN OPEN UP THE DOOR TO THE CONVERSATION.
I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S BEEN BROACHED YET.
I I'VE BEEN TO ALL THE MEETINGS.
I DON'T REMEMBER IT BEING, UM, BROUGHT UP, BUT I'M HAPPY TO BRING IT UP.
AND I'M ALSO TO MEET WITH YOUR SPEAKERS AND WHOEVER ELSE YOU WANT TO BRING TO THE TABLE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION.
I'M VERY SINCERE ABOUT, UM, WANTING TO HEAR THIS PERSPECTIVE AND, AND, AND, AND PROVIDING SPACE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, POLICING IMPACTS EVERYBODY.
AND I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT ALL VOICES ARE HEARD.
UM, FOR, FOR THAT CHAIR, I THINK THAT, UH, ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT, UM, MADE THE ORIGINAL REQUEST AND, UM, HAS SOME FOR AS MATEO.
AND I WAS ASKING IF WE COULD HAVE ONE MINUTE OF, UM, SOME CLARIFYING OF WHAT THE BARRIER IS, BECAUSE I'M NOT NECESSARILY HITTING IT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THAT TIME.
IT CAN WE HAVE THAT TIME? YEAH, OF COURSE.
MS. FRANCO IS GRACIOUSLY WAITING TO GIVE US THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND LET'S TAKE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE LET'S TAKE FOUR OR FIVE MORE MINUTES.
UM, I JUST, YOU CAN'T HEAR ME? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? YOU CAN HEAR ME ROCKY.
[01:30:04]
OH MY GOD, JUST A SECOND.UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT IF THERE IS SUPPORT FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, I WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, GO AHEAD AND, AND, AND TAKE AN ACTION TODAY TO ENCOURAGE THAT A PER A TRANS AUSTINITE BE INCLUDED IN THE TASK FORCE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, I TOTALLY SUPPORT WHAT THE TASK FORCE IS DOING AND WHAT FARRAH SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S 20 PEOPLE REPRESENTING THE ENTIRE CITY, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT THERE HAS TO BE A PLACE WHERE THE MOST VULNERABLE AND LIKE, GIVEN THAT THIS COMMUNITY HAS SO MANY, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE OF COLOR THEY'RE QUEER, THEY'RE POSSIBLY UNHOUSED OR SEX WORKERS.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EXTREME VULNERABILITY OF THIS GROUP WHEN IT COMES TO THE POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, YOU KNOW, DOES WARRANT THAT.
AND SO I WOULD, I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION, UM, YOU KNOW, COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE'S A PROCESS THAT THE CITY AND THE SPIRIT HAS ALREADY FROM US TO START IT OFF.
BUT I WOULD MOTION THAT WE RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE MANAGER TO ADD A TRANS AUSTENITE TO THAT TASK FORCE.
AND SO, UM, I PUT A MOTION ON THE TABLE AND WE CAN EITHER HAVE DISCUSSION, OR IF THERE'S A SECOND, WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION ON IT.
AND THEN WE CAN HEAR AGAIN FROM MATEO.
MY SECOND, I SAID, THANKS, REBECCA, FOR THE SECOND.
IS THERE DISCUSSION? AND, UH, MATEO, IF YOU'RE ON JUST BACK IN AND WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU A POINT OF ORDER FOR MYSELF, I'M SUPPOSED TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS, BUT THAT I BELIEVE IS THAT, NO, I DON'T SEE ANY REASON WHY YOU SHOULD RECUSE YOURSELF FROM THIS.
YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU BRING EXPERIENCE TO THE TABLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU BRING ANY KIND OF BAD BIAS, RIGHT? LIKE WE WANT BIAS.
WE WANT PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE ON THIS COMMISSION, RIGHT.
UM, I, I, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS.
I JUST WONDER IF STRATEGICALLY WE'RE BETTER OFF WITH SUPPORTING FERRIS EFFORT.
I, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHO'S ON THE COMMISSION.
WHAT IS THE MOST, UH, STRATEGICALLY, UH, SENSIBLE WAY TO GO.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT KIND OF LISTENED TO US OR LISTENED TO US THROUGH, THROUGH WITH HER AND HER RECOMMENDATION.
NO, I, I, YOUR POINT IS, WELL-TAKEN DR.
I DO BELIEVE THAT SARAH HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY HERE AND SHE KNOWS HOW TO GET THINGS DONE.
I MOSTLY WANT US TO PASS THIS RECOMMENDATION, JUST, YOU KNOW, AS A, JUST A SIGNAL OF SUPPORT TO THIS COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S THE REASON I'M PUTTING IT FORWARD AND NOT IN ANY WAY TO LIKE TRY AND UNDERCUT HARRIS PROCESS MENTIONED, THIS IS, THIS IS MY BELIEF AND Y'ALL HEAR ME.
UM, AND I'LL BE VERY BRIEF, UH, COMMISSIONER LIBRARY.
UH, ONE OF THE MANY REASONS WHY WE, WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO HAVE REPRESENTATION A QUICK INTRODUCTION.
I'M ON THE ADVISORY BOARD FOR TIMES THE, UH, TRANS EDUCATION NETWORK OF TEXAS.
UM, AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE PANELISTS TODAY ON, UM, PREPARING THEIR TESTIMONY, UM, AND THE EXPECTATIONS THAT THEY HAVE OUT OF THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY WE BELIEVE IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SUMMER PRESENTATION THERE IS BECAUSE TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THROUGHOUT MULTIPLE, UH, ITERATIONS OF RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY, WHATEVER YOU MIGHT WANT TO CALL IT IN AUSTIN SPECIFICALLY, UM, OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN USED AS AN EXTRACTION AS OPPOSED TO AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN A PARTNER IN THE WORK.
UM, AND, AND ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT WE RECEIVED, UH, THROUGH THIS INITIATIVE WAS TO HOLD A LISTENING SESSION WITH THE TRANS COMMUNITY.
AND ONE OF OUR MAJOR CONCERNS IS THAT, UH, THE MATERIALS THAT WERE PRESENTED WERE NOT NECESSARILY CULTURALLY COMPETENT WHEN IT CAME TO THE DIVERSE AND INTERSECTIONAL EXPERIENCES OF TRANS AND GENDER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE, UM, THAT BEING AN ISSUE LIKE 90, THAT IS A PRETTY STRICT PROCESS IS WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE THE SURVEY THAT WAS BEING USED TO MEASURE THE, UH, THE, THE, THE INPUT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS GATHERED.
UM, IT JUST DIDN'T SEEM LIKE IT WOULD SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
[01:35:01]
AN ASK THAT THE LEADERS IN THIS COMMUNITY FELT COMFORTABLE MAKING A PHONE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE INVOLVEMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AS A POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS.SO ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT, AND, AND LIKE NAOMI MENTIONED AT A MINIMUM, WE EXPECT THERE TO BE ACTIVE OR PRESENTATION.
AND LIKE COMMISSIONER WEBER WAS MENTIONING, THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF INTERSECTIONS, AND WE, IN WHICH A TRANSPLANTER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE END UP ENGAGING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT IN OUR DAILY LIVES, UM, AND, AND, AND BEING FAILED, UH, BY LAW ENFORCEMENT REALISTICALLY, WHEN WE CALL FOR, FOR, UH, UH, REQUEST FOR SERVICE.
UM, SO THAT BEING KIND OF THE POSITION THAT WE'RE IN AS A COMMUNITY IS A REASON WHY WE EXPECT THAT A MINIMUM TO HAVE AN ACTIVE VOICE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE MAIN RECOMMENDING BODY, UH, BASED ON THE STRUCTURE THAT WE SAW OF THE INITIATIVE.
YOU HAVE THE TASK FORCE, YOU HAVE ADVISORY GROUPS, AND THEN YOU HAVE LISTENING SESSIONS.
UM, BEING A PART OF THE LISTENING SESSION JUST DOESN'T SEEM SUFFICIENT FOR THE LEVEL OF HARM THAT OUR COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES AT THE HANDS OF LINE ENFORCEMENT AND IN THE NAME OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, SO THE REQUEST IS TO BE AT THE HIGHEST BODY.
UH, WE APPRECIATE, AND WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE YOU UP, UM, ON, ON, UH, HAVING A DIRECT LINE OF COMMUNICATION WITH YOU.
UM, MS. FARRAH, UM, UH, IN, UM, WE WILL DEFINITELY TAKE YOU UP ON THAT.
I JUST WANTED TO, TO, TO BRING IN THE REASONING BEHIND WHY THERE'S A HISTORY OF TRAUMA WHEN IT COMES TO THIS TYPE OF PROCESS WITH A COMMUNITY THAT IS AT THE RECEIVING END OF HARM WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY ECHO AS WELL.
THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT THAT TASK FORCE, BUT ABOUT THE WHOLE CITY.
SO WE HAVE TRANS PEOPLE IN EACH OF THESE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE TELLING ME THEY ARE HAVING SIMILAR BARRIERS AS WE SEE AS COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE.
SO IF WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY WITHIN POLICE, FIRE, AND EMS, THEY ARE ALSO TELLING ME THAT THEY ARE HAVING STRUGGLES.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M KIND OF COMING AT THIS FROM A LOT OF, LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, NOT JUST THAT TASKFORCE, THAT'S WHY WE PUT IT AT THE MINIMUM, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO WORK ON THIS FURTHER.
UM, THERE'S A MOTION ON THE TABLE.
DOES ANYONE ELSE WANT TO ADD ANYTHING? NO.
KELLY, DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? THAT'S OKAY.
UM, SO ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, WHICH IS THAT WE RECOMMEND THAT THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO ADD A TRANS AUSTENITE TO THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE.
UM, I HAVE TO TAKE A ROLL VOTE Y'ALL AND I ACTUALLY FAILED TO TAKE ROLL AT THE BEGINNING.
SO I'M GOING TO START BY MYSELF AND SAY, AYE.
UM, COMMISSIONER LANG COMMISSIONER KELLY.
WAS THAT A NINE MR. HOUSING FLATS? MISSIONER BERNHARDT.
SO THAT'S UNANIMOUS AND THAT'S ALSO OUR ROLE WAS EVERYONE THAT WAS ON THE MEETING TODAY.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FARAH FOR MAKING THE TIME AND TO, UM, DEVIN MATEO, NAOMI RANEY, MS. AMAZING HEAD AND, UH, CC.
[4. Legislative Update]
SO OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM IS TO HEAR ABOUT THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION THERE.Y'ALL, UH, LEGISLATION DURING THE TIME OF COVID.
AND SO WE HAVE MS. BRIEF BRONCO.
SHE'S SHE'S ALREADY QUEUED UP.
AND JUST REAL QUICK, BEFORE WE MOVE AHEAD, JUST REAL QUICK, BEFORE YOU MOVE AHEAD, CAN MS. JACKSON COUNT ME AS AN I AS WELL? I DID NOT CALL YOU.
THAT WAS YOUR WELCOME APOLOGIES.
AND THEN ONE OTHER COMMENT CHAIR, DO YOU WANT US TO JUST EMAIL THE VIDEO TO ALL THE BOYS? YEAH, BECAUSE WE WANT TO HEAR FROM, FROM, UH, MS. BRONCO ABOUT WHAT HE HAS PLANNED TO PROTECT DARK CITY FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE READY FOR YOU, BREE.
UH, THEY, ONE, I WILL GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY.
I KNOW IN THE LAST ITEM, AND I'M STOPPING YOU FROM DINNER AND THIRD, YOUR FAMILIES, SO BRIEF RUMBLE WITH THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE, AVD, YOU HAVE MY PRESENTATION OR DO I NEED TO PULL IT UP? I DO HAVE IT JUST A SECOND.
HEY, THANKS SESSION IS ALREADY UPON US EARLY.
UH, BILL FILING HAS ACTUALLY ALREADY STARTED.
THEY CONVENE IN JANUARY, UM, BUT WE ALREADY ARE STARTING TO SEE, THIS IS A PREVIEW OF WHAT WE ANTICIPATE FOR THE COMING SESSION.
THIS CHART, I SHOW TO SHOW A TEN-YEAR OVERVIEW OF BILL FALLING OF THE CAPITOL.
[01:40:01]
SESSION OF 2019 TO 10 YEARS AGO, 1999.AND WHAT IT SHOWS IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE COLUMNS, WE'VE SEEN A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE TOTAL BILLS INTRODUCED ABOUT 1500 FROM 5,819 99 TO 7,320 19.
AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT BILLS PASSED, THE NUMBER'S ACTUALLY GONE DOWN ABOUT 1600, 10 YEARS AGO TO 1400, BUT THEN LOOK AT CITY RELATED BILLS INTRODUCED.
AND THAT NUMBER HAS JUMPED SUBSTANTIALLY FROM 1200 IN 1999 TO 2300, UH, JUST LAST SESSION.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT TOTAL BILLS ABOUT 1500 INCREASE ABOUT, YOU CAN SAY 1100 OF THAT INCREASE IS CITY RELATED BILLS, AND I'LL BE FRANK.
THE CITY RELATED BILLS TEND TO BE, UH, RESTRICTIVE.
THEY RESTRICT OUR AUTHORITY, THEY PREEMPT OUR AUTHORITY.
THEY ARE NEGATIVE BILLS THAT IMPACT WHAT THE INITIATIVES THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN SPECIFICALLY EVEN IS TRYING TO WORK ON.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST COLUMN AT CITY RELATED PAST BILLS, YOU'LL SEE THAT BULLET SHOWS IT OVER 10 YEARS, THERE'S BEEN 182% INCREASE IN CITY RELATED BILLS PASSING.
AND THIS IS EVEN WITH THE NUMBER OF BILLS PASSED DECLINING.
OVERALL, IT'S ALWAYS HARDER TO PASS A BILL THAN TO KILL A BILL.
AND YET YOU'RE SEEING INCREASE IN CITY RELATED BILLS PASSING.
AND LIKE I SAID, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE NEGATIVE TO CITIES.
UM, JUST OVERALL, EVEN, UH, LAST SESSION, THIS GIVES US A SYNOPSIS FOR YOU OF HOW HE BUILDS.
I HAVE TO ANALYZE, WE DO GO THROUGH ALL THOSE BILLS, READ THEM, ANALYZE TO DETERMINE IF THEY AFFECT CITIES.
WE, WE IDENTIFIED ABOUT 2,500 BILLS LAST SESSION THAT AFFECTS CITIES.
AND THEN THERE ARE ABOUT 1300 THAT WE DETERMINED, REQUIRED ANALYSIS AND ACTION BY DEPARTMENTS AND THEN LEGISLATIVE ACTION BY OUR OFFICE.
UM, WE ARE JUST STARTING OFF WITH GO FILING RIGHT NOW.
THE MAJORITY OF THE BILLS WILL GET DROPPED IN THE LAST 10 BUSINESS DAYS OF BILL FILING, WHICH IS UP UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF MARCH LAST SESSION.
THAT'S WHEN THEY DROPPED 4,000 BILLS WHEN THOSE LAST 10 DAYS.
SO, AND THAT'S RIGHT IN THE HEAT OF EVERYTHING.
SO IT'S A PRETTY CHAOTIC PROCESS.
UM, GOING INTO SESSION, I, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, I, I PUT THIS SLIDE ON MY AGENDA JUST TO SAY GUYS, HERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN NO MATTER WHAT, UH, REGARDLESS OF ELECTION OUTCOMES.
AND THAT'S WHAT GOVERNOR ABBOTT AND DAN PATRICK WERE NOT ON THE BALLOT.
AND THEY WERE STILL GOING TO BE OUR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TO THE THREE EXECUTIVE POSITIONS.
AND THEY HAVE BEEN, HAD A CONSISTENT PHILOSOPHY AGAINST CITIES.
THESE QUOTES ARE BOTH FROM 2017.
AND SO ABBOTT'S QUOTE SAYS THAT HE THINKS THE STATE PREEMPTING LOCAL REGULATIONS, THIS IS A PERIOD APPROACH.
HE HAS BEEN CONSISTENT IN THIS PHILOSOPHY.
IF YOU LOOK AT EVEN HOW HE'S HANDLED SPECIAL SESSIONS, HE HAS SAID THERE WAS NO SPECIAL SESSION.
THERE WAS NO SPECIAL SESSION WHEN WE HAD THE SCHOOL SHOOTING AND OUTSIDE OF HOUSTON AND THE CHURCH SHOOTINGS OUT OF SOUTH OF HERE.
AND EVEN DURING THIS PANDEMIC, THERE HAS BEEN NO SPECIAL SESSION TO ADDRESS THE HEALTH AND ECONOMIC NEEDS RELATED TO THE PANDEMIC.
THE ONE SPECIAL SESSION HE HAS CALLED WAS IN 2017 AND HE OUT OF THE 20 ITEMS, HE PUT ON THAT CALL, 10 OF THEM RELATED TO CITIES, INCLUDING TREE ORDINANCES, DEVELOPMENT, PERMITS, AND ZONING.
SO THAT'S WHERE HIS FOCUS HAS BEEN.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S QUOTE, IT SAYS THAT CITIES CONTROLLED BY DEMOCRATS ARE THE PROBLEM, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE STREET CRIME.
SO THIS WHOLE CRIME IN DEMOCRAT CITIES, UM, LANGUAGE STARTED BACK IN 2017.
UM, THE ELECTION RESULTS HAVEN'T CHANGED MUCH.
IN FACT, IN THE HOUSE, IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME MAKEUP AS IT WAS LAST SESSION.
THERE HAS BEEN ONE CHANGE IN THE SENATE, AND THAT WAS A SEAT FORMERLY HELD BY A REPUBLICAN, GOING FROM SAN ANTONIO ALL THE WAY OUT TO THE PASO IS NOW, UM, A DEMOCRAT.
THIS WILL CHANGE A RULE IN THE SENATE CALLED THE THREE FIST RULE, WHICH USED TO BE CALLED THE TWO THIRDS RULE.
AND THAT'S THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS YOU NEED ON THE SENATE FLOOR TO BRING UP A BILL FOR READING.
UM, WE'LL SEE IF DAN PATRICK CHANGES THAT RULES SO THAT THE REPUBLICANS DON'T NEED ANY DEMOCRATS VOTES TO BRING UP THOSE BILLS, OR IF HE'LL MAKE OTHER PROCEDURAL CHANGES.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY DELEGATION AND OUR SURROUNDING AREAS, THERE WERE NO CHANGES TO OUR DELEGATION.
AND, UH, ESPECIALLY IN OUR HOUSE RACES, WHICH WERE CONTESTED, ALL OF THOSE MEMBERS WILL BE BACK.
SO GOING INTO TO THIS SESSION, THERE WILL BE A NEW SPEAKER BEING ELECTED BECAUSE DENNIS BONNEN, UH, DECIDED NOT TO RUN FOR REELECTION.
I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHY IN A MINUTE.
UM, RIGHT NOW DADE FEELING OUT OF BEAUMONT SAYS HE HAS THE BOATS TO BECOME SPEAKER THAT WILL OFFICIALLY BE DECIDED AS THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS.
WHEN THE HOUSE BE THAT'S THE VERY FIRST VOTE THEY WILL TAKE.
UM, AND THAT'S WHEN IT WOULD BE FORMALIZED.
[01:45:01]
THEY WILL HAVE TO DO REDISTRICTING BECAUSE WE'RE IN A POST CENSUS ELECTION.UH, THERE WAS TALKS ABOUT WHETHER THEY WOULD GET THOSE CENSUS RESULTS IN TIME DURING THE SESSION.
AND WHETHER THAT WOULD RESULT IN A SPECIAL SESSION, THEY WILL HAVE THE CENSUS RESULTS, WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY TAKE, GET A BILL TO BE VOTED ON IS ANOTHER MATTER.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE'LL HAVE SPECIAL SESSIONS DUE TO CENSUS OR OTHER MATTERS, STILL REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
THEY HAVE A BIG HOLE TO FILL WITH THEIR OWN BUDGET, JUST LIKE STATES AND CITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
DO IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE IMPACTED BY THE SCHOOL FINANCE BUDGET.
THEY PASSED A SCHOOL FINANCE BILL LAST SESSION THAT INCREASED FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS.
AND THEY'LL HAVE TO ADD EVEN MORE MONEY IN THIS SESSION FOR THE SCHOOLS.
AND THEN THEY HAVE A BUDGET HOLE ON TOP OF THAT, UM, DUE TO DECLINING SALES TAX AND ESPECIALLY OIL AND GAS TAX REVENUES.
BUT THE THING WE KNOW THE LEAST ABOUT FOR THIS SESSION IS HOW THE SESSION IS GOING TO OPERATE IN THE AGE OF COVID RIGHT NOW, THE CAPITAL'S CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, THERE ARE HOLDING SOME HEARINGS AND AGAIN, THE P THE CAPITOL IS NOT OPEN, SO THERE'S NO PUBLIC ACCESS TO THESE HEARINGS.
UM, SO HOW TRANSPARENT THE PROCESS WILL BE IS UNCLEAR RIGHT NOW AND HOW IT'LL ALLOW THE PUBLIC AND OTHER OUTSIDE ENTITIES TO ENGAGE IN THE PROCESS IS UNCLEAR.
WE DON'T KNOW IF MEMBERS WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO VISIT THEIR OFFICES.
WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY WILL ALLOW FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY.
THEY SAY THEIR RULES DON'T ALLOW THEM TO HAVE HEARINGS THE WAY THAT YOU ALL ARE MEETING RIGHT NOW.
WE DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'LL WANT TO HAVE HEARINGS LIKE THIS.
UM, SO IT IS REALLY UNCLEAR HOW TRANSPARENT AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
THIS SLIDE IS I PUT TOGETHER FOR COUNCIL EVERY SESSION TO SAY, THESE ARE THE ISSUES WE SEE COMING AT US FROM THE LEGISLATURE.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE IN THAT TOP ROW, THAT'S JUST THE PREEMPTION ROW, WHETHER IT'S SUPER PREEMPTION POLICE REFORM PREEMPTION WAS, WHICH HAS RECEIVED A LOT OF ATTENTION IN THE MEDIA.
UM, I, WE'RE GOING TO, WE DO HAVE A ONE POLICE REFORM.
BILL BOUGHT PREEMPTION, BILL FILED ALREADY BY REPRESENTATIVE PROWL.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT, UH, BLOCK IS IN YELLOW.
IT BASICALLY SAYS YOU HAVE TO SPEND THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU DID LAST YEAR AND YOUR POLICE FIRE AND EMS BUDGETS EVEN ON DEBT.
SO IF WE, IF OUR DEBT PAYMENTS GO DOWN, APPARENTLY WE HAVE TO ISSUE MORE DEBT TO MAKE, TO SPEND THE SAME AMOUNT AS LAST YEAR.
UM, THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT THE BILL SAYS.
SO I'M JUST SHARING THAT WITH YOU ALL.
AND THEN SUPER PREEMPTION IS A CONCEPT THAT KEEPS COMING OUT OF THE SENATE THAT SAYS IF THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE SPECIFIC AUTHORITY AND IN THE STATUTE TO IN STATE STATUTE TO LEGISLATE IN AN AREA, THEN WE CAN'T, IT BASICALLY TURNED CITY ORDINANCE MAKING AUTHORITY INTO COUNTIES AUTHORITY, AND THAT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL AND RYAN AROUND HOME RULE MUNICIPALITIES.
SO THAT'S, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT.
AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT COVID PREEMPTION.
THERE ARE THOSE OUT THERE THAT BELIEVE COUNTY JUDGES AND MAYORS EXECUTED TOO MUCH AUTHORITY DURING THE PANDEMIC AND EVEN THE GOVERNOR.
AND THEY WANT TO LIMIT THAT AUTHORITY.
THE NEXT ROW OF ISSUES, YOU ALL WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH, UM, EMPLOYEES RIGHTS AND BENEFITS REFERS TO ISSUES SUCH AS THE CITY'S PAID SICK LEAVE ORDINANCE.
UM, OUR NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE, AND THAT OFTEN COMES UP IN RELATION TO ISSUES RELATED TO, TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY.
SO TWO SESSIONS AGO, WE ALL REMEMBER THE BATHROOM BILL THAT PATRICK HAD, THAT CAME UP AGAIN WITH THE PAID SICK LEAVE ORDINANCE, WHERE HE ALSO WANTED HER TO ATTACK CITY'S INDIO ORDINANCES THROUGH THE PAID SICK LEAVE LEGISLATE, UH, PREEMPTORY LEGISLATION.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW HE HAS A SPECIAL INTEREST FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM IN THIS AREA, AND ALWAYS SEEKS TO, UH, FILE LEGISLATION WITH IT.
UM, WE ALSO ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO PRESERVE THE CITY'S ZONING AND AUTHORITY, UH, AUTHORITY.
THERE'S ALWAYS ATTEMPTS TO PREEMPT OUR SHORT-TERM RENTAL ORDINANCES LED BY THAT INDUSTRY OF AIRBNB AND HOMEAWAY, THE COMMUNITY ADVOCACY BAND.
THAT IS A BILL THAT SAYS THAT POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS CAN NO LONGER HIRE LOBBYISTS.
AND SO POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS INCLUDE CITIES, COUNTIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, COMMUNITY COLLEGES, TRANSIT AUTHORITIES, BASICALLY ANY ENTITY THAT IS A RAIL AS A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY, COULD NO LONGER HIRE LOBBYISTS THE SAME WAY THAT CORPORATE ENTITIES CAN.
UM, AND SO THAT BILL HAS BEEN FILED AGAIN TODAY BY REPRESENTATIVE MAYS MIDDLETON.
IT'S AN EFFORT FUNDED BY THE TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION.
THEY ALSO BELIEVE THAT, UM, THERE SHOULDN'T BE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, UH, STAFF LIKE ME THAT WASN'T IN THE BILL FILED, BUT I'M SURE WE'LL SEE LANGUAGE LIKE THAT TO COME.
UM, AND BASICALLY THEY THINK THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY AS INTERESTS AT THE CAPITOL, AND THAT'LL BE ON ALL THE ISSUES
[01:50:01]
THAT WE WORK ON IN THE CITY.SO TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, I HAD A CALL WITH SOME HOUSING ADVOCATES AND REALIZED, WELL, WHO'S GOING TO TALK TO THE CAPITOL.
IF THIS LAW GOES INTO EFFECT WHO TALKS TO THE CAPITOL ABOUT PUBLIC HOUSING, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LET US DO IT ANYMORE FOR IF THIS BILL PASSES, UM, NEXT THE BOTTOM ROW, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER, THERE ARE ALWAYS ATTEMPTS TO DO REGULATE THESE ENTITIES.
UM, THERE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THEY'RE MUNICIPALLY OWNED BY THE RATE PAYERS AND TAX PAYERS AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THERE IS A BILL RIGHT NOW THAT WOULD DEREGULATE ALL MUNICIPALLY-OWNED UTILITIES, INCLUDING AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO WE WOULD LOSE THAT AS A RESOURCE.
UM, REMNICK CAPS PART TWO HAS TO DO WITH THE LEGISLATION PASSED LAST SESSION RELATED TO OUR ABILITY TO RAISE PROPERTY TAXES AND ANNEXATION PART TWO HAS TO DEAL WITH OUR ABILITY TO REGULATE IN THE AREA, OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS WITHIN THE EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION LIKE WE DO RIGHT NOW.
THE REASON WHY THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS BECAUSE THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR CITY BOSTON DUE TO WATER QUALITY REGULATIONS.
AS WE ALL KNOW, WATER DOES DOESN'T CARE ABOUT CITY LINES AND COUNTY LINES AND SO FORTH.
AND ALSO WE DO, UH, REGULATE AS, UH, IN REGARDS TO FIRE STANDARDS.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REGULARLY ENGAGE WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT ON NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THE AGENDA FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN ADOPTED, BUT IT CAN BE AMENDED AT ANY TIME.
SO HOW HAS THE AGENDA DEVELOPED? I, WE TAKE FIRST, ALL THE COUNCIL, RESOLUTIONS AND THEMES ARE THE INTERIM.
WE GET DEPARTMENT REVIEW AND INPUT.
WE SEEK INPUT FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS LIKE YOURSELF AND ALSO OUR DELEGATION.
AND THEN TO KEEP IT IN MIND FOR THE PRIORITIES THAT I JUST LAID OUT FOR YOU ALL NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE AGENDA, AS WE ARE DISCUSSING HERE COVERS A NUMBER OF ISSUES.
THIS ISN'T EVEN ALL OF THEM, BUT AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THEY COVER ISSUES THAT YOUR COMMISSION IS INVOLVED IN.
AND ALONG WITH MANY OTHERS, THE, I PRESENTED TO 20 SOMETHING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SO FAR FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE.
THE AGENDA LANGUAGE HAS BROAD LANGUAGE MEANT TO BE BROAD ENOUGH TO CAPTURE ALL THOSE BILLS THAT ARE FILED.
AND SO IT STARTS WITH BASIC PRINCIPLES LIKE OUR RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERN AND PASS ORDINANCES TO PROTECT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY AND WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY NEXT SIDE.
BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES MORE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE LIKE THIS LANGUAGE.
I THINK THIS, THIS MAY BE ALL OF IT.
IT MAY NOT BE ALL OF IT, BUT WHAT I PROVIDED THIS FOR YOU ALL FOR IS SO THAT YOU ALL CAN LOOK AT THIS LANGUAGE.
IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS AND WANT TO SEE, WANT TO RECOMMEND ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA, I WOULD WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY, WORK WITH YOU ON THAT, ON A RESOLUTION THAT COULD GO TO COUNCIL THAT COULD AMEND IT.
LIKE I SAID, THAT THE AGENDA HAS BEEN ADOPTED, BUT IT CAN BE AMENDED AT ANY TIME.
SO JUST BECAUSE IT'S BEEN ADOPTED DOES NOT MEAN YOU ALL STILL CAN'T PROVIDE INPUT.
AND SO I LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU ON THOSE THINGS WENT FORWARD.
FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE ON THE COMMISSION LAST SESSION, I THINK YOU ALL RECEIVED THE UPDATES.
I PROVIDED THAT I PROVIDE AMERICAN COUNCIL.
YOU SHOULD BE RECEIVING THEM NOW, IF YOU'RE NOT LET US KNOW.
UM, AND THEN I MAY EVEN COME TO YOU ASKING FOR A RESOLUTION, SUPPORTING THE AGENDA AND THE USE OF LOBBYISTS TO FIGHT OFF BILLS LIKE THE COMMUNITY ADVOCACY ONE, UM, AND WOULD JUST LIKE TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU ALL NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND IF YOU COULD JUST THANK YOU AND THAT LINK AT THE BOTTOM THERE IS TO THE AGENDA.
SO YOU CAN GO THROUGH IT IN ITS ENTIRETY.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
UM, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A QUESTION.
I JUST HAVE A STATEMENT THAT I THINK I WANT TO MOVE TO VERMONT.
I'M PACKING, UNPACKING ITALY GUYS.
SO IF WE COULD MAYBE THINK EVEN BIT LARGER THAN THAT, I LOVE SCOTLAND.
HOW BIG OF A THREAT DO YOU FEEL THE KRAUSS POLICE BILL IS THE ONE THAT WOULD, UH, RESTRICT, I DON'T KNOW YET.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT THE GOVERNOR IS STILL OUT THERE MAKING COMMENTS ON DIFFERENT PROPOSALS.
RIGHT? HE'S HAD A SERIES OF PROPOSALS, ONE RELATED TO ALLOWING AREAS OF A CITY TO DNX.
I THINK THAT'S A VERY REAL PROPOSAL.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY JUST COMMUNITIES WHO WANT TO GET OUT OF PAYING TAXES TO BE FRAMED.
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE POLICE, UH, SITUATION.
THEY JUST, YOU KNOW, THINK I DON'T NEED THIS.
I DON'T USE THESE SERVICES, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO GET OUT OF IT.
AND THEN HE'S BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT A DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, RIGHT.
SO NOW CITY TAXPAYERS PAY FOR THE STATE TO, YOU KNOW, IT'S A WEIRD KIND OF REVERSE AND TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
SO I DON'T, THOSE BILLS HAVEN'T BEEN FILED YET.
[01:55:01]
BELIEVE I'M WHERE THE, WHERE, WHICH ONES THE MOVERS.UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES PRIORITIES, AND I THINK HE'LL HAVE STUFF IN THERE TOO.
SO, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T WATCH A BILL, LIKE THE CROWD SPILL.
OH, I STILL HAVE TO KEEP IT ON THE RADAR OF, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THOSE MOMENTS IN SESSION.
YOU THINK SOMETHING'S DEAD AND ALL OF A SUDDEN IT JUST MOVES AND YOU'RE LIKE, WOW, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? AND, YEAH.
CAUSE THE, I MEAN, HAS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR INDICATED IN ANY WAY THAT HE AGREES WITH THE GOVERNOR THAT WE SHOULD MESS WITH THEM, HE'S MET WITH THE, ALL THE POLICE UNIONS AND TOLD THEM HE HAS THEIR BACK.
SO HE'S TAKING CARE OF THEM FOR THE SESSION.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY YET.
SO WE'LL HAVE THE, THAT'LL BE THE, IN THE DETAILS, RIGHT? YEAH.
THANKS IN THE INTEREST OF TIME.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS OVERVIEW, BUT, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UH, TALK TO YOU FURTHER.
I GOT AN EMAIL SAYING THAT I NEED TO MAKE A CONNECTION FOR YOU, WHICH I'M DOING.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU FURTHER ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON OUR, OUR, ON OUR END.
UM, SEEING THAT EMAIL SO QUICKLY, I THINK THAT IT'D BE VERY HELPFUL TO CONNECT WITH, UH, DEVIN AND OTHERS.
PLEASE SIT IN ON THAT PART OF YOUR CONVERSATION.
UM, I ACTUALLY HAD A QUESTION ON THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, THUS, SINCE THAT REPORT THAT THEY DID.
UM, AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S OPENING A CAN OF WORMS IN, IN WHAT COULD BE A GOOD WAY, BUT IN THE HANDS OF THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION COULD BE A SCARY THING JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, HOW WE REIMAGINE THE LICENSING AND SORT OF CERTIFICATION PROCESSES.
AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHTS, UM, ANY DIRECTION FOR US.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT, UH, FOR EVERYBODY'S AWARENESS, UH, THERE IS, HOLD ON, MY DOG IS JUST WHINING TOO MUCH.
UM, THE SUNSET COMMISSION IS AN AGENCY AT THE CAPITOL THAT REVIEWS ALL THE PUBLIC AGENCIES AND SAYS, SHOULD THEIR MISSION CONTINUE? SO WHEN LOOKING AT THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, THEY HAVE PUT OUT A VERY, UM, CRITICAL REPORT THAT BASICALLY SAYS THIS COMMISSION DOESN'T SERVE ITS PURPOSE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T PROP IT.
AND THERE WAS A GREAT EDITORIAL IN THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE TODAY.
AND SO ALL OF THIS WILL BE IN MY END OF THE WEEK UPDATE AS WELL THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, COSMETOLOGISTS HAVE MORE REGULATIONS AND POLICE OFFICERS DO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS DO.
AND HOW COULD THAT POSSIBLY BE? AND THAT THERE ISN'T A REALLY GOOD SYSTEM OF HOW THEY DEAL WITH THAT OFFICERS AND, AND THAT THERE'S VERY FEW TOOLS THEY HAVE.
AND I THINK IT DOES TALK ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO HIT AT, WHICH IS SO THE STATE'S GONNA COME IN AND TAKE THIS OVER AND WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN PLACE RIGHT NOW THAT SHOWS THEIR ABILITY TO DO SO THIS SHOWS THEIR ABILITY TO HANDLE THESE THINGS.
SO IN TURN, INCLUDING INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS.
SO I DO THINK THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO BE LOOKING AT AND TALKING ABOUT AND FOR COMMUNITIES TO BE TALKING ABOUT.
AND SO IN ASKING WHAT YOU ALL CAN DO, I WILL DEFINITELY BE LETTING YOU ALL KNOW WHEN WE DO NEED THE COMMUNITY TO COME FORWARD AND SPEAK OUT ON THESE ISSUES AND PARTICULARLY IN THIS AREA, UH, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOUR VOICES ARE HEARD AT THE CAPITOL AS MUCH AS THEY WERE HERE, HEARD HERE LOCALLY, AND THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY WAS RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY AND THAT THIS HAS BEEN, UM, THIS HAS BEEN THE EFFORT TOGETHER AND THEN ALSO REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN.
SO WE'VE GOT GREAT AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY ACTIVE COMMUNITY, BUT WE NEED TO ALSO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH GROUPS.
WE KNOW OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN WHO AREN'T FOLLOWING IT AS CLOSELY OR KNOW ABOUT IT AS WELL.
SO THEY COULD BE ENGAGING THEIR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES AS WELL.
CAUSE THERE OUR DELEGATION AS GREAT AS THEY ARE, THEY'RE SMALL, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE ABOUT A 10 HOUSE UNDER 10 HOUSE MEMBERS AND WE HAVE THE TWO SENATORS.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT IF WE COULD HELP, UH, GALVANIZE THAT FURTHER OUTSIDE OF BOSTON.
WELL, YOU HAVE YOUR WORK CUT OUT FOR YOU AS ALWAYS THANK YOU FOR THE TIME AND IN EVEN JUST A SUPPORT LIKE THAT.
SO I ALWAYS JOKE WHEN I PRESENT TO THE SENIOR COMMISSION, THEY ALWAYS JUST SAY TO ME, OH GOD, BLESS YOUR HEART.
SO PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO ME DURING SESSION, EVEN IF AN EMAIL OF A QUESTION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, I ALWAYS DO APPRECIATE THE OFFER TO ASSIST AND HELP AND JUST EVEN QUESTIONS YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE.
Y'ALL UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT BEFORE WE CLOSE THIS MEETING? INCLUDING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OKAY.
YOU CAN EMAIL THOSE TO THE CHAIR AND TO MISS JANET.
[02:00:01]
UM, AND IT WAS A GREAT MEETING.ROLL CALL FOR JOURNEY AND PLEASE.
UM, I'LL MOVE OR SOMEONE PLEASE MOVE TO ADJOURN.
I SECOND, AT LEAST YOU'VE MENTIONED A BURNER.
SO A MOTION TO MOVE ANY THIS, UH, THIS, THIS MEETING.
I'LL TAKE THE ROLE AND I'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ.
UH, COMMISSIONER NUNEZ, FNI COMMISSIONER, HOUSE AND FOOT.
Y'ALL FOR A REALLY GREAT MEETING TODAY.
OH, I NEEDED TO ASK REALLY QUICK.
CAN YOU DO A THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN IF YOU CAN MEET ON JANUARY 4TH BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME VACANCIES.
AND SO THERE, WE HAVE SOME QUORUM ISSUES, SO LET'S SEE.
WE'VE GOT TWO REBECCA'S DANIELLA KATHLEEN.