* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:04] WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. UM, WE HAVE QUORUM. CHELSEA, COULD YOU HELP US WITH ATTENDANCE? YES. UM, CHAIR RAMIREZ HERE. UM, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? HERE. COMMISSIONER DURAN? HERE. COMMISSIONER EGER? HERE. COMMISSIONER GODWIN. HERE. VICE CHAIR PRESENT. UH, COMMISSIONER ROGO. HERE. COMMISSIONER HOLMES. COMMISSIONER SMITH. AND COMMISSIONER SIERRA. BELOW ISN'T, IT WILL NOT BE JOINING US. SO, AND FOR THE RECORD TIME IS 4 0 1. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NONE TODAY. OKAY. AND [APPROVAL OF MINUTES] THEN IF EVERYBODY CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE MINUTES FOR LAST REGULAR MEETING. UM, DO YOU HAVE ONE AMENDMENT TO THE MINUTES? OKAY. UM, UNDER PRE AGENDA ITEMS, UM, IT'S SUPPOSED TO READ AUSTIN POLICE OVERHEAD DISCUSSION ON MEDIATION, NOT REMEDIATION. YES. IF WE CAN MAKE THAT CORRECTION, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. ANY OTHER CHANGES? OKAY. CAN I GET A MOTION FOR THE, FROM THE FLOOR FOR ADOPTION WITH THAT CHANGE? MOTION TO ADOPT. OKAY. SECOND. SECOND. AND THE SHOW OF HANDS. SECOND WAS FROM COMMISSIONER RUTAN. SHOW OF HANDS. AND THEN I DO BELIEVE COMMISSIONER SMITH IS JOINING US, CORRECT? SHE DID SAY SO. UM, YOU COULD JUST KEEP AN EYE ON MM-HMM . WHEN SHE JOINS SO THAT WE CAN, OKAY, GREAT. ALRIGHT. AND I HAD NOT HEARD FROM COMMISSIONER HOLMES, SO I'M NOT SURE IF THERE SHE OH, IT APPEARS SHE'S JOINED. GREAT. OKAY. OKAY. AND WITH THAT, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. UH, WE'RE GONNA SKIP AHEAD 'CAUSE CHIEF, UM, CHIEF ROGERS IS STILL IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING. WE WILL CIRCLE BACK AROUND. AND ACTUALLY, BEFORE WE GET GOING TOO MUCH, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A SECOND TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE THAT CHIEF FIRES RETIRED AND THE SNEAKY GUY DID NOT TELL ANYONE UNTIL AFTER OUR LAST MEETING. SO WE WOULDN'T SAY ANYTHING DURING THE MEETING. SO I WANTED TO SAY WELCOME TO OUR NEW CHIEF OF STAFF. YES, . HE, HE MADE IT A POINT TO NOT SAY ANYTHING UNTIL WE WERE ALL WALKING OUT THE DOOR. UM, SO IF HE GETS WORD OF THIS MEETING, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR YEARS OF SERVICE. HE RETIRED. UM, AND WELCOME OFFICIALLY. SO UHHUH WITH THAT, [3. Discussion of small vehicle use by public safety departments with Rick Harland, Assistant Director, Austin Fleet Mobility Services.] I THINK WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE OVER TO THE DISCUSSION OF SMALL VEHICLE USE BY PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS WITH RICK HARLAND, IF HE'S AVAILABLE AND READY. I KNOW WE'RE TAKING THINGS A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER IF THAT'S OKAY. THANK YOU. I APOLOGIZE. NEXT DOOR. SO, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMISSIONERS. UH, MY NAME IS RICK HARLAND. I AM AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES. UM, WE WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE A BRIEF ON THE USE OF SMALL VEHICLE PLATFORMS, UH, ACROSS PUBLIC SAFETY. UH, WE'RE GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH TODAY IS HOW THESE VEHICLES ARE ACTUALLY USED, UM, IN THE FIELD AND, AND WHERE THEY ADD VALUE, JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, WHERE THEY DON'T ADD VALUE TO THE CITY FLEET. UH, IT'S REALLY ABOUT PROVIDING CONTEXT SO THAT WE'RE ALIGNED WITH HOW THESE VEHICLES FIT WITHIN THE BROADER CONTEXT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. THE PURPOSE TODAY IS THREEFOLD. FIRST TO OUTLINE HOW THESE PLATFORMS ARE USED IN SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS. SECOND IS TO CLARIFY THAT THEY'RE SUPPLEMENTAL TOOLS, NOT REPLACEMENT FOR PRIMARY RESPONSE ASSETS. AND THIRD IS TO SHOW HOW FLEET SUPPORTS DEPARTMENTS IN EVALUATING APPROPRIATE USE. UM, THE GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SOLVE THE RIGHT PROBLEM WITH THE RIGHT VEHICLE, THE RIGHT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. SO, JUST TO PROVIDE OPERATIONAL CONTEXT, PUBLIC SAFETY OPERATES ACROSS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS FROM DOWNTOWN URBAN CONTROL, UH, [00:05:01] PATROL TO PARKS AND TRAILS, LARGE SCALE EVENTS. AUSTIN IS KNOWN FOR THAT. WE LOVE OUR OUTDOOR SPACES AND WE LOVE OUR EVENTS. VEHICLE SELECTION IS DRIVEN BY MISSION REQUIREMENTS, ACCESS CONSTRAINTS AND SAFETY CONSIDERATION. OPERATIONS COMES FIRST, NOT THE VEHICLE. THESE PLATFORMS ARE ALREADY IN USE TODAY ACROSS, UH, MOST OF OUR DEPARTMENTS AND ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, BUT ALSO HEAVILY USED WITHIN OUR UTILITY DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY AS WELL. A PD USES THEM FOR DOWNTOWN EVENTS AND OPERATIONS. A FD HAS LIMITED MISSION SPECIFIC DEPLOYMENTS, AND A-T-C-E-M-S UH, USES THEM FOR RAPID RESPONSE IN HIGH DENSITY OR RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS. UH, THESE REPRESENT A SMALL PORTION, BUT IMPORTANT PORTION OF THE OVERALL FLEET, AND THEY'RE DEPLOYED BASED ON SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL NEEDS. SO IT'S EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THESE PLATFORMS WORK AND WHERE THEY DON'T WORK. WHERE THEY DO WORK IS IN THESE HIGH DENSITY PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENTS, PARKS, TRAILS, OPEN SPACES, AS I'VE SAID, LARGE SCALE EVENTS, CROWD MANAGEMENT, LIMITED ACCESS, UH, TO AND TO RESTRICTED AREAS. BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THESE, UH, VEHICLES ALSO HAVE LIMITATIONS TO THEM AS WELL. UM, THEY HAVE LIMITED RANGE AND ENDURANCE. UM, THEY HAVE REDUCED SPEEDS AND RESPONSE CAPABILITY, LIMITED CHARGING FOR GOING ELECTRIC WITH SOME OF THESE VEHICLES TODAY. THEY HAVE RESTRICTED CAPABILITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, A-T-C-M-S AND JUST TRANSPORTING PATIENTS IN AND OUT OF AREAS. UM, EXPOSURE TO WEATHER AND THE ENVIRONMENT ITSELF. UH, SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS ARE ALSO MIXED IN GETTING INVOLVED WITH TRAFFIC AND DRIVING THROUGH PLACES WHERE SAFETY IS A CONCERN AND OPERATING THESE VEHICLES. THESE ARE SUPPLEMENTAL TOOLS AND NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE PRIMARY RESPONSE VEHICLES THAT DO THE HARD WORK AND THE HEAVY LIFTING FOR THE CITY TODAY. SO ALL VEHICLE DECISIONS ARE EVALUATED THROUGH A STRUCTURED FRAMEWORK. WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS. WE LOOK AT OPERATIONAL ALIGNMENT, SAFETY LIFECYCLE COST TECHNOLOGY FIT DEPARTMENTS DEFINE THE MISSION FLEET ENSURES THE SOLUTION IS VIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE. THERE'S NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL APPROACH. THE RIGHT VEHICLE, THE RIGHT MISSION IN THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT IS WHAT MATTERS. SO THIS IS WHAT MISSION-BASED DEPLOYMENT LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE. UH, YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR LEFT A HIGH DENSITY EMS RESPONSE UNIT. THEY'VE GOT THEIR MEDICAL PACK ON THE HOOD. THESE ARE UTVS HERE. UM, NEXT IS URBAN PATROL WITH, UH, POLICE, AND THEN OF COURSE, PARKS AND TRAIL ACCESS. AND THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT IS OUR WILDFIRE RESPONSE UNIT. AND THIS IS AN INTERESTING UNIT HERE. THIS PARTICULAR UNIT HAS A 55 GALLON, UH, WATER, UH, UH, TANK ON THE BACK WITH A PUMP AND HOSE. SO THEY COULD PUT OUT A SMALL FIRE, BUT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, UH, PREVENT US FROM HAVING A LARGER PROBLEM TO DEAL WITH SO THAT THEY CAN GET TO THESE PLACES WHERE IT STARTS. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IN SOME OF OUR WOODED AREAS AROUND TOWN, THAT'S IT, UH, CAN PREVENT A LOT OF DAMAGE FROM HAPPENING. THIS SHOWS HOW THESE DEPLOYMENTS FIT IN OUR BROADER OPERATIONS. UH, AS YOU CAN SEE OUTSIDE HERE, BEHIND YOU OVER HERE, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT, IS THE OFF-ROAD EMS RESPONSE UNIT. UM, IT'S BEEN REFERRED TO IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS. UH, YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN SOME RECENT MEDIA, UH, PUBLICATION ON THIS LATELY, AND WE WILL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. AND OF COURSE, YOU SEE OUR EVENT COORDINATION AND ESCORT GROUP WITH OUR, UH, MOTORS UNIT, POLICE MOTORS UNIT. AND THEN THE LAST YEAR WHEN I WAS HERE AND, UH, DID A PRESENTATION, WE TALKED ABOUT THE SQUAD PILOT PROGRAM, AND I ADDED A COUPLE LITTLE IMAGES HERE, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO PUT IT INTO CONTEXT. WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU WAS THAT ALTHOUGH WE'VE SCALED IT DOWN IN SIZE, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE FAR RIGHT PICTURE, IT JUST HAS JUST AS MUCH COMPLEXITY TO THE OPERATION OF THE EQUIPMENT AS A FULL, UH, FIRE APPARATUS ITSELF, JUST IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF A DEPLOYMENT. SO THESE COMPLEMENT NOT REPLACE THE PRIMARY RESPONSE ASSETS. SO TO PUT IT IN CONTEXT, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, UH, TO HAVE PERSPECTIVE, SMALL MOBILITY PLATFORMS REPRESENT A VERY SMALL PORTION OF EACH OF THE DEPARTMENT'S FLEETS. AND YOU COULD SEE ACROSS THE TOP LINE HOW MANY VEHICLES AND PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT EACH OF THE DEPARTMENT HAS. UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE ASSETS REMAIN THE PRIMARY RESPONSE VEHICLES LIKE PATROL UNITS AND FIRE APPARATUSES AND AMBULANCES. UM, THIS IS TARGETED COMPATIBILITY, NOT A FLEET-WIDE STRATEGY. AS YOU CAN SEE WITH A PD, THE LIGHT OFF-ROAD, THE VERY BOTTOM, UH, BULLET POINT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE 6% [00:10:02] OF THEIR FLEET IS ROUGHLY A LIGHT OFF-ROAD PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. WITH A FD, IT'S ROUGHLY 9% WITH A-T-C-E-M-S, IT'S 8%. BUT JUST THE DIVERSITY OF THE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT AND THE FLEET ASSETS THAT THEY CARRY, UM, IN PUBLIC SAFETY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE PERSPECTIVE. SO WE COORDINATED WITH EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU TODAY REFLECTS THEIR OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE. UH, EACH OF THESE DEPARTMENTS USE THESE PLATFORMS IN A DIFFERENT BASED MISSION NEED. AND WHAT I THOUGHT I WOULD DO IS PAUSE HERE AND GIVE A LITTLE ROOM TO BREATHE AND GIVE, UH, MAYBE, UH, SOME OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THEIR PROGRAMS. UH, AND I THOUGHT I WOULD, UH, TALK TO WESLEY HERE WITH, UH, HIS UNIT OUT THERE IN THE DRIVE AREA. WES. YEAH, SO CERTAINLY AS EARLY AS, YOU KNOW, 2010 OR 2011 WHEN THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS OFFICE WAS CREATED, AND WE BECAME SUCH A SPRING BREAK DESTINATION AND HEAVY EVENT DRIVEN CITY, UH, WE HAVE TOYED WITH, UH, ALL SORTS OF MEDICS ON FOOT, UH, MEDICS ON, ON MOTORCYCLES, AND THEY'VE GRADUATED TO A MORE ROBUST MOTORCYCLE. THOSE MOTORCYCLES, THEY WORK TOGETHER WITH PARAMEDICS AND A PAIR FOR ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT, BUT THEY OFTENTIMES SPLIT AND THEY STOP THE CLOCK IN THESE MASS GATHERINGS. UH, WE ALSO, UH, TOYED WITH AND ORDERED POLARIS RANGERS THAT HAD A MED BED ON THE BACK, BUT THAT WAS AN OPEN MED BED ON THE BACK. AND SO WE ACTUALLY ORDERED, UH, THESE, THE COMPANY THAT MANUFACTURES THE, THE MINI AMBULANCE OUTSIDE OR AN ASAP IS THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO. UH, AND SO THERE'S JUST NOT ONE OF THESE IN THE, IN THE REGION. AND SO HAVING, WAITING FOR THE LONG LEAD TIME ON THAT, UM, IT HAS SOME DIFFERENT ADVANTAGES FOR US. NUMBER ONE, IT PUTS THE PATIENT IN A, IN A PRIVACY AREA THAT WE CAN TREAT 'EM, WHICH WE LIKE. UH, WE CAN ALSO SHIELD THEM FROM THINGS LIKE HEAT AND COLD, ESPECIALLY IN TRAUMA WHEN WE'RE GIVEN WHOLE BLOOD AND WE WANT TO RAISE THE TEMPERATURE UP IN THERE BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THEM TO BE HYPOTHERMIC. UM, IT DOES COME FULL WITH A FULL COMPLIMENT OF THOSE ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT, UH, CAPABILITIES IN THERE. IT ALSO HAS A POWER LOAD IN THE BACK. AND SO IN THE FIRST ITERATION OF THE MED BED, POLARIS RANGERS, YOU ARE MANUALLY LOADING THAT STRETCHER IN THE BACK. AND JUST HAVING WORKED SIX MONTHS AGO AND HAVING TO MANUALLY LOAD A PATIENT, IT BROUGHT ME BACK TO MY EARLY DAYS AND MY LUMBAR FOUR AND FIVE, UH, STILL ACHED FOR A WEEK AFTER THAT. SO WE'VE NOT HEARD OF PUTTING A POWER LOAD IN ONE OF THESE MINI AMBULANCES OR ASAPS. NO ONE HAD DONE IT, BUT WE TEST THE COMPANY WITH DOING IT AND THEY WERE ABLE TO TO ADD THAT. AND SO THAT IS AN AUTOMATIC LOADING, WHICH IS EASIER ON THE MEDICS. IT'S FASTER TO, TO LOAD THE PATIENT. AND THEN, UM, JUST HAVING THE ONE OF THESE IN THE AREA, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO IN TOWN. UM, AND SO THE, THE PRICE POINT IS A LITTLE HIGHER. IT DOES COME WITH A, WITH A GENERATOR AS WELL TO POWER EVERYTHING INSIDE OF IT. UM, AND THEN, UH, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE'VE BEEN USING IN THAT DOWNTOWN AREA COMMAND, THAT CASTED FOOTPRINT, SOME KINDS OF SPECIAL EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT MAKES SENSE TO DO IN AN EVENT, DO MEDICS ON FOOT. THEY MIGHT BE ON A MOTORCYCLE, THEY MIGHT BE IN ONE OF THESE ASAPS. BUT OFTENTIMES ASIDE FROM THE AMBULANCE, LIKE OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS, THEY ARE IN SMALL SUV TYPE VEHICLES THAT HAVE EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO WE'VE BEEN BOLSTERING OUR FEET FLEET FROM THAT SIDE KNOWING THAT WE STILL NEED THAT, THAT LARGE AMBULANCE FOR THE ACTUAL 9 1 1 SERVICE. BUT ANY KIND OF SPECIALTY RESPONSE, ANY KIND OF COMMUNITY CARE, AND THEN ANY KIND OF SPECIAL EVENT MESS GATHERING PROTESTS, WE'VE GONE TO JUST A DIFFERENT PLATFORM. SO THAT'S HOW WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING 'EM. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT THESE ASAPS PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY, AND JUST BECAUSE IT'S SO NEW, WE LAUNCHED IT ON APRIL FOOLS, UH, AS, NOT AS A JOKE, BUT I WANTED TO BRING IT OVER HERE JUST SO YOU CAN SEE ONE, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE SO NEW TO THE AREA CHIEF. SURE. I'LL JUST ADD A COUPLE OF THINGS. UH, TOM BOEY F FIRE, UM, FOR US, THE, THE PRIMARY USE OF THE SMALLER VEHICLES ARE, UH, WILDFIRE, UH, EVENTS AS, AS WE'VE DEPLOYED. AND EVEN OUR BRUSH TRUCKS, WHICH ARE LARGER THAN WHAT WE'VE SEEN ON THERE, THEY'RE A LOT SMALLER THAN THE REGULAR TRUCKS. AND SO THE 15 BRUSH TRUCKS THAT WE HAVE, THE FOUR SMALLER UTVS THAT WE'VE OUTFITTED WITH PUMPS ARE GREAT FOR GETTING ACCESS TO PLACES WE USE THEM NOT ONLY FOR WILDFIRE EVENTS, BUT ALSO FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, WHICH ALLOWS US TO HAVE ACCESS AROUND CODE OR, OR AROUND, UH, ZILKER PARK DURING ACL. UH, THOSE ARE THE PRIMARY THINGS WHERE THOSE ARE USED IN, IN THE, THAT SMALLER CAPACITY PUMP AND SMALLER TANK IS GREAT FOR LITTLE TRASH FIRES OR, YOU KNOW, SMALLER THINGS THAT, UH, KEEP US FROM HAVING TO BRING THE BIG TRUCKS INTO THE AREAS. AND SO, UH, THOSE ARE THE, THE TWO PRIMARY PLACES WHERE WE USE 'EM ARE THE SPECIAL EVENTS AND THEN THE WILDFIRE, UH, INCIDENTS. THE SMALLER SQUAD THAT WE HAVE, UH, WAS PURCHASED BY SD FOUR AS A PART OF OUR SERVICE CONTRACT WITH SD FOUR. [00:15:01] AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING THAT OUT NOW IN SD FOUR TO SEE HOW WE CAN SUPPLEMENT, UH, WITH IT. BUT PART OF THE CONTRACT MEANS IT STAYS IN SD FOUR RIGHT NOW. SO, UM, AS WE WORK THROUGH IT AND TRY IT THERE, WE'LL DETERMINE WHETHER IT'S IT, WHETHER WE SEE VALUE IN EXPANDING THAT PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD. VERY GOOD. CHIEF ROGERS, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK ANY FURTHER BACK THAN THE, UH, THE RECENT TRAGEDY ON SIXTH STREET TO SEE WHERE A P UTILIZED SOME OF THESE SMALLER MOBILITY PLATFORMS, UH, WITH OUR RESCUE TASK FORCE. OF COURSE, THAT'S VERY MUCH IN THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MINDS, BUT THESE ARE VEHICLES THAT WE OFTEN USE, UH, QUITE EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY THROUGH SPECIAL EVENTS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT ACL, OTHER EVENTS IN SOUTH BY, IF IT'S, UH, JUST THE ABILITY TO PUT FOUR OFFICERS IN A VEHICLE, MOVE IT THROUGH THERE TO BE ABLE TO CARRY DIFFERENT SUPPLIES, UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT ACL JUST BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE WATER TO, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, THAT THEY GET OUT THERE, THEY GET A, UH, ENJOYING THEMSELVES A LITTLE TOO MUCH. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, THE PROTEST AND THE RALLIES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, UH, THIS IS AUSTIN, THIS IS THE EPICENTER OF THAT FIRST AMENDMENT, RIGHT? AND, AND WE DO, UH, WE DO WORK ON EMPOWERING THAT AND HELPING FOLKS WITH THAT. SO WE DO SEE PEOPLE THAT KIND OF OVEREXTEND THEMSELVES DON'T PREPARE FOR A, A LONG, HOT DAY, AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO USE THESE VEHICLES TO TRANSPORT WATER THROUGHOUT THOSE FOLKS IN THE CROWD, GET 'EM THOSE THINGS THAT THEY NEED, UM, THAT WE REALLY COULDN'T DO OR WOULDN'T WANT TO DO WITH A, WITH A MUCH LARGER, MORE EXPENSIVE VEHICLE. SO THESE ARE DEFINITELY A FORCE MULTIPLIER FOR US AND SOMETHING WE DO NEED TO MAINTAIN WITHIN OUR INVENTORY AND OUR FLEET. WELL, THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT IT IS THAT THESE PLATFORMS ARE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT IN TERMS OF THE MOTOR AND THE PLATFORM ITSELF AND WHAT'S, UH, THE UTVS. AND YOU MAY HAVE HEARD A V AND TV, AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THAT IS, UH, A TV IS KIND OF A, A SINGLE OCCUPANT OR A TANDEM RIDING OCCUPANT, UH, TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION IN SMALL TRAILS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THE UTV LARGER, UH, PLATFORM ITSELF, MULTI PASSENGER. BUT WHAT IT'S ALLOWED US TO DO IS PUT AND MOUNT AND BOLT ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF EQUIPMENT ON THE BACK, FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRE RESPONSE, THE WILDFIRE RESPONSE, OR THE ASAP UNIT OUT HERE, OR A UTILITY BED ON THE BACK OF ONE OF OUR POLICE UNITS TO DO A LOT OF THINGS. SO THAT IS REALLY 70% OF THE OFF-ROAD MARKET ITSELF, AND THAT'S WHERE IT'S GOING. WE'RE HOPING THAT THEY SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME FOCUSING ON ELECTRIC, UM, UTVS IN THE FUTURE. RIGHT NOW, ONLY ABOUT 6% OF THEIR TOTAL SALES ARE ACTUALLY ELECTRIC. AND OF COURSE, WE'RE BUILDING OUT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE CITY AND HOPE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT AS SOON AS, UH, THOSE BECOME AVAILABLE. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR SHARING YOUR STORY. UM, THIS SLIDE REALLY, IT JUST OUTLINES THE BROADER FLEET OPERATIONAL SUPPORT. IT'S, IT'S OUTTA SCOPE FOR TODAY'S DISCUSSION, BUT I WOULD BE REMISS NOT, YOU KNOW, SHOWING YOU THAT WE DO, UH, CAST A WIDE, UH, STRUCTURED FRAMEWORK AROUND SUPPORTING THE FLEET OPERATION, ALL 7,800 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY FLEET TODAY. SO WITH THAT SAID, UH, WE'RE KIND OF AT THE, WE'RE AT THE END, AND I'M OPEN TO ANY KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, UM, PARTICULARLY AROUND USE CASES OR OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATION OR PILOT PROGRAMS. THE KEY TAKEAWAY IS THAT THESE PLATFORMS ARE VALUABLE, BUT ONLY WHEN THEY'RE APPLIED TO THE RIGHT MISSION IN THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT. AND THE MORE WE USE THEM, UH, THE MORE WE KIND OF REALIZE THEY SERVE A GREATER PURPOSE. SOMETIMES JUST HAULING WATER INTO PEOPLE WHO'VE KIND OF OVEREXTENDED THEMSELVES IN SOME OF OUR, UH, EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER SMITH? UM, I'LL, I'LL START WITH JUST THE, A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON THE FIRE SQUAD PILOT PROGRAM AND HOW THAT'S GOING, HOW IT'S BEING, HOW THAT VEHICLE IS BEING USED, AND IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW, HOW IT'S BEING USED. UH, RIGHT NOW IT'S, IT'S ONLY BEING USED TO BACKFILL AN ESD FOUR, UH, BECAUSE OF THE CONTRACT. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, UH, OTHER USES THAT WE CAN DO. SO RIGHT NOW IT, IT'S ALLOWS US TO KEEP UNITS IN SERVICE IF WE'RE DOING MAINTENANCE AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS. UM, AND THEN WE CAN USE IT OTHER PLACES AROUND TOWN IN, IN EMERGENCY CASES. BUT RIGHT NOW IT, IT'S PRETTY LIMITED IN WHAT WE CAN DO. AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL EXPLORING, UH, A LOT OF THE OPTIONS. SO WE HAVEN'T GOT VERY FAR WITH IT AT THIS POINT. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? YEAH, GUESS I KNOW SOMETHING THAT COME PREVIOUSLY WAS JUST SOME DISCUSSION OF ANY OF THE CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS TO ADOPTION. UM, ANYTHING THAT FROM US AS A COMMISSION MIGHT BE, UH, USEFUL, WHETHER THAT'S COMING ON THE DEPARTMENT'S END, WHETHER THAT'S COMING ON YOUR GUYS' END, UH, BUDGET-WISE OR, OR OTHERWISE? WELL, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN POINT IS THAT THE MISSION IS THE DEFINES THE VEHICLE. UM, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY OPEN TO ASSISTING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS WITH ANY KIND OF MISSION CONSTRAINTS THAT THEY MAY HAVE IN TERMS OF, UM, ACQUIRING ANY OFF-ROAD [00:20:01] VEHICLES OR UNIQUE PLATFORMS THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THEM. UH, AND, UH, ENSURE THAT THEY'RE CONNECTED TO OUR MOBILITY AND TELEMATICS PROGRAM SO WE CAN SEE HOW THEY'RE OPERATING IN REAL TIME ACROSS THE CITY AND WHERE THEY'RE AT, IF THEY'RE BACK IN THE WOODS AND INTO PLACES THAT YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO, UH, TRACK 'EM, WE CAN ACTUALLY TRACK THEM LIVE, UH, TO MAKE SURE OUR OPERATORS ARE SAFE. UM, I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THERE'S NO REAL CONSTRAINTS FROM MY END. UM, I, I THINK THAT AN AREA THAT I DIDN'T REALLY TOUCH ON, I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT IS JUST THE TRAINING THAT GOES ALONG WITH OPERATING THESE THINGS THERE. THERE'S NOT JUST ANYBODY JUMPS ON ONE OF THESE VEHICLES AND STARTS, YOU KNOW, RIDING ALONG IN THEM. UH, THERE, THERE IS A LOT OF POLICY, UH, THEIR SPECIFIC TRAINING WITH THE SPECIFIC KINDS OF VEHICLES AND DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY'RE AT AND HOW THEY'RE USING THEM, UM, THE, AS MUCH AS THEY'RE, UH, AS, AS ANY OF US WOULD GET ON ANY KIND OF OFF-ROAD VEHICLE, YOU'VE GOTTA KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THEM, OTHERWISE YOU COULD GET YOURSELF HURT. UM, AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF PPE AND, AND, AND JUST THE SAFETY OF OUR OPERATORS, UH, AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, OPERATING THESE VEHICLES IN AND OUT. UH, AS CHIEF ROGERS HAD MENTIONED, UH, GOING UP AND DOWN SIXTH STREET WITH, UH, UH, PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC AND, UM, AND GETTING OFF OF SIXTH STREET WHERE THERE'S VEHICULAR TRAFFIC AS WELL. UH, THERE'S JUST A, A LARGE SAFETY COMPONENT AROUND THIS, UM, THAT, UH, UH, IS, IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS OF FOCUS THAT WE PROBABLY NEED TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT. ALRIGHT. HAVE A HAND. OH, COMMISSIONER SMITH, YOU JUST MENTIONED PPE AM MY UNDERSTANDING THAT PPE IS STANDARD ACROSS ALL OF THOSE VEHICLES. AND FURTHERMORE, IS NARCAN AVAILABLE WITHIN THAT SUPPLY NARCAN? YEAH, SO CERTAINLY FOR EMS, ANY ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT OR BASIC LIFE SUPPORT ASSET DOES CARRY NARCAN, INCLUDING MOTORS, BIKES, FOOT TEAMS, SUVS, THAT IS STANDARD AS A MINIMAL EQUIPMENT FOR US. AND FROM THE A PD PERSPECTIVE, OUR OFFICERS ARE, UH, OUR ISSUED NARCAN AS WELL. SO WE DO, WE DO SUPPLEMENT EMS, UH, BY, UH, OUR OFFICERS CARRYING NARCAN. AND WE FIND THAT IT'S, UH, BEEN A EXCEPTIONALLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM AS OUR OFFICERS ARE, ARE OUT ON THE STREET, ESPECIALLY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, AND ARE OFTEN THE FIRST ONES TO ARRIVE ON SCENE AND, UH, PROVIDE THAT NARCAN DOSE EARLY AND OFTEN IN OUR CASE. AND JUST FROM AN OPERATOR STANDPOINT, UM, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT TYPICAL HELMET, HIGH PROTECTION, UH, HIGH VISIBILITY GEAR, UH, COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT, UH, SO THAT WE'RE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THOSE OPERATORS AS THEY'RE OUT USING THESE VEHICLES. YEAH, I MIGHT ADD ON A LOT OF THESE, UH, CLEAREST RANGERS AND, AND MINI AMBULANCES, THEY DON'T GO OVER A CERTAIN SPEED AND I THINK IT'S ABOUT 10 OR 15 MILES AN HOUR WITHOUT WEARING YOUR SEATBELT. AND SO THAT IS KIND OF A CHECK-IN BALANCE, BUT WE ROLLED IT OUT FOR SOUTH BY, WE DO JUST IN TIME TRAINING AND, AND SOME CHECKOFFS. AND THEN OUR MOTOR MEDICS PRACTICE ALL GEAR ALL THE TIME. SO IF YOU'RE GONNA MOVE THAT MOTOR FIVE FEET, THAT'S A JACKET, HELMET AND GLOVES INTO DISCUSSION THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THE PRACTICES WE PUT IN PLAY. WELL, THANK YOU ALL. I THINK, UM, WE BROUGHT THIS BACK AS AN ITEM BECAUSE PRIMARILY WE JUST REALLY WANT TO KEEP PUSHING ON DEPARTMENTS TO, TO, TO INNOVATE ON HOW WE USE SMALLER VEHICLES, TO THINK THROUGH POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES IN PLACE OF OUR BIG FIRE TRUCKS AND OUR BIG AMBULANCES, THEY'RE, THEY'RE RESOURCE INTENSIVE, THEY'RE PEOPLE INTENSIVE. AND I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME CONSTRAINTS WITH REGARDS TO STAFFING AND HOW MUCH WE CAN ROLL THESE OUT, BUT JUST KIND OF CONTINUING TO PUSH TO, UM, USE LESS EXPENSIVE, LESS FUEL INTENSIVE RESOURCES, UM, LESS PEOPLE INTENSIVE RESOURCES. SO THAT'S WHY WE BROUGHT THIS BACK, SO THANK YOU. YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY ONE THING. UH, SO I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION THAT A PD IS PILOTING TWO, UH, POLICE PURSUIT VEHICLES. ONE OF THE, UH, ONLY, UH, DEPARTMENTS IN IN TEXAS THAT IS, UH, ACTUALLY HAS BATTERY ELECTRIC POLICE PURSUIT VEHICLES THAT THEY ARE ROLLED OUT ON THE STREET. WE'RE, UH, WE'VE LAUNCHED THEM LAST SEPTEMBER. AND SO THERE WAS A CERTAIN TRAINING PERIOD WITH THEM, AND OF COURSE THAT'S A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION, BUT TO YOUR POINT, UM, WITH LESS EXPENSIVE, MORE EFFICIENT, LOWER COST, BETTER FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT, AND THE DOWNTOWN PATROL IS KIND OF WHERE THEY'RE TARGETED AT THIS POINT NOW. SO IT FITS, BUT NOT EXACTLY. WELL, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. [2. Public Safety Quarterly Report, Austin Police. Presentation by Lee Rogers, Chief of Staff, Austin Police.] [00:25:02] OKAY. AND I THINK WE'LL SWITCH BACK GEARS AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR FOR WE WILL BE MOVING ON. I NEED TO SAY IT OUT LOUD. WE WILL BE MOVING ON TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY QUARTERLY REPORT WITH AUSTIN POLICE. I, AGAIN, APOLOGIES FOR BEING TARDY, BUT I WAS, UH, NEXT DOOR PRESENTING AT THE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, , NOT THAT IT'S EVER POSSIBLE TO GET CONFUSED, HAVING A COMMITTEE MEETING FOLLOWED BY A COMMISSION MEETING AND THAT I'VE GOT ANOTHER COMMISSION MEETING AFTER THIS. SO IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A FULL DAY FOR SURE, BUT, UH, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME HERE AND, UH, PROVIDE THIS, UH, THIS INFORMATION TO YOU. SO THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY NOT THE RIGHT ONE. PERFECT. THANK YOU. EXCELLENT. SO OVERALL, UH, FROM SEP, ALL OF THESE, UH, ALL THIS DATA IS GONNA BE SEPTEMBER, UH, THROUGH FEBRUARY. UH, OUR CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS DATA OVERALL, UH, VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS ARE GENERALLY IMPROVING WITH SEVERAL KEY CATEGORIES DECLINING YEAR OVER YEAR. UH, OF PARTICULAR NOTE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND HOMICIDE ARE DOWN BOTH COMPARED TO LAST YEAR AND THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE. UH, SEX OFFENSES ALSO DECLINED YEAR OVER YEAR, CONTINUING A DOWNWARD TREND. UH, WHAT I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS WE'VE SEEN AN, AN INCREASE IN THAT KIDNAPPING AND ABDUCTION. ANYTIME I SEE AN INCREASE LIKE THAT, I ALWAYS WANNA KNOW WHAT THE DRIVER IS FOR THAT. THE PRIMARY DRIVER IS AN INCREASE IN UNLAWFUL RESTRAINTS IN FAMILY VIOLENCE. SO IF WE'VE SEEN A RECENT CHANGE IN THE LAW, IF WE'VE SEEN SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING GO OUT, AS WE OFTEN DO, WE WILL SEE THAT THE OFFICERS ARE GO AHEAD AND ADDING THOSE TITLE CODES AND WE'RE SEEING THOSE INCREASE IN OFFENSES. UH, AND THAT'S WHAT THE CASE IS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS KIDNAPPING AND ABDUCTION. AGAIN, REMEMBER, WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH THESE TITLES, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY OUR TITLES, BUT THEY'RE TITLES THAT WE REPORT OUT TO. SO YOU SEE SOMETHING AND IT'S VERY STRIKING, BUT WHEN WE DRILL DOWN IN THE DATA AND OUR DATA FOLKS ARE PHENOMENAL ON MAKING SURE AND RECOGNIZING WHAT THAT IS. SO WE WERE ABLE TO REPORT THAT THAT'S, UH, RELATED TO FAMILY VIOLENCE CASES AND NOT SOME JUST, UH, STRANGER ABDUCTION AND KIDNAPPING, UH, GOING ON OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY. UH, AND I'M STRUGGLING TO MAKE AN ADVANCE. THERE WE GO. UH, PROPERTY CRIMES, UH, LARGELY DECLINING OR STAYING THE SAME. PARTICULAR TO NOTE IS THAT THERE'S BEEN AN, A GREAT REDUCTION IN, UH, MOTOR VEHICLE AND THEFT AND FRAUD CASES, UH, SHOWING THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DECREASES. REMEMBER, WE, WE HAD ISSUES WITH THE KIA VEHICLES. UH, WE DID SOME MAJOR PUBLIC CAMPAIGNS OUT THERE. UH, ALSO WORKING WITH THE MANUFACTURERS. WE WERE PUSHING OUT, UH, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS AS WELL. SO WE'VE SEEN A, A TREMENDOUS DECREASE IN THAT MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT, UH, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL. UH, BURGLARY REMAINS STABLE. ROBBERY, LARCENY AND VANDALISM ARE ALL TRENDING DOWN WITH AN, AN OVERALL, UH, REDUCTION, UH, SMALLER REDUCTIONS. UH, WE'VE SEEN, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF INCREASE IN, UH, COUNTERFEITING, FORGERY, UH, PROSTITUTION AND, AND PORNOGRAPHY RELATED OFFENSES. A LOT OF THAT IS STEMMING FROM MORE OUTREACH. THE MORE OUTREACH WE SEE. WE'VE DONE A BETTER JOB WITH, UH, A CYBER TIP LINE. UH, AND THEN THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGES IN THE LAW AS IT, UM, AS IT AFFECTS TO AI GENERATED IMAGES, UH, IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN, UH, IN THOSE PORNOGRAPHY CASES IS GOING TO BE RELATED TO THAT. UH, ALWAYS OF, OF INTEREST FOR THIS GROUP, AND I THINK THAT I PROVIDED THE BACKUP DATA LAST TIME, WAS AN INCREASE IN THOSE NARCOTIC AND DRUG OFFENSES. UH, IF YOU'LL LOOK HISTORIC, WE'VE GONE BACK TO BASICALLY THE SAME NUMBERS THAT WE HAD PRE COVID. AND ANOTHER THING THAT I, THAT I WANT TO TOUCH ON WHEN IT COMES TO DRUG AND NARCOTIC OFFENSES, WE ARE WORKING, UH, WITH THE DATA THROUGH A LOT OF OUR PLACE NETWORK INVESTIGATIONS TO TARGET AREAS THAT ARE CAUSING US INCREASED PROBLEMS WITH VIOLENT CRIME AND OTHER [00:30:01] PROPERTY CRIME IN AN AREA. SO WHEN WE HAVE AN INCREASED TARGETED ENFORCEMENT BASED ON WHAT THE DATA SHOWS US, UH, YOU CAN LOOK AT VENUES SUCH AS MITCHELL LOBOS UP IN EDWARD SECTOR, UH, PLACES DOWNTOWN WHERE WE WERE HAVING AFTER HOURS BARS, THOSE PLACES. WE WERE SEEING ISSUES WITH NOT ONLY VIOLENT CRIME, BUT WHEN WE INCREASE THAT ENFORCEMENT TO TARGET THOSE AREAS, WE SEE AN INCREASE IN ARREST, UH, FOR PROACTIVE ACTIVITY THAT WE SEE ASSOCIATED WITH DRUG AND WEAPONS OFFENSES AS WELL. SO, AND MOST OF THOSE DRUG OFFENSES WE'RE SEEING, UH, TIED TO WEAPON LAW VIOLATIONS, ASSAULTS, AND THEFTS. SO, UH, WE EXPECT TO SEE THAT WITH INCREASED TARGETED ENFORCEMENT. AND, UH, SPEAKING OF INCREASED IN TARGETED ENFORCEMENT, UH, WE JUST RECENTLY CLOSED OUT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, AS PART OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OPERATIONS. WE SPREAD THROUGHOUT AUSTIN TO TRY AND PREVENT VIOLENT CRIME ASSOCIATED, UH, WITH THE EVENT, BOTH FOR OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL EVENTS, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT, UH, THE RECENT EVENTS IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN. WE WANTED TO PROVIDE AS SAFE A PLACE AS POSSIBLE, SO WE WERE VERY PROACTIVE. AND WHAT WE DID, UH, YOU COULD SEE THAT, UH, TOTAL ARREST, WE HAD 81 A HUNDRED FELONY CHARGES, UH, 16 MISDEMEANOR CHARGES, UH, OUT OF 400 CONTACTS, WE SEIZE 14 FIREARMS. KEEP IN MIND THAT WE'VE ALSO, SINCE CHIEF DAVIS HAS BEEN HERE, WE'VE STOOD UP A, UH, A CRIME GUN INFORMATION CENTER. WE'VE BEEN RUNNING THOSE FIREARMS, AND TWO OF THE CASE, TWO OF THE FIREARMS THAT WE SEIZED WERE ACTUALLY TIED TO MORE SERIOUS OFFENSES. AND SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET SOME REALLY GOOD RESULTS OUT OF THAT DATA, UH, DRIVEN NETWORK THERE. UH, IN ADDITION TO, UH, THE VIOLENT CRIME ENFORCEMENT AND PREVENTION THAT WE WORKED ON DOWNTOWN, UH, WE HAD SOME, UH, HUMAN TRAFFICKING ENFORCEMENT. THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT OF MAJOR CITIES DO WHEN IT CENTERS AROUND, UH, LARGE EVENTS, SUPER BOWLS, UH, BIG EVENTS SUCH AS THAT. UH, WE CONDUCTED A COMPREHENSIVE INITIATIVE TO IDENTIFY HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACTIVITY WITH THE INFLUX OF VISITORS. UH, THE ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY, LIKE I SAID, WAS, WAS TIED IN LIKE WE SEE WITH NATIONWIDE TRENDS, BUT AT A PD, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE UTILIZE OUR VICTIM SERVICES IN PROVIDING RESEARCH AND OUT, UH, AND OUTREACH TO VICTIMS IDENTIFY. DURING THE OPERATION, WE MADE 306 CONTACTS TO IDENTIFY AND DISRUPT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING 286 WITH INDIVIDUALS SOLICITING SEX AND 20 SEX WORKERS. WE, UH, RECOVERED TWO TRAFFICKING VICTIMS, ONE ADULT AND ONE CHILD, AND BOTH WERE PROVIDED WITH RESOURCES FROM A PD VICTIM SERVICES. ALWAYS GREAT TO BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. UH, OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, OUR, UH, OUR, OUR, UH, OFFICE OF COMMUNITY LIAISON IS ALWAYS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THROUGH A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT AVENUES. UH, WE'RE ENGAGING WITH YOUTH AT SCHOOLS AND CLUBS TO BUILD RAPPORT, INCREASE TRUST, LEGITIMACY, AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR THAT RECRUITING PIPELINE AS WELL. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE STRUGGLE WITH IN HIRING IS THE TIME THAT YOU GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL, USUALLY ABOUT 18, 17 TO 18 YEARS OLD, CAN'T BE A PEACE OFFICER IN TEXAS UNTIL YOU'RE 21. HOW DO WE MAINTAIN THAT TOUCHPOINT WITH THE COMMUNITY TO RECRUIT THE YOUTH OF OUR COMMUNITY TO POLICE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY? AND THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THESE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS TRY TO KEEP THAT, UH, IN THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. UH, THROUGHOUT THE LAST QUARTER, WE CONTINUED TO SEE A, UH, A, A MINOR DROP IN OUR P ZERO AND, AND P ONE CALL VOLUMES, UH, THAT APPEARS TO BE CONSISTENT, UH, WITH SEASONAL TRENDS. UH, WE ALWAYS KIND OF SEE CALLS FALL OFF IN THAT, UH, IN THAT WINTER TIMEFRAME. UH, AS WE SEE SPRING AND SUMMER COME AROUND, I ANTICIPATE THAT WE, WE COME BACK UP, BUT WE SEE THAT THAT TREND TENDS TO FOLLOW, UH, PREVIOUS YEARS AS WELL. WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR RESPONSE TIMES, OUR RESPONSE TIMES ARE STAYING RELATIVELY STEADY. UH, WITH PREVIOUS YEARS, WE ARE SEEING SOME MODEST, UH, IN, UH, DECREASES, WHICH IS A GOOD, THIS IS A, THIS IS A TIME WHEN DECREASE IS ALSO GOOD THAT WE'RE DECREASING, UH, THAT RESPONSE TIME. UM, I MUST SAY THAT RESPONSE TIMES ARE GOING TO, UH, DEFINITELY BE TIED TO STAFFING AS WELL. AND SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT, UH, FEW SLIDES. SO, STAFFING LEVELS. UH, WE'RE, WE'RE MAINTAINING ABOUT 17 AND A HALF, UH, PERCENT VACANCY LEVEL. IT'S, UH, TRENDING, AB AB ABOUT THE SAME. UH, UH, RECRUITING TENDS TO BE A, A STRUGGLE, BUT WE HAVE, UH, REACHED OUT. WE'VE DONE SOME, [00:35:01] SOME NEW TRAINING. I THINK EVERYBODY WITHIN THE PROFESSION, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, ONCE OPERATED UNDER THE MODEL, IF YOU POST IT, THEY WILL COME. UH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, THAT IS NO LONGER, UH, THE CASE. UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING AS RELEVANT IN MAKING CONTACT WITHIN THOSE, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, RECRUIT WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, AND MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE FINDING OUT WHAT IT IS THAT IS DRAWING PEOPLE AND HOW WE CAN DEFINITELY SHOWCASE HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS COMMUNITY. UH, BY JOINING OUR TEAM PATROL IS WHERE WE CONTINUE TO HOLD THE VACANCIES ON STAFFING, UH, PATROL IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SEE, UH, ANY FUTURE INCREASES TO OUR RESPONSE TIMES. IT'S ALL GONNA BE TIED TO THOSE PATROL STAFFING LEVELS. OVER THE YEARS, WE HAVE BASICALLY REDUCED ALMOST ALL UNITS THAT MAINTAIN PATROL OFFICERS THAT ARE NOT ON PATROL. AND WE'VE HAD THOSE OFFICERS REALLOCATED TO PATROL. SO THE BULK OF OUR OFFICERS, THE OFFICER RANK, IS ON PATROL AND HAS BEEN REALLOCATED TO PATROL, UH, EVERY SO OFTEN. WHEN WE HAVE, UH, CADET CLASSES GRADUATE, WE'LL TRY TO LEVEL OUT THAT, THAT STAFFING. BUT YOU CAN SEE, UH, THERE IS NO SECTOR THAT IS FULL. THERE IS NO SECTOR THAT HAS AN OVERWHELMINGLY DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF VACANCIES THAN ANY OTHER SECTOR. UH, THESE ARE OUR RECENT ACADEMY CLASSES GOING BACK, UH, THROUGH 2020 452ND CADET CLASS, GRADUATED, UH, 5453RD, 2954, 3550 FIFTH, 38. WE'RE PROJECTED TO GRADUATE ANOTHER 36TH ON MAY 1ST WITH OUR HUNDRED 56TH CADET CLASS. AND, UH, WE ANTICIPATE STARTING ANOTHER CLASS SOON. UH, THE HUNDRED, WELL, THE HUNDRED 57TH HAS STARTED, AND THEY'LL GRADUATE IN SEPTEMBER. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE SEEN, UH, IS, UH, IF YOU'LL LOOK AT OUR ATTRITION RATE THERE, WE'VE SEEN A, UH, A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT IN, IN OUR ATTRITION RATE. UH, I THINK THAT THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO, UM, SOME CULTURAL CHANGES AT THE ACADEMY. UH, WE'RE ALSO LETTING SOME PEOPLE, WE LETTING FOLKS KNOW UPFRONT, UH, WHAT TO ANTICIPATE. UH, WE ARE OFFERING ADDITIONAL TIME, UH, WITH STAFF, UH, IF YOU'VE GOT ISSUES, IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING WITH THE ACADEMICS. UH, HISTORICALLY WE'VE HAD, UH, ACADEMICS HAS BEEN ONE OF OUR, OUR MAJOR, UH, ATTRITION POINTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMY. SO, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT ON THE, ON THE FRONT END, JUST TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT, UH, THAT IT IS INTENSE, UH, THAT THERE IS A, A STUDY COMPONENT TO IT. AND AS WE WORK ON THAT ADULT LEARNING DYNAMIC TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE FOCUS ON MAYBE ASSISTING FOLKS WITH SOME STUDY SKILLS THAT THEY MAY NOT HAVE, UH, HAVE ATTAINED AT, AT ANOTHER POINT IN THEIR LIFE AS THEY'RE MOVING INTO THIS CAREER. UH, WE DID TALK ABOUT RECRUITING INITIATIVES A LITTLE BIT, UH, EARLIER, EXPANDING RECRUITMENT, UH, THROUGH ENHANCED SOCIAL MEDIA TARGETED MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, UH, FOCUSING ON KEY PIPELINES, INCLUDING, UH, MILITARY AND COLLEGES AS ALWAYS, UH, LEVERAGING INTERNAL REFERRALS. UH, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU GET, YOU GET THE BEST FROM YOUR, FROM YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. AND, UH, SO, UH, WORKING WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, WORKING WITHIN THE CITY, UH, TO GET THOSE REFERRALS FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY, UH, TO JOIN THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT. IN TERMS OF BUDGET, UH, WE'VE, UH, WE'VE SPENT ABOUT 62% OF OUR OVERTIME TO DATE. UH, WE DO ANTICIPATE COMING IN, UH, AT BUDGET FOR THE YEAR OVERALL. AND AGAIN, THE BULK OF OUR, UH, THE BULK OF OUR BUDGET IS ASSOCIATED, UH, WITH, UH, WITH PERSONNEL COSTS. UM, BEFORE I DIVE INTO QUESTIONS, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT WE DO KEEP FOLLOW UP. WE DO HAVE THE HABIT, AND WE TRY OUR BEST TO POST FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS TO OUR BACKUP MATERIALS. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS DRUG OFFENSE CATEGORY BACK IN JANUARY, AND CHIEF ROGERS, UM, GOT US ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. IT IS IN THE BACKUP FOR JANUARY. UM, THERE IS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WHAT MAKES UP AND THE, JUST ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OVERALL WITH REGARDS TO THIS CATEGORY. UM, SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. IT GAVE US THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS THAT [00:40:01] WE ASKED FOR, THE BREAKDOWN. ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS IN THERE. THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE DRUG OFFENSE ARE OUR POSSESSION. UM, NO SURPRISE, UM, THERE. UM, AND SO WITH THAT, JUST I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO QUESTIONS. ANYONE? ANYONE? YEP. UH, I, YEAH. THANK YOU. UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE DATA IS REALLY FANTASTIC. UH, JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, UH, THE, THE POSSESSION DATA. SO YOU MENTIONED, UH, PRE COVID LEVELS. SO, UH, IN THE, IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL, YOU SHARED, UH, THE POSSESSION NUMBER IN 2018 DECREASED 47%. SO THAT WAS BEFORE COVID. LIKE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU, UH, WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE TO THAT DECREASE? AND IS THAT A PATTERN THAT CONTINUED OR JUST KINDA CURIOUS ABOUT, AND IT COULD BE RELATED TO THE AVAILABILITY OF LIKE, SMOKEABLE HEMP BEING ILLEGAL AND THEREFORE POLICE NOT ABLE TO TEST. I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR RESPECTIVE ON THAT. I'M TRYING TO THINK BACK TO WHAT, WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN, IN 2018. UM, AND, UH, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UH, OF PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVES THERE, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN MORE SITE AND RELEASE THAT DEALT WITH PARAPHERNALIA AS OPPOSED TO ARREST THAT DEALT WITH POSSESSION. I, I KNOW THAT THAT WAS A DIRECTION AND AN ATTEMPT, UH, AT, AT ONE POINT. UM, OVER THE YEARS, CERTAIN THINGS HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN LIMITED, UH, BY THE STATE IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES AS WELL. SO YOU, I'M SORRY, I'M GONNA MONOPOLIZE A LITTLE TIME HERE, AND I APPRECIATE IT. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME GOING THROUGH THIS, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, YOU TAKING THE TIME. SO YOU MENTIONED TARGETED ENFORCEMENT. CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT? BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, POSSESSION IS GENERALLY SOMETHING THAT IS KIND OF, UM, UH, IS AN OFFER OFFICER INITIATED, LIKE CONTACT, I ASSUME. AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT LIKE, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DOES TARGET ENFORCEMENT MEAN AS IT RELATES TO THEN HAVING A, A LARGER AMOUNT OF POSSESSION? UM, ABSOLUTELY. SO IF, IF I'M DEALING WITH A AFTER HOURS BAR THAT IS CAUSING ISSUES FOR THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF VIOLENT CRIME, AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS, SHOOTINGS, HOMICIDES, SEXUAL ASSAULTS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, UH, ONE OF THE GROUPS THAT WE WORK WITH, UH, WOULD BE MUNICIPAL COURT, UH, AND THE ATTORNEYS TO ATTEMPT TO ABATE THAT PROPERTY. AND SO TO ABATE THE PROPERTY, YOU MAKE A MORE TARGETED ENFORCEMENT. YOU SHOW, UH, DRUG VIOLATIONS, ALCOHOL VIOLATIONS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE IN ADDITION TO THE VIOLENT CRIME. BUT JUST MAKING THOSE NUMBERS SHOWING, UH, SHOWING THOSE TYPES OF, UH, OF ARRESTS HELP YOU BE ABLE TO ABATE THAT, THAT PROPERTY. I APPRECIATE THAT. SO, UH, IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL THAT WAS DELIVERED LAST TIME, THEY MENTIONED THAT 80% OF THE INCIDENCES, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, RESULTED IN SUSPENDED OR OPEN CASES, MEANING NO CHARGES WERE FILED. SO IN THE DATA YOU PRESENTED THIS TIME WITH THOSE NUMBERS, DOES THAT IN INCLUDE, UH, CONTACTS THAT ENDED UP WITH NO CASE OR NO CHARGES? I, I'D HAVE TO, I'D HAVE TO FOLLOW BACK UP ON, ON THAT ONE AND GET YOU THE, THE DATA IN TERMS OF WHETHER THEY WERE SUSPENDED OR NOT FILED CASES ME GIVE SOME PAUSE AND GIVE SOME MOUSE CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS. OKAY. UM, I ACTUALLY JUST HAD A BRIEF QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO THE RECRUITING SORT OF EFFORTS. UM, WHEN WE LAST HAD, UM, CHIEF HENDERSON HERE, WE HAD ASKED ABOUT, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THE DEPARTMENT WOULD CONSIDER BRINGING ON RECRUITING PROFESSIONALS TO THE DEPARTMENT TO HELP ENHANCE THE RECRUITING PIPELINE AND DEVELOP, UM, YOU KNOW, RECRUITING PROGRAMS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE, THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS ENGAGED IN IS CONSIDERING IT'S MOVING FORWARD WITH, ARE WE STILL OF MIND THAT POLICE OFFICERS KNOW BEST? LIKE SHE SAID, WE JUST DID IT. WE JUST HOSTED A CLASS. WE BROUGHT IN A, A NATIONAL RECRUITING FIRM, UH, THAT, THAT BROUGHT EXPERIENCE. I, I FOUND IT INTERESTING THAT, UH, IF YOU'RE A RECRUITER IN THE MILITARY AND, AND YOU ARE IN A, UM, STRIP CENTER AND IT'S ALL FIVE BRANCHES THAT THEY SEND FOLKS TO TRAINING FOR THREE MONTHS TO TEACH THEM HOW TO MAKE YOUR BRANCH MORE MARKETABLE THAN ALL OF THE OTHER BRANCHES THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE ALIGNED SIDE BY SIDE IN, IN MOST OF THE COMMUNITIES. AND SO WE REACHED OUT TO A GROUP THAT HAD EXPERIENCE IN DOING THAT. AND NOT ONLY DID WE OFFER THAT TRAINING AND BRING IT TO OUR RECRUITING STAFF, BUT ALSO TO OUR ACADEMY STAFF AND ALSO TO OTHER OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT I WANT TO BE AMBASSADORS FOR THE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE WHEN YOU INDICATE THAT YOU HAVE INTEREST IN COMING TO WORK FOR US, AND YOU WANT TO DO A WRITE OUT, I WANNA PUT YOU WITH ONE OF THOSE OFFICERS WHO HAS BEEN TO THAT TRAINING THAT UNDERSTANDS HOW TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU [00:45:01] WHAT THE JOB IS, WHAT THE JOB ISN'T, SO THAT YOU COME IN WITH YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT. AND, UM, AND WE DID THAT AND, UH, WE JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME YET. THE TIME HASN'T EVOLVED SINCE THEN. I THINK THAT TRAINING WAS ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO TO REALLY SEE WHERE IT WAS. BUT IT'S MORE ABOUT CONTACT AGAIN, WE, WE LIVED, I THINK, NATIONWIDE AS A PROFESSION. WE LIVED UNDER THAT ASSUMPTION THAT IF WE JUST POST THE JOB, EVERYBODY WILL, WILL COME AND SIGN UP. AND THAT'S NO LONGER THE CASE. AND SO WE HAVE TO BE DELIBERATE, DELIBERATE, AND WE HAVE TO BE IMPACTFUL, AND WE HAVE TO, UH, WHEN WE GO OUT TO PLACES AND WE, WE MEET PEOPLE THAT WE'RE CALLING THOSE PEOPLE BACK AND WE'RE TALKING TO THEM AND WE'RE FINDING OUT, AND WE'RE TALKING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT SEPARATES THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT FROM EVERY OTHER MAJOR DEPARTMENT IN THE STATE AND EVERY OTHER MAJOR DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY. SO YES, WE ARE, WE'RE DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND WE'RE, WE'RE OPTIMISTIC, UM, THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME RESULTS OUT OF THAT. OKAY. WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT THAT MOVEMENT TOWARDS GETTING OUTSIDE TRAINING IS COMING IN. I WOULD BE, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA JUMP ON HEARTLANDS. I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT, UM, INTENT, LIKE, SAY OUT LOUD THAT I THINK IT WOULD REALLY HELP THE DEPARTMENT TO ACTUALLY HIRE A RECRUITING DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONALS, UM, THAT AREN'T POLICE OFFICERS, SO THAT YOU GUYS CAN CREATE SOME CONTINUITY WITHIN THE RECRUITING DEPARTMENT. SO I WILL KEEP HARPING ON BRINGING IT ON MORE CIVILIANS. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S NEW. SO, UM, I THINK THIS IS AN AREA WHERE YOU GUYS COULD DO THAT. SO. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEP. SORRY. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHIEF. UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE BUDGETED OVERTIME VERSUS THE ACTUAL OVERTIME IN YOUR REPORT. UM, THE REGULAR PERSONNEL BUDGET SEEMS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN THE YEAR. THE OVERTIME BUDGET SEEMS LIKE WE'RE ALMOST TWO THIRDS OF THE WAY THROUGH YOUR BUDGET. IS THAT, COULD YOU TELL ME WHY THAT IS? IT HAS IT, DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT WE HAVE LIKE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST IN MARCH AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS? ALTHOUGH THESE ARE, UH, LIKE WHY ARE WE TWO THIRDS OF THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR AT THIS TIME? IT'S THE 335 VACANCIES THAT I HAVE ON PATROL. EVERY ONE OF THE VACANCIES THAT I'M CARRYING, I'M CARRYING ON PATROL. THE, UH, THE WORK STILL HAS TO BE DONE. SO, UH, THAT EXISTS. BUT TO YOUR POINT, UM, THE SPECIAL EVENTS THAT ARE NOT REIMBURSED SPECIAL EVENTS ARE, ARE A COST, UH, THE NO KINGS PROTEST. THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE A COST SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST. THAT IS A COST, UM, JUST, UH, KEEPING A, A CELL A SAFE FOOTPRINT IN THE, IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. THERE'S A COST ASSOCIATED TO THAT, THAT DUE TO THE STAFFING SHORTAGES THAT WE HAVE ARE, ARE CARRIED ON ON OVERTIME. SO, UM, AT SOME POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS YOU, AS YOU NOTE THAT TWO THIRDS OF, OF MY BUDGET IS, UH, IS EXPENDED, I'M, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BE EVEN MORE, UH, CREATIVE AND TIGHTEN THE, THE BELT, UH, AS AS WE GO. BUT I'M, I'M OPTIMISTIC THAT WE'LL BE ABLE, UH, TO COME OTHER UNDER BUDGET OR, OR REALIZE SOME SAVINGS, UM, IN SOME PLACES TO TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT, I THINK YOU HAD SOMETHING AS WELL. UM, SO THIS IS, UH, RELATED TO THE ACADEMY, BUT REALLY KIND OF A BROADER QUESTION ABOUT TRAINING AND LEADERSHIP. UM, DOES A PD HAVE A COMMAND LEADERSHIP ACADEMY? ? UH, WE'VE GOT A, WE'VE GOT A NEW LEADERSHIP, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE'VE, THAT WE'VE ROLLED OUT. UM, IT'S, UH, CURRENTLY, IT CURRENTLY HAS TWO PHASES IN IT. IT BUILT IT, IT BUILT, UH, FROM A, FROM A BASIC, UH, FOR A, A HIGHER LEVEL, UH, LEADERSHIP. UH, BUT WE DO, WE DO FOR LIEUTENANTS, COMMANDERS CHIEFS, UH, WE DO TRAVEL TO DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT COURSES. UH, WE ATTEND, UH, FBI LEAD US, UH, COMMAND AND EXECUTIVE LEVEL LEADERSHIP COURSES. UH, SEVERAL PEOPLE OF ATTENDED THE FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY. UH, WE ATTEND THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT, PERFS SENIOR MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, UH, FOR POLICE. UH, BUT WE HAVE TAKEN SOME OF THOSE THINGS, UH, THAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND OTHER PROGRAMS AND HAVE INSTITUTED AND INTERNAL INSIDE, UH, LEADERSHIP PROGRAM, UH, THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO, TO PUSH FORWARD. OKAY. THANK YOU. I'M LOOKING ONLINE TO MAKE SURE I DON'T MISS COMMISSIONER SMITH. GO AHEAD. YEAH, I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING NUMBERS. UM, THEY SEEM SO, [00:50:01] SO LOW, AND I KNOW, I'M SURE THAT'S A HARD CRIME TO FIND, PER SE. UM, BUT I'M WONDERING WHAT WE'RE DOING TO EMPATHETICALLY AND SAFELY IDENTIFY THOSE INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THEY MAY, UM, BE FEARFUL OF ENGAGING WIT PD BASED ON IMMIGRATION STATUS OR FEAR OF PROSECUTION. WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A, A CONCERN OF OURS AS WELL. AND, AND LIKE CHIEF DAVIS SAID WHEN SHE WAS HERE, SHE'S, SHE'S FOCUSED ON, ON VICTIMS, AND SHE'S FOCUSING ON MAKING THE BEST CASES AND SUPPORTING, UH, THOSE VICTIMS. UH, THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT, THAT WE DO WITHIN THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING REALM IN ORDER TO, TO TRY TO ADDRESS THAT FEAR AS BEST AS POSSIBLE IS WORK WITH VICTIM SERVICES, AND ALSO TO PARTNER WITH AS MANY NGOS AS WE CAN, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN BE THE, THE GATEWAY. AND IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FROM A CRIMINAL PROSECUTION SIDE, THAT THAT'S WHERE WE WILL COME IN. BUT IF, IF ALL WE CAN DO IS TO WORK WITH VICTIM SERVICES AND NGOS TO PROVIDE A SAFE PLACE, UH, FOR SOMEBODY TO PROVIDE RESOURCES, AND IT DOESN'T END UP AS A, AS A CRIME STAT FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING, THAT'S, THAT'S A WIN FOR US JUST TO BE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE SERVICES, UM, THEY NEED. SO OUR, OUR FOCUS IS ALWAYS GONNA BE ON THAT VICTIM SERVICE AND, AND NGO SIDE, BUT WE DO HAVE AN AMAZING TEAM THAT DO WORK, UH, AND WORK WITH MANY PARTNERS WHEN IT COMES TO THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING. UM, JUST TWO QUICK QUESTIONS. UH, ONE OF WHICH I'M GLAD TO SEE A LOT OF THE NUMBERS DOWN IN TERMS OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT AND SOME OF THOSE SORT OF QUALITY OF LIFE CRIMES THAT DON'T ALWAYS MAKE OUR AGENDA HERE, BUT I THINK ARE IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS IN AUSTIN. DO YOU HAVE ANY DATA AT ALL ON THAT WITHIN THE PARK SYSTEM? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S BEEN AN AREA WHERE THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN AND BREAK-INS. ARE THOSE ALSO DOWN, OR IS THAT AN AREA THAT STILL HAS SOME SIGNIFICANT WORK TO DO COMPARED TO OTHER AREAS? UH, THAT'S DEFINITELY AN, AN AREA OF OUR CONCERN, AND IT'S SOMEPLACE THAT WE DO, UH, MORE OF THAT FOCUS TARGET, UH, TARGET ENFORCEMENT. I WILL SAY THAT WE HAVE HAD A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF SUCCESS AS OF LATE WORKING WITH PARTNERSHIP WITH NOT ONLY THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, BUT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. WE FOUND THAT THOSE WHO WERE PARTICULARLY TARGETING PROPERTY CRIMES IN THE PARKS AREA WAS A, WAS A GROUP, AN ORGANIZED GROUP. AND BY TARGETING THAT ORGANIZED GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, WE WERE ABLE TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. THERE'S GONNA BE THOSE THAT KIND OF FILL IN THAT VOID THAT'S, UH, CREATED. BUT WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT SENTENCES DUE TO OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ON THAT. AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON TARGETING INDIVIDUALS IN THOSE HIGH ACUITY LOCATIONS AND THOSE PARK AREAS, MOUNT BONNELL, UH, BULL CREEK, THOSE ARE THE AREAS THAT WE ARE REALLY FOCUSING ON WITH THAT. IS THERE ANYTHING FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE PARKS ASPECT OF IT THAT YOU FEEL IS MISSING OR NEEDED? UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S PROGRESS. WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS. UH, THE PROGRESS IS SLOW CONSIDERING, UH, THE AVAILABILITY OF OFFICERS THAT I HAVE TO PUT INTO THOSE AREAS. AGAIN, WHEN I HAVE, UH, THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES THAT I HAVE, TRYING TO TARGET THOSE SPECIFIC AREAS IS, IS A CHALLENGE. BUT WE ARE, WE, THAT'S WHERE IT, WE'RE USING THE DATA TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE TO USE THOSE, UH, THOSE FEW RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY MAKE THE BEST IMPACT. THANK YOU. AND I'M GONNA, QUICK QUESTION, WHICH IS WITH REGARDS TO EVENT SUPPORT. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WE HAD TALKED, UM, AND THERE WAS A PROGRAM ROLLED OUT TO USE RETIRED OFFICERS FOR EVENTS, AND THOSE WERE BEING CERTIFIED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND BEING ALLOWED TO RETURN TO CREATE SUPPORT FOR THOSE SO THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE SUCH A BURDEN ON OVERTIME TO THE DEPARTMENT. IS THAT STILL HAPPENING? IS THAT, ARE THERE EFFORTS TO GROW THAT, IS THAT CREATING THE ALLEVIATION THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO WHEN IT COMES TO OVERTIME? SO THE RESERVE PROGRAM HAS BEEN A PHENOMENAL SUCCESS. UH, I JUST WISH THAT I HAD MORE PEOPLE THAT WERE, THAT WERE IN IT. UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON. UH, THE, THE COST TO THE CITY FOR THE RESERVES OFFICERS IS MUCH LESS THAN THE COST FOR, FOR THE ACTIVE OFFICERS. UM, I DON'T THINK THAT WE WOULD BE AS SUCCESSFUL IN STAFFING EVENTS TODAY IF IT WASN'T FOR, UH, THAT RESERVE OFFICER PROGRAM. BUT I THINK THAT AUSTIN HAS BEEN A, UH, SO SUCCESSFUL IN THE EVENT SPACE THAT WE JUST CONTINUE TO SEE SO MUCH EXPLOSION IN TERMS OF THE GROWTH OF THOSE SPECIAL EVENTS, THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS THAT IT TAKES TO WORK AN EVENT [00:55:01] AT THE MOODY CENTER AT JUST ACROSS THE STREET AT AC L LIVE AT, AT MOODY THEATER. AND SO EVERY TIME THAT I'M IN AND AROUND ONE OF THOSE EVENTS, I SEE A LOT OF THOSE RESERVE OFFICERS WORKING AT THE MARATHONS, THE RACES. BUT I MEAN, WE COULD JUST RATTLE OFF EVERY SINGLE EVENT THAT OCCURS EVERY WEEK HERE AND, UM, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH TO GO AROUND. BUT, UH, EVERY TIME ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE, UH, RETIRES WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO BRING THEM BACK INTO THE FOLD AND, AND KEEP 'EM IN THE FAMILY AND KEEP 'EM WORKING. I'D BE INTERESTED IN A, IN A FUTURE PRESENTATION, JUST LEARNING MORE ABOUT HOW BIG THAT PROGRAM IS NOW AND WHETHER THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO GROW THAT. UM, ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, AND WITH THAT, [4. Discussion of Austin Police operating procedures for disclosure of bodycam footage to Travis County post arrest with Austin Police, Travis County Attorney’s Office and Travis County Defender's Office. Presentation by Lee Rogers, Chief of Staff, Austin Police, Lucio del Toro, First Assistant County Attorney, Travis County Attorney’s Office, Adeola Ogunkeyede, Chief Public Defender for Travis County, Travis County Defender’s Office.] WE WILL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE QUESTIONS OUT AND MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM, UM, WHICH IS THE DISCUSSION OF THE AUSTIN POLICE OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OF BODY CAM FOOTAGE TO TRAVIS COUNTY POST-ARREST. UM, IF WE CAN HAVE TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, COME UP, WE HAVE THE TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE TRAVIS COUNTY DEFENDER'S OFFICE. UM, HOW DO WE WANT TO DO THIS? DO WE WANT A PD TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PROCESS AND THEN YOU GUYS HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK OR WOULD YOU GUYS, HOW, HOW DO WE WANNA DO THIS? DO WE HAVE A PREFERENCE? I, WE DEFER TO YOU. OKAY. WELL, LET'S, OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND LET A PD, UM, TALK THROUGH THEIR EXISTING PROCESS FOR DISCLOSING THIS BODY CAM FOOTAGE, AND THEN WE CAN OPEN UP FOR DISCUSSION. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. MM-HMM . UH, SO TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE A LOT OF THINGS, UH, MUCH SIMPLER AND BETTER IN OUR LIVES. UH, TECHNOLOGY HAS OFTEN AT TIMES, COMPLICATED OUR LIVES. UH, ONE OF THOSE COMPLICATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, THIS EVIDENCE SHARING IS THE VOLUME OF, UH, OF EVIDENCE, ESPECIALLY DIGITAL EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE CAPTURING TODAY. WHEN I STARTED, UH, IN THIS BUSINESS OVER 30 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE NO CAMERAS IN CARS. THEN WE HAD VHS TAPES, NOW WE HAVE, UH, DIGITAL CAMERAS IN EVERY PATROL CAR AND ON EVERY OFFICER'S BODY. SO THAT VOLUME, AND THEN THE VIDEO GETS BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER. AND SO, JUST LIKE YOUR PHONE USED TO NOT STORE VERY MANY PICTURES. NOW THE, THE QUALITY, AND NOW SOME OF US ARE PROBABLY RUNNING 512 GIGABYTES ON THEIR PHONE JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE REPOSITORY FOR EVERYTHING. UH, IN 2025, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT MADE 13,923 FELONY ARRESTS. UH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S INDIVIDUALS WITH, UH, 34,552 CHARGES. THAT'S JUST FELONIES IN THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. FOR MISDEMEANORS, IT WAS 18,472, UH, 38,508, UH, CHARGES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT 14,000 FELONY CASES, 20,000 MISDEMEANOR CASES ANNUALLY. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE, UM, CLASS CS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH MUNICIPAL COURT. SO I HAVE A DIGITAL EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT UNIT THAT IS THE GROUP THAT GATHERS THAT INFORMATION UPON REQUEST TO SEND OVER TO, UH, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, NOT ONLY IN TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND, AND TO A MUCH, MUCH MORE MICROSCOPIC, UM, VERSION HAYES COUNTY AS WELL. BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THAT CITY OF AUSTIN SETS AT SOME POINT IN THREE SEPARATE COUNTIES. UH, AND THEN ANYTHING THAT I NEED TO DO IN MUNICIPAL COURT OR ANYTHING THAT'S REQUIRED, UH, TO BE DONE IN, IN FEDERAL COURT AS WELL. UH, CURRENTLY WE DO HAVE A BACKLOG, UH, IN TERMS OF GETTING THE INFORMATION FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT OVER TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. UH, THE, THE BACKLOG WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS ABOUT 4,500 CASES. THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS ABOUT 38, 3900 CASES. I WILL SAY THAT WE HAVE WORKED WITH BOTH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO ADDRESS THE BACKLOG. WE HAVE PRIORITIZED IT IN TERMS OF STAFF. WE CONTINUE TO HIRE OR TO ATTEMPT TO HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF TO ALSO STAFF THE DIGITAL EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT UNIT WITH LIGHT DUTY OFFICERS, OFFICERS THAT ARE OUT BECAUSE OF INJURIES, UH, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. TRY TO BE AS CREATIVE AS POSSIBLE WITH MY STAFFING TO UTILIZE EVERY RESOURCE I HAVE TO ADDRESS THIS. UH, WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES IN THE UNIT. WE'VE SEEN SOME GREAT STRIDES. UH, WE'VE WORKED, UH, VERY CLOSELY WITH THE DA'S OFFICE AND THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE WHO HAVE OFFERED US, UH, PERSONNEL AND ASSISTANCE ON THEIR SIDE AS WELL. UH, WE ARE DROPPING AT A RATE OF ABOUT A THOUSAND CASES PER MONTH RIGHT NOW. UH, CHIPPING AWAY AT THAT BACKLOG. KEEP IN MIND THAT'S A THOUSAND PER MONTH REDUCTION WHILE AT THE SAME TIME [01:00:01] WE NEVER STOP, UH, MAKING MORE CASES. SO, UM, I'LL LET ANYBODY ELSE, UH, TALK, BUT, UH, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WHEN WE'RE, UH, WELL, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THAT, I JUST WANTED TO ASK, SO THE, OUR REQUEST WAS TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROCEDURES THAT ARE IN PLACE. AND SO IF I JUST UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU SAID CORRECTLY, THE PROCEDURE IS THAT YOU DON'T PROVIDE IT UNLESS IT'S REQUESTED. IS THAT CORRECT? 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID. SO I JUST WANNA CLARIFY BEFORE WE MOVE ON. RIGHT. I'M, I'M NOT, THERE'RE IT'S NOT JUST, IT'S NOT DISCLOSED AS MATTER OF FACT, WHEN YOU MAKE AN ARREST, IT GETS HANDED OVER. YOU WAIT FOR A REQUEST. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. ALRIGHT. YOU GUYS CAN GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, I'M LINDE. I'M THE CHIEF PUBLIC DEFENDER, UH, FOR THE TRAVIS COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE. THANK YOU ALL FOR INVITING ME HERE TODAY TO, UM, UPDATE YOU ON THE IMPACT OF THESE BACKLOGS ON THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRAVELING THROUGH OUR LOCAL CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM. OBVIOUSLY THE NUMBERS YOU HEARD, UM, ARE STAGGERING. UM, AND AS ADMITTED AS YOU KNOW, CASES HAVE THE BODY-WORN, CAMERAS TURNED OVER, MORE CASES ARE COMING INTO THE SYSTEM, UM, IN WHICH THE NEED FOR THE BODY-WORN CAMERAS TO BE TURNED OVER, UM, IS EVIDENT. UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LAW, UH, INCLUDES A PROVISION WHERE FOR THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, WE ARE MAKING REQUESTS WITHIN DAYS OF BEING APPOINTED. UM, SO ONE TO TWO DAYS POST, UM, OUR ASSIGNMENT TO THE CASES WITH THE ADVENT OF COUNSEL AT FIRST APPEARANCE, THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE IS RIGHT THERE IN THOSE FIRST APPEARANCES WHERE PEOPLE ARE SEEING THE JUDGES FOR THE FIRST TIME. UM, AND WE ARE STAYING WITH THOSE CASES ASSIGNED ON. AND SO IT IS REALLY QUICKLY THAT WE ARE TURNING TO THE STATE, UH, AND, UM, MAKING OUR REQUESTS FOR, UH, DISCOVERY, WHICH IS THE, THE FORMAL LEGAL TERM, UH, THAT THE BODY-WORN CAMERAS WOULD, UH, FALL UNDER, UH, ASKING FOR THOSE TO BE TURNED OVER TO US. UM, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST YEAR PLUS IS THAT THE PROCESS HAS BECOME THE PUNISHMENT, UH, FOR FOLKS WHERE, FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, WE ARE REPRESENTING PEOPLE WHO ARE INDIGENT, RIGHT? OTHERWISE KNOWN AS POOR. I DON'T LIKE TO USE THE WORD POOR BECAUSE IT SOMETIMES CONNOTES, RIGHT? LIKE SOME WRONGDOING ON SOMEBODY'S PART. THEY'RE JUST PEOPLE WHO ARE POOR OF RESOURCES. UM, AND SO FOR OUR, UH, COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE, UH, THESE ARE FOLKS WHO ARE, UM, OFTEN DISCONNECTED FROM HOUSING, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT IN WAYS THAT, UM, CONTINUING TO HAVE THEIR CASES LANGUISH IN THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM, FURTHER DESTABILIZES THEM, UM, PREVENTS THEM FROM MOVING FORWARD IN WAYS, UH, THAT ACTUALLY MAKES THE COMMUNITY LESS SAFE. UM, WHEN FOLKS ARE OUT OF WORK, WHEN FOLKS ARE UNABLE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR LIVES BECAUSE THEY ARE WAITING FOR THEIR LEGAL CASES TO RESOLVE, RIGHT? YOU ARE CREATING DYNAMICS WHERE THOSE PEOPLE ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCESS EMPLOYMENT, NOT ABLE TO ACCESS HOUSING, BECAUSE THE OPEN CASE IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, OFTEN COMES UP, UM, IN THE CHECKS TO BE ABLE TO, TO MOVE FORWARD IN THOSE OTHER SYSTEMS. AND SO WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SUFFERING AS A RESULT OF THIS, AND IT IS CREATING A DYNAMIC, UM, THAT'S HAVING RIPPLE EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE COURT PROCESS, RIGHT? THE OBLIGATION IS ON THE STATE TO TURN IT OVER. THE DEFENSE IS NOT, UH, REQUESTING THE INFORMATION FROM A PD. UM, A P OBVIOUSLY IS THE, UM, PRIMARY ARRESTING AGENCY IN TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, HAS THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE CASES. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING RIGHT CASES WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT SIX MONTHS, SEVEN MONTHS, EIGHT MONTHS, NINE MONTHS BEFORE THE BODY-WORN CAMERA FOOTAGE IS TURNED OVER. UM, AND RIGHT, THAT CREATES A DYNAMIC WHERE PEOPLE ARE OTHERWISE EXPERIENCING A PUNISHING PROCESS JUST TO HAVE THEIR CASE RESOLVED WITH SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE THEN ADDITIONAL PUNISHMENT, UM, AND ADDITIONAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THEM. UM, AND EVEN WHERE THAT'S NOT THE CASE, RIGHT? EVEN WHERE THERE'S SOME RESOLUTION THAT MIGHT BE WORKED OUT, UM, THAT IN AND OF ITSELF MIGHT BE CONSIDERED, UM, A DIVERSIONARY OR MITIGATING, UM, RESOLUTION, THEY'VE WAITED A LONG TIME AND BEEN DISCONNECTED, UM, FROM LIFE-AFFIRMING RESOURCES THAT CREATE A DYNAMIC WHERE IT'S FRANKLY BECOME UNTENABLE. [01:05:01] UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LEVERS THAT THE STATE AND THE LEVERS THAT THE JUDGES CAN PULL ARE LEVERS THAT AS DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, WE ARE LOOKING TO THEM TO SAY LIKE, PLEASE PULL THESE LEVERS. WE UNDERSTAND THERE'S BEEN MEETINGS, WE UNDERSTAND THERE'S BEEN BEEN CONVERSATIONS, BUT MEETINGS AND CONVERSATIONS DON'T, ARE NOT ENOUGH. UM, AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, I HEAR THERE'S BEEN CREATIVE PRIORITIZATION OF STAFFING, UM, IT, IT'S NOT ENOUGH, RIGHT? LIKE TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE AT ONE TIME. THAT CAN BE BOTH, UH, ATTEMPTS TO PRIORITIZE AS WELL AS THOSE, UM, ATTEMPTS BEING INSUFFICIENT TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS, UM, RIGHT, LIKE THE LARGE CONSEQUENCES THAT ARE ACCRUING TO OUR COMMUNITY AS A RESULT OF THIS BACKLOG. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, THANK YOU FOR INVITING US. MY NAME'S LUCIA DEL TOROS. I'M PRIVILEGED TO BE THE FIRST ASSISTANT OF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, SERVING DIRECTLY WITH OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY, ALIA GARZA, WHO SENDS REGARDS AND ALSO THANKS Y'ALL FOR, UH, INVITING US TO, TO BE HERE TODAY. UM, WE AT THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, WE HANDLE ALL THE MISDEMEANOR PROSECUTIONS IN TRAVIS COUNTY. UM, SO ANYTHING THAT'S DWI ASSAULT, FAMILY VIOLENCE, CRIMINAL TRESPASS, INDECENT ASSAULTS, UH, THAT'S WITHIN OUR OFFICE. AND SO WE STAFF ALL THE SIX COUNTY COURTS PLUS THE ONE SPECIALTY COURT HERE, THE FAMILY VIOLENCE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT, UH, AT THE COURTHOUSE. UM, SO YES, UH, THE, I GUESS IT'S IMPORTANT I THINK TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVIDENCE. UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIGITAL EVIDENCE, UM, THE REQUESTS THAT ARE MADE AND HOW THAT PROCESS WORKS. UH, OUR OFFICE AS WELL, WHEN SOMEBODY'S ARRESTED, WE USUALLY RECEIVE KIND OF THE INITIAL SKELETON OF THE CASE, UH, A DAY OR TWO AFTER SOMEBODY'S BEEN ARRESTED. AND AUTOMATICALLY OUR STAFF BEGINS TO FIRST MAKE THE REQUEST TO A PD FOR ALL EVIDENCE AND THEN, UH, ENGAGE AND OBTAIN AS MUCH OF THE EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE AS WE CAN. IT'S AVAILABLE TO US. SO WHAT'S KIND OF OUTSTANDING IN A LOT OF THESE CASES, DIGITAL EVIDENCE, UH, INDIVIDUALS DO RECEIVE, WE'RE ABLE TO GET OFFENSE REPORTS, PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVITS AND DIFFERENT KIND OF WRITTEN, UH, INFORMATION ON MOST CASES. UH, THIS BACKLOG IS REALLY PERTAINING TO THE DIGITAL EVIDENCE, UM, WHICH IT IS, IT'S SIGNIFICANT. UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NOT LOST ON OUR OFFICE. WE'VE BEEN ENGAGING WITH A PD FOR QUITE SOME TIME, UM, BEFORE THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. UH, IT JUST GOT TO A POINT AS WELL FOR OUR OFFICE, JUST KIND OF LIKE, UH, THE CHIEF PUBLIC DEFENDER SAID, IT'S JUST UNTENABLE. IT REALLY IS, UH, TO EVERYBODY INVOLVED, UH, THE VAST MAJORITY OF CASES THAT COME THROUGH ANY OF OUR SYSTEMS, WHETHER IT'S MISDEMEANOR, FELONY, OR NONVIOLENT. UM, AND SO IN OUR OFFICE, WE PRIORITIZE, UH, PROSECUTION OF VIOLENT CRIME AND DOING, UH, AND WE'VE INSTITUTED UNDER THE COUNTY ATTORNEY JUSTICE LEADERSHIP VARIOUS REFORMS TOWARDS DIVERSION, TOWARDS, UH, INTERVENTION THAT WE BELIEVE LEADS TO PREVENTION AND INDIVIDUALS NOT COMING BACK AND HAVING CONTACT AND ENGAGE WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE FUTURE. UH, BUT ALL THOSE EFFORTS ARE FRUSTRATED AND STOPPED AND DELAYED BECAUSE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, UH, I WAS A DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR A LONG TIME. UM, YOU CAN'T TRULY ENGAGE IN REPRESENTATION OF YOUR CLIENTS AND TRULY ADVISE THEM PROPERLY WITHOUT HAVING SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE AND THE EVIDENCE IN THE CASE SPECIFICALLY FOR THESE TYPE OF CASES, UH, THE DIGITAL BODY-WORN CAMERA. UM, IT IS A CONSEQUENCE OF ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY. YOU KNOW, WE MAKE THAT JOKE. I WAS PRACTICING AT THE TIME WHERE FOR A DWI, LIKE THE CHIEF SAID, THERE USED TO BE VHS TAPES, AND YOU COULD, YOU'D DROP OFF A BLANK CASSETTE TAPE AT THE PROSECUTOR OFFICE, AND YOU'D COME BACK MAYBE IN A COUPLE WEEKS OR A MONTH TO GET THAT COPY. UM, I MEAN, NOW IT'S TAKEN SEVERAL MONTHS, BUT OF COURSE IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE, RIGHT? BECAUSE, UH, IT'S NOT JUST ONE, UH, PIECE OF BODY-WORN CAMERA. IT'S SEVERAL OFFICERS AND SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS. SO IT IS GOOD. I MEAN, FOR TRANSPARENCY, WE ALL WANT TO SEE THAT. WE ALL WANT TO SEE BODY CAM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. UM, IT'S JUST A LARGE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION OF DATA. UH, AND YES, I MEAN, MEETINGS ARE IMPORTANT. OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY PULLED TOGETHER, EVERYBODY, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, CHIEF DAVIS, HER LEADERSHIP TEAM, WERE ALL PRESENT, UM, TO DISCUSS NOT JUST THE, THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION, BUT ALSO WE BELIEVE IN BEING AN OFFICE, BEING PROACTIVE. I MEAN, BRINGING THINGS TO THE ATTENTION OF ALL INVOLVED, BUT ALSO TRYING TO PARTICIPATE AND BRING POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS IF WE CAN. UM, STAFFING IS A CONCERN FOR ALL OF US, FOR EVERYONE. THESE ISSUES ACROSS INDUSTRIES AND PROFESSIONS, IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO A PD. IT'S NOT UNIQUE TO OUR OFFICE. I MEAN, ALL ACROSS, WE'RE ALL STILL SEEING ISSUES WITH RECRUITMENT, WITH STAFFING, WITH RETENTION, UM, WHICH THAT'S A REALITY, BUT IT'S STILL, WE'RE ALSO THE REALITY OF WHAT WE'RE FACING. I MEAN, WE STILL HAVE TO ENGAGE AND IT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED. SO AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, LIKE WE'VE BEEN ENGAGING AND OFFERED, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR, SOME OF OUR STAFF TO LEND A HAND AND TRY TO ASSIST A PD WITH THE MOVEMENT AND THE PROCESSING OF SOME OF THIS EVIDENCE TO MOVE IT ALONG AND GET THIS INFORMATION INTO THESE CASES, UH, SO DEFENSE ATTORNEYS CAN REVIEW WITH THEIR CLIENTS AND TRY TO HOPEFULLY TO MOVE FORWARD ON THOSE CASES. UM, WE HAVE SEEN, UH, SOME PROGRESS. UH, WE'RE CONFIDENT THIS BACKLOG ISSUE, WHICH BY THE WAY, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED, RIGHT? AND ALSO IN RECENT MEMORY, RIGHT? IN 20 18, 20 19, THIS ISSUE CAME UP AGAIN, WAS, WAS AROUND, AND IT GOT ADDRESSED, AND IT WILL BE ADDRESSED. THE, [01:10:01] THE BACKLOG ISSUE WILL GET RESOLVED AND ADDRESSED, UH, HOPEFULLY A LOT SOONER THAN LATER. BUT OUR FOCUS ALSO IS ON DEVELOPING, YOU KNOW, PLANS AND CHANGING STRUCTURES TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO NEVER BE IN THIS POSITION AGAIN, UH, TO NOT GO BACKWARDS. UH, UNFORTUNATELY THAT HAPPENS WAY TOO OFTEN. PEOPLE KIND OF RESOLVE THE ISSUE AT HAND AND THEN KIND OF MOVE ON UNTIL IT BECOMES AN ISSUE AGAIN. UM, BUT THAT'S OUR HOPE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, MODIFICATIONS TO THE WAY THIS ALL WORKS SO THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN GET THAT ARE ACCUSED. 'CAUSE REMEMBER, RIGHT, PEOPLE ARE JUST ACCUSED OF A CRIME, UH, WHEN THIS IS ALL GOING ON. NO ONE'S BEEN CONVICTED. NO, NO, THERE'S BEEN NO FINALITY OR DISPOSITION. UM, SO THEY CAN RECEIVE ALL THE INFORMATION IN THEIR CASES SO THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, SPEAK WITH THEIR ATTORNEYS AND MAKE THE BEST DECISION POSSIBLE FOR THEM. I HAVE LOTS OF THOUGHTS, BUT I'M GONNA LET SOMEBODY ELSE GO FIRST. UM, , I'M GONNA LET SOMEBODY ELSE GO FIRST. YEP. CAN I JUST ASK A PROCESS QUESTION? AS SOMEBODY WHO IS NOT AN ATTORNEY AND WORKS IN HEALTHCARE, SO UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM, JUST UNDERSTAND HOW IT CURRENTLY HAPPENS. THERE IS NO DEFAULT WHERE RECORDS ARE TURNED OVER, IT INVOLVES AN ACTIVE REQUEST. IT DOES. UH, AND PART OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE SYSTEMS THAT E EXIST FOR EVIDENCE CONTINUITY, AND THEN THE SYSTEMS THAT EXIST FOR WHERE WE STORE EVIDENCE VERSUS, UH, HOW THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MAY RECEIVE EVIDENCE, HOW THEY MAY SHARE EVIDENCE WITH THEIR, UH, WITH THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS. AND THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENT SYSTEM THAT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE USES THAN THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MAY USE, UH, A DIFFERENT SYSTEM AS WELL. SO THERE'S, THERE'S SOME HURDLES, UH, YOU KNOW, IT MAY NEED TO BE, UH, DOWNLOADED IN A CERTAIN FORMAT AND, AND THERE'S BEEN AN ATTEMPT MADE TO TRY TO STANDARDIZE AND, AND STREAMLINE THAT. UM, I WASN'T IN A POSITION WHERE THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY ON MY RADAR IN 2018 OR 2019, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GOT INTO THAT POSITION, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE REALLY GOT OUT OF THAT BACKLOG. AND I WOULD THINK THAT MAYBE THAT EVIL MONSTER COVID-19 MAYBE SUPPRESSED THAT, UH, THAT BACKLOG AT THE TIME. AND THEN WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED IN THE INTERIM. BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK TOWARD A, UH, A MORE STANDARDIZED SHARING PLATFORM AND, AND GOAL, UH, MOVING FORWARD, AND THAT'S A LOCAL CHOICE THAT WE MAKE. THERE'S NOTHING ON A STATE LAW THAT, THAT DICTATES THESE PROCESSES THAT WOULD PROHIBIT US FROM FIGURING OUT SOMETHING THAT THAT WORKS, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. UM, SO I, I'LL A LITTLE, SO I, WHEN WE WERE PUTTING THIS AGENDA ITEM TOGETHER, WE INTENTIONALLY HAD TRAVIS COUNTY HERE, NOT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, NOT HAYES COUNTY, NOT WILLIAMSON COUNTY, SO THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY ADDRESS PROCESS IN A SMALLER CONTEXT AND NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THE CAVEATS THAT MAKE IT EVEN MORE COMPLICATED, BECAUSE JUST THIS ALONE IS COMPLICATED. AND, UM, AND MY QUESTION IS, IS IT NOT FAIRLY STANDARD, UM, THE EVIDENCE THAT'S REQUESTED TO GO WITH A DUI AND WHEN THIS PERSON IS MAKING, WHEN THIS OFFICER IS MAKING AN ARREST AND THIS CASE IS GETTING PROCESSED AND THIS ARREST IS MAKE BEING MADE, IS IT NOT FAIRLY STANDARD, THE EVIDENCE THAT'S BEING REQUESTED? AND CAN THERE NOT BE PROCESS BUILT IN ON THE FRONT END AHEAD OF THE REQUEST, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU WANT THIS COLLAR TO GO THROUGH, RIGHT? AND YOU WANT THIS PROCESS TO GO THROUGH? IS THERE NOT WORK THAT A PD CAN BE DOING PROACTIVELY ON THE FRONT END AHEAD OF THE REQUEST, KNOWING THAT ALL OF THIS IS GONNA GET REQUESTED? THAT'S A LOT TO UNPACKAGE . AND, UM, IN TERMS OF THAT, THAT, THAT QUESTION, AND YOU, YOU, YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO REALLY MAKE IT SIMPLE BY ONLY TALKING ABOUT ONE PROSECUTORIAL ENTITY, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THAT LUXURY. I I DEAL WITH EACH AND EVERY PROSECUTORIAL ENTITY. SO WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, STANDARDIZED A FORMAT AND A PROCESS THAT WORKED FOR ALL OF THE PARTIES. ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT I'M CURRENTLY HAVING AS WELL IS I'M DEALING WITH A LEGACY DIGITAL, UH, MOBILE AUDIO VIDEO AND, AND AN, A LEGACY SYSTEM AND ANOTHER SYSTEM WITHIN AXON. SO I HAVE TWO DIFFERENT FORMATS TO SHARE IN CAR VIDEO. UH, SO THAT THAT'S A PROBLEM. THAT SYSTEM IS BEING SUNSETTED IN THE FUTURE, WE WILL ONLY HAVE ONE SYSTEM THAT WILL BE BOTH AXON, INCAR CAMERA AND AXON BODY CAMERA, AND THEN THAT LEGACY SYSTEM WILL NO LONGER BE IN [01:15:01] PLACE. BUT YES, WE ARE, WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AND STREAMLINE THE PROCESS TO MAKE IT MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TO GET IT SHARED. THAT'S GOING TO INCLUDE DIFFERENT SOFTWARE ON BOTH SIDES, MORE THAN THAN LIKELY TO BE ABLE TO, UH, EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY SHARE THAT. AND I, I THINK THE REASON MY HEAD EXPLODED A LITTLE BIT WHEN THIS SORT OF CAME TO MY ATTENTION IS WE JUST SAW THAT DRUG OFFENSE CATEGORY BALLOON RIGHT INTO THE THOUSANDS, UM, AND MORE TO COME. AND WE ALSO SAW IN THE FOLLOW-UP DOCUMENT FROM JANUARY THAT 80% OF THOSE CAN BE DISMISSED OR THAT WERE HISTORICALLY DISMISSED, RIGHT? THAT THERE WAS AN 80% FIGURE DIS THAT TIED TO DISMISSALS, UM, IN THAT FOLLOW UP REPORT. AND SO ARE WE HOLDING UP AS A CITY THE DISMISSAL OF 80% OF THESE CASES? AND THESE ARE, AGAIN, THESE ARE NOT JUST CASE NUMBERS ON A DIGITAL FILE. THESE ARE PEOPLE, THESE ARE LIVES THAT ARE ON HOLD WHILE ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING. AND SO WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THIS BACKLOG AND SAW SIMULTANEOUSLY THAT INCREASE IN POSSESSION, UM, DRUG OFFENSES, LIKE SERIOUS, LIKE MY, MY HEAD LITERALLY LIKE, JUST KIND OF IMPLODED. I WAS JUST LIKE, HOW ARE WE IN THIS MESS? AND HOW ARE WE, I'M GLAD THAT THE TRAVIS COUNTY HAS SOME CONFIDENCE THAT THIS WILL BE FIXED, BUT I, I SEE A, I SEE A MOUNTAIN BEING BUILT, NOT BEING . I DON'T, I DON'T SEE US ON THE DESCENT SIDE OF THAT MOUNTAIN. SO, UM, SOLUTIONS, UM, CREATIVE ONES, UM, QUESTIONS, OTHER QUESTIONS THAT CAN HELP US GET TO SOMETHING ELSE. YEAH, NO, I MEAN THIS, UH, THIS PROBLEM KIND OF BLOWS MY MIND ON A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT LEVELS ALSO, AND, AND MAKES ME THINK OF ABOUT A HALF A DOZEN DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS THAT MAYBE ALL NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THE PROCESS. AND SOME OF THEM YOU GUYS ARE DEFINITELY NOT GONNA BE SUPER BIG FANS OF, BUT I GUESS I'VE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO THAT UP HERE. BUT I'M, I'M REMEMBERING, AND I'M JUST GONNA SORT OF FOREGROUND BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS ONLY A COUPLE YEARS AGO THAT A PD WAS IN FRONT OF US BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T PROCESSING TIME SHEETS IN A TIMELY MANNER TO PAY PEOPLE OVERTIME. SO I AM DEEPLY SKEPTICAL OF AD'S CAPACITY TO RUN BUSINESS PROCESSES AT NOT EVEN ASKING AN OPTIMAL LEVEL, BUT LIKE AT SORT OF THE BASIC STANDARD OF CARE FOR A BUSINESS OR AN ORGANIZATION IN 2026. UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS GET SUED WHEN THEY STOP PAYING PEOPLE OVER TIME ON TIME. LIKE THAT'S, WE HAVE LAWS, RIGHT? SO, UM, THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, FROM MY PAST EXPERIENCE, BUT, YOU KNOW, SO, BUT I STILL DON'T, I MEAN, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE SENDING THE CASE. WHY CAN'T THE EVIDENCE GO WITH THE CASE? BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO THAT CASE. UM, I ALSO KIND OF KNOW THAT Y'ALL COULD REALLY USE A COMBINED CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM, A DATA SYSTEM, AND THAT THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUES WITH THAT IN TERMS OF FUNDING AND WHO'S GONNA PAY FOR IT AND HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE TO ROLL OUT. BUT I'M JUST GONNA PUT THAT OUT THERE AS THE LONG TERM SOLUTION, BECAUSE THIS IS RIDICULOUS. LIKE, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN IN THIS RELATIONSHIP FOR, I DUNNO, 150, 200 YEARS , HOW IS IT THAT COMPUTERS HAVE BEEN AROUND SINCE LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, 1955 OR WHATEVER. AND WE DON'T HAVE A COMBINED CRIMINAL JUSTICE DATA SYSTEM THAT ENABLES Y'ALL TO SEE EACH OTHER'S STUFF. BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH HAYES COUNTY'S INVOLVED AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY'S INVOLVED, I DON'T KNOW, 80 90% OF THIS IS TRAVIS COUNTY DA'S OFFICE AND TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. UM, BUT LIKE FOR THE SHORT TERM, I HAVE A FANTASTIC SOLUTION. TAKE A PERCENTAGE OF THE NONVIOLENT CASES, YOU CAN EVEN PICK THEM AND JUST START DISMISSING THEM BECAUSE THERE IS A REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A WAY FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CIRCUMVENT, UH, BAIL REFORM. THE FACT THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE GETTING OUT ON RELEASE AND TO CREATE A PUNISHMENT SYSTEM FOR CASES THAT ARE NO LONGER BEING PUNISHED IN TRAVIS COUNTY. RIGHT. INCREDIBLY UNIMPORTANT, NOT CONNECTED TO PUBLIC SAFETY CASES, WHICH IS A VERY LARGE PERCENTAGE OF WHAT THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE DOES. I MEAN, THIS IS A COUNTY WHERE, JUST BECAUSE I'VE INTERACTED WITH SOME OF THESE SITUATIONS, WE ARE CONSISTENTLY ARRESTING MILDLY AND MODERATELY MENTALLY ILL NONVIOLENT [01:20:01] PEOPLE FOR TRESPASSING, APPOINTING THEM A PUBLIC DEFENDER FROM THE MENTAL HEALTH, PUBLIC DEFENDER PROCESSING THEIR CASE. AND THE PROBLEM IS WE DON'T HAVE WRAPAROUND HOUSING, SO THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO LIVE, AND THEY ARE GOING TO KEEP TRESPASSING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL THEY DROP DEAD. THAT'S NOT A CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROBLEM. AND SO I WOULD REALLY LOVE FOR THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UM, TO WORK WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND I'D LOVE YOUR THOUGHTS ON NOT PROSECUTING CASES THAT IT'S REALLY AT THIS POINT JUST TRULY RIDICULOUS THAT WE PROSECUTE. UM, WELL, SURE. I MEAN, FOR CATEGORIES OF CASES, UM, SO NOW THERE'S A STATE LAW THAT PROHIBITS, UM, ANY PROSECUTING OFFICE FROM JUST A CATEGORY DISMISSING ANY TYPE OF CASE. UM, WE'VE ALWAYS, OUR OFFICE AS WE GOT HERE, AND DESO WAS ELECTED IN 2021, HAVE ALWAYS REVIEWED EVERY, EVERY CASE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS TO SEE, UH, TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, THE FACTS AND THE EVIDENCE PRIORIT, BUT WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES. AND SO WE DO PRIORITIZE VIOLENT CRIME AND TRY TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN, UM, TO SEE WHAT CASES THAT ARE NONVIOLENT CAN BE DIVERTED AWAY, CAN BE, YOU KNOW, REDIRECTED IN VARIOUS FORMS. THAT LOOKS A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. UM, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT LIKE I, AND I APOLOGIZE THAT I DIDN'T LIKE MENTION THAT. I KNOW THAT THE, THE STATE IS MAKING THINGS DIFFICULT ON THE GROUND IN TERMS OF WRITING DOWN POLICIES THAT ARE SORT OF SYSTEMATIC AND SYSTEM WIDE, AND THAT THAT'S GENERALLY HOW PEOPLE OPERATE. BUT THERE'S NO REASON A PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE THAT HAS DISCRETION TO DISMISS ANY INDIVIDUAL CASE. IT WANTS TO, CAN'T JUST INDIVIDUALLY EXERCISE THAT DISCRETION, I DON'T KNOW, 1500, 2000 TIMES AND GET RID OF A BUNCH OF THESE CASES. YEAH. SO TO THAT END TO YOUR QUESTION, THIS ISSUE SPECIFICALLY, I MEAN, IT GETS TO A POINT ABSOLUTELY WHERE INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHTS TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AND INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHTS TO TRULY BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN THE PROCESS, UH, COMES INTO QUESTION AND IT GETS TO THE POINT WHICH YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE. AND SO WHETHER OR NOT THESE CASES, DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCE, DEPENDING ON EACH INDIVIDUAL, UM, SITUATION, WHETHER OR NOT IT CAN MOVE FORWARD, RIGHT? AND A LOT OF THESE SITUATIONS, YOU KNOW, IT DOES GET TO THAT POINT. IT COULD GET TO THAT POINT, UM, LIKE MASSIVELY, LIKE YOU'RE SAYING CATEGORICALLY, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT IT JUST BLANKETLY, BUT I THINK I UNDERSTAND. WE ALL UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT. AND SO I DO THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN INTERNALLY AND WITH DEFENSE ATTORNEYS TO DISCUSS INDIVIDUAL CASES TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT'S MISSING, AND HOW IT COULD POTENTIALLY PREJUDICE THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, TO MOUNT THEIR DEFENSE. NOT JUST THE INDIVIDUAL FROM THE DEFENSE SIDE, BUT FROM OUR SIDE AS WELL AS THE STATE. I MEAN, IT GETS IT, WHEN I SAY FRUSTRATED, WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS NOT ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD. I MEAN, THAT ASSUMES THAT THESE CASES ARE WORTH NEGOTIATING. I MEAN, I GUESS THAT'S MY POINT BEFORE YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE LIKE, DEFENSE LAWYER, TELL ME WHAT DO YOU NEED THAT WE HAVEN'T PROVIDED SO THAT WE CAN MOVE THIS CASE FORWARD, SIT DOWN WITH A BUNCH OF COUNTY ATTORNEYS AND GO THROUGH THESE BACKLOGGED CASES AND DECIDE WHICH ONES INDIVIDUALLY ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS ARE POINTLESS AT THIS POINT. BECAUSE WE ALL, I MEAN, WE DON'T ALL KNOW THIS, BUT THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT DETERRENT EFFECT IN THE MISDEMEANOR SYSTEM IS THE ARREST. THE REST OF IT, THE JAIL TIME, THE PROCESS, IT'S HOT GARBAGE. IT DOES NOT DETER ANYTHING. UH, I KNOW THAT'S NOT HOW POLICE FEEL ABOUT ARRESTS. I THINK THEY FEEL LIKE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE GET PUNISHED, BUT VENGEANCE IS NOT A VALUE FOR TRAVIS COUNTY IN AUSTIN, OR AT LEAST I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE. OKAY, I'M GONNA OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL. THANK YOU. SO, SO I HAVE MORE OF A, A STATEMENT THAN A, THAN A QUESTION. AND IN FULL TRANSPARENCY, I DO WORK FOR THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. UM, SO I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS BACKLOG, AND I CAN ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, IT'S TAKING EIGHT TO NINE MONTHS FOR US TO GET VIDEOS. AND THAT DOESN'T JUST APPLY TO BODY CAM VIDEOS THAT APPLIES TO DASH CAM VIDEOS AS WELL. WE TYPICALLY GET THOSE AT THE SAME TIME. UM, BUT TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, TO, TO YOUR POINT, UM, MOST OF THE CASES THAT WE ARE WAITING ON VIDEOS FOR THE, FOR THE, THE VIDEO MATTERS THE MOST ARE NOT THE CASES YOU'RE REFERRING TO. THEY'RE NOT THE CRIMINAL TRESPASSES. THOSE WE CAN DEFINITELY FIND A WAY TO WORK OUT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING THE VIDEO. THE VIDEOS MATTER MORE IN, YOU KNOW, DWI ARRESTS WHERE WE NEED TO SEE HOW THE PERSON PERFORMS ON THE STANDARD FIELD SOBRIETY TEST TO DECIDE HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT CASE. UM, RESISTING ARREST VIDEOS, UH, TO, TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT EXACT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE, UM, AND TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE FEEL THAT A RESISTING OR, YOU KNOW, RESISTING ARREST OR RESISTING A SEARCH OR TRANSPORT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GOING TO, UH, REJECT THAT CASE, UM, OR MOVE [01:25:01] FORWARD WITH IT. UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, ON THOSE SPECIFIC CASES, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, POLICE BEHAVIOR AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, ACTING IN A WAY THAT WE FEEL, UM, IS APPROPRIATE FOR THOSE SITUATIONS. UM, SO ANYWAY, SO YEAH, JUST TO YOUR POINT, LIKE, SO IT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THE CASES THAT THE, THE CRIMINAL TRESPASSES THAT, THAT ARE BEING AFFECTED GREATLY BY, BY THE VIDEO BACKLOG. YEAH. , UM, I THINK COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT HAS MADE HER POINT , SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EV THAT I GIVE OPPORTUNITY TO EVERYBODY ELSE. COMMISSIONER SMITH. OKAY. TWO, TWO THINGS. UM, CAN ANYONE TELL ME THE, THE LAST YEAR WHERE WE DID NOT HAVE A BACKLOG WHERE WE WERE ACTUALLY ABOVE BOARD? NO. OKAY. , I THINK IT WOULD DEPEND ON WHAT WE DEFINE AS THE THRESHOLD FOR WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS A BACKLOG. UM, RIGHT. IS THAT A THOUSAND, UH, CASES WHERE THE, UH, EVIDENCE IS STILL OUTSTANDING? IS IT 500? UM, I WILL ADD FOR CONTEXT, OBVIOUSLY I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T START MY CAREER IN TRAVIS COUNTY. I'VE PRACTICED ELSEWHERE, UM, AND FOR A DECADE I, YOU KNOW, UM, SERVED, UH, IN A DIFFERENT SYSTEM AS A PUBLIC DEFENDER, UH, IN, YOU KNOW, MY PRIOR EXPERIENCE, UM, WHERE BODY-WORN CAMERA AND DASH CAM AND VIDEOS, UM, WERE AS, UM, YOU KNOW, UBIQUITOUS AS THEY ARE NOW. BUT I WOULD GET THOSE, UM, PIECES OF, OF EVIDENCE TURNED OVER WITHIN 30 DAYS OR LESS, UM, ON ALL MANNER OF CASES, BUT PARTICULARLY MISDEMEANOR CASES. I WILL SAY HERE WHERE DEFENSE HAS MOVED TO SUBPOENA THAT INFORMATION EXTERNAL TO THE DISCOVERY PROCESS WHERE WE MAKE OUR REQUEST, UM, OF THE STATE, UH, DIRECTLY WHERE WE MOVE TO SUBPOENA THAT WE'RE GETTING IT IN THREE DAYS. SO THERE IS A FUNDAMENTAL, AND THAT'S FROM A PD, RIGHT? THERE'S A FUNDAMENTAL DISCONNECT IN THE PROCESSES THAT EXIST WITHIN, UM, A PD SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO TURN OVER, UH, THESE, UH, PIECES OF EVIDENCE, UM, IN A SYSTEMIC, SYSTEMATIC WAY. BECAUSE ON THE CASES WHERE WE'RE JUST SERVING A SUBPOENA, I, I ASSUME THAT'S SOMETHING OTHER THAN THEIR DIGITAL EVIDENCE, UH, MANAGEMENT UNIT THAT IS HANDLING THAT. BUT THOSE FOLKS ARE ABLE TO GET IT WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS, UH, AND TURN THAT OVER. IF THEY CAN DO THAT IN THAT CONTEXT IN RESPONSE TO A SUBPOENA, THEN WHAT IT SEEMS TO ME IS THERE'S JUST A FAILURE OF INTERNAL PRIORITIZATION OF THE PROCESSES THAT THE DIGITAL EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT UNIT IS ACTUALLY, UH, USING TO GET THAT INFORMATION OVER. YEAH, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S WHAT MY GUT IS TELLING ME. UM, SOUNDS LIKE WE ALSO NEED A, A UNIFIED DEFINITION OF BACKLOG AND, AND WHAT THE PARAMETERS ARE. AND I'M NO CRIMINAL LAWYER AND I'M NO CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER, BUT THIS SURE FEELS LIKE A DUE PROCESS SITUATION. THIS SURE DOES FEEL LIKE A BRADY SITUATION IS, UH, CITY LAW IN THE ROOM. AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF THE ATTORNEYS THAT ARE RIGHT HERE WANNA SPEAK TO THIS, BUT I'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY HOW FAR THE LIABILITY IS OPEN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT TURNING OVER BRADY RELATE POTENTIALLY BRADY RELATED EVIDENCE BECAUSE I, AGAIN, NOT A CONSTITUTIONAL OR PRETTY SURE THE BRADY, UH, EXTENDS TO THE PROSECUTION TEAM, WHICH INCLUDES THE POLICE OFFICERS IN THE DEPARTMENT. SO I, I'M LIKE, MY SPIDEY SENSES ARE GETTING A , UH, I'M GETTING A LITTLE CHAIR. YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR HEAD KIND OF EXPLODING. MY ATTORNEY'S STOMACH IS CHURNING BECAUSE THIS DOESN'T SEEM LIKE SOMETHING THAT, THAT, SO I WOULD, NUMBER ONE, I'D LIKE TO FIGURE OUT IF WE CAN GET TO A, A STANDARD WHERE WE'RE, WE HAVE A UNIFIED UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT BACKLOG MEANS, DEFINITION THEREOF. AND THEN IF I COULD GET ANY CLARITY ON MY WORST FEARS, 'CAUSE I'M WORRIER NOT BEING TRUE, AND THAT WE ARE NOT VIOLATING DUE PROCESS BRADY VIOLATION, OR ANY OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF CONSTITUENTS, UM, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. CITY LEGAL IS NOT IN THE ROOM. . UM, JUST AS A CAVEAT, AND THE, THE REASON WHY I I, I FRAMED THIS AGENDA ITEM THE WAY THAT I DID IS BECAUSE I DID FUNDA FUNDAMENTALLY BELIEVE THAT IT IS A PROCESS ISSUE AND WHICH IS WHY WE CAME TO A PD FOR A REQUEST AND AN EXPLANATION OF PROCESS. AND SO I THINK WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT PROCESS CURRENTLY IS SO THAT WE CAN TALK THROUGH HOW, WHERE THERE ARE POTEN, THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE ROOM HERE THAT HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISES. UM, AND JUST KIND OF [01:30:01] TALKING THROUGH HOW SOME OF THOSE PROCESSES CAN POTENTIALLY BE IMPROVED, MAKE SUGGESTIONS, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS LIKE THIS BODY OFTEN DOES. SO WE WOULD APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THIS PROCESS AND SEE, UM, SO THAT, THAT IS JUST SOMETHING I'M THROWING BACK INTO APDS LAP THAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU GUYS COME BACK AND ACTUALLY GIVE US MORE OF YOUR PROCESS, UM, AND TALK US THROUGH MORE OF YOUR PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTAND WHEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS SOMETHING OVERDUE . UM, A A SIMPLE, A SIMPLE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I I, IS THERE SOMETHING IN THE PROCESS AND A MARKER A POINT IN TIME AT WHICH NOW THIS IS ACTUALLY AN OVERDUE, OVERDUE EVIDENCE AND NOW THAT IT GETS TREATED IN A DIFFERENT WAY, UM, BECAUSE NOW IT'S OVERDUE, UM, IS THERE A TIME PERIOD? IS IT 30 DAYS? IS IT 60 DAYS? IS IT A YEAR? UM, AND MY ONLY FOLLOW UP QUESTION AT THIS POINT, I'LL LET SOMEBODY ELSE ASK ANOTHER IS, ARE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE, I'M GONNA QUIT CALLING THEM CASES, ARE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE WHOSE CASES ARE BEING DELAYED, NOT OUT ON BAIL, LIKE THEY'RE SITTING IN JAIL? SO THE QUESTION, IT DEPENDS ON AT WHAT POINT, RIGHT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHEN DO WE CONSIDER THE LACK OF HAVING ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION, RIGHT? A, A, A PROBLEM, RIGHT? OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? WE SHOULD BE PRIORITIZING AS A SYSTEM EXPLORING WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INCARCERATED AND HOW, UM, ARE WE HANDLING THOSE CASES. SO, RIGHT. MY, MY RESPONSE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN, RIGHT. THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S RESPONSE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF WHEN I SAY I'M ALARMED AS A DEFENSE ATTORNEY, UH, THAT WE STILL DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION TO THE EXTENT THAT WE ARE MAKING THE REQUESTS WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS IN MY OFFICE, UM, FOR THIS INFORMATION, THE LAW SAYS WITHIN, RIGHT, LIKE A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME. WHAT'S REASONABLE, RIGHT? DEPENDS ON ANY MANNER OF CIRCUMSTANCES. SO HAVE I SEEN FOLKS WHO ARE IN CUSTODY? AND I'VE LOOKED AT THE TIME IT'S TAKEN FOR US TO GET THE BODY-WORN CAMERA, AND I AM ALARMED. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. UH, I'M JUST MAKING SURE NOBODY ELSE HAS QUESTIONS. YES. UH, CHIEF ROGER, I APPRECIATE YOU HAVE THE BURN DOWN RATE. DO YOU HAVE ANY GOAL IN TERMS OF WHEN THAT WILL, UH, LIKE IN TERMS OF WHEN THAT'S COMPLETE? AND THEN IN TERMS OF GOALS, YOU MENTIONED NOT WANTING THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN. IS THERE A GOAL IN MIND FOR RESPONSE TIMES? BECAUSE THAT REALLY SEEMS TO BE THE CRUX OF THE ISSUE, IS HOW, HOW QUICKLY ARE WE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THOSE THINGS AND WHAT IS THE GOAL FOR THE DEPARTMENT? WELL, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO, TO BE A QUESTION THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ANSWER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PROSECUTORS. WHAT, WHAT IS A, WHAT IS A REALISTIC TIMEFRAME LOOK LIKE? IS THAT 30 DAYS? IS IT 60 DAYS? IS IT 90 DAYS? I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE WERE WHEN WE WEREN'T AT A, AT A BACKLOG. I DON'T KNOW WHAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT, THAT LOOKS LIKE. UM, AND I, I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO GET, I, I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO NARROW THAT GAP AND GET US MUCH SMALLER BEFORE WE CAN REALLY SET WHAT THAT BENCHMARK IS, WHETHER IT'S 30, 60, 90. AND I THINK IT'S GONNA DEPEND ON THE CASES, AND IT'S GONNA BE A CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE WITH THE PROSECUTORS. OKAY? I KNOW THAT WE WEREN'T GONNA SOLVE THIS TODAY. THIS WAS AN, THIS WAS AN EFFORT TO CREATE SOME AWARENESS AROUND THIS, SOME ADDITIONAL URGENCY AROUND THIS. AGAIN, IT MADE MY HEAD EXPLODE. UM, AND, UM, I THINK SOME, EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM IS HAVING SIMILAR SORT OF REACTIONS. AND SO THIS IS NOT A, UM, THIS IS A BIG DEAL. , THIS IS A REALLY BIG DEAL, UM, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF RETURN TO PATROL INITIATIVE AND INCREASED ARRESTS. UM, BECAUSE I DON'T, I, I SEE, I DON'T SEE, YOU KNOW, A DWINDLING, A DWINDLING RAIN CLOUD. I SEE A MOLE HILL TURNING INTO A MOUNTAIN. UM, AND SO, UM, ON THE HORIZON. AND SO I WANT US TO COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT THIS AGAIN. UM, I WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT PROCESS. I WANT TO HEAR TIMELINES. I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT PRIORITIES. UM, I WANT HEAR ABOUT NEW BENCHMARKS THAT CAN HELP GUIDE AND CREATE SOME CONTEXT AROUND THIS BACKLOG AND PRIORITIZE URGENT, LIKE MAKE, MAKE THINGS URGENT. UM, AND SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT AGAIN. UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU GUYS AGAIN, I WANNA HEAR BACK TO SEE HOW THIS IS GOING, SEE HOW THIS IS IMPROVING. I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE IN THE ROOM TO TALK TO THEIR COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT THIS, UM, AND BRING THIS TO THEIR ATTENTION. YEP. NO, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. A, [01:35:01] A LOT OF MY IDEAS ARE NOT NECESSARILY PRACTICAL, BUT IT OCCURS TO ME THAT IF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE AND THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ALL FILED JOINT MOTIONS TO DISMISS CASES THAT HAVE BEEN SITTING LONGER THAN THREE MONTHS, BECAUSE A PD IS NOT PROVIDING EVIDENCE, THIS PROBABLY WOULD BE SOLVED RATHER QUICKLY, . AND WITH THAT, WE GO, YEAH, I'LL ADD RIGHT IN IN TERMS OF WHERE, RIGHT, LIKE DEFENSE STRATEGY COMES IN, UM, AND HOW THESE THINGS END UP PLAYING OUT, RIGHT? LIKE, YOU ALSO NEED THE JUDICIARY, RIGHT? LIKE TO BE ENGAGED ON THIS. AND THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THERE AREN'T SOME JUDGES WHO ARE, HAVE RECOGNIZED THIS AS A LONGSTANDING PROBLEM. UM, BUT THERE ARE PIECES OF THIS WHERE, OR LIKE WE ALSO NEED THE COURTS, UM, TO RECOGNIZE, RIGHT? LIKE THAT THIS BACKLOG IS CREATING DYNAMICS FOR THEIR CASELOADS AND RIGHT. FIGURING OUT HOW TO, TO MOVE THESE CASES, RIGHT? AS I SAID, I'VE COME FROM A JURISDICTION WHERE I PRACTICED FOR A DECADE AND THERE WAS BODY-WORN CAMERA, AND WE SAW THOSE FOOTAGE TURNED OVER WITHIN 30 DAYS. I WOULD ASSUME THAT MEANS, AND TO BE, YOU KNOW, UH, TRANSPARENT, RIGHT? I PRACTICE IN THE LARGEST CITY IN, IN THE COUNTRY, AND THEY WERE DOING IT THERE. SO I WOULD ASSUME THEN THAT ANY CITY CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN. UM, PARTICULARLY ONE AS, YOU KNOW, UH, WELL HEALED AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS. AND I JUST, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WHEN WE COME BACK AND DISCUSS THIS, I THINK WE HAVE A SHARED GOAL, WHICH IS WE WANT TO GET PEOPLE CONVICTED AS DESERVES, BE CONVICTED. WE TALKED ABOUT PARKS AND SAFETY AND GETTING REPEAT OFFENDERS LOCKED UP. I THINK IT'S A SHARED GOAL THAT EVERYBODY HAS. WE WANT PEOPLE FREE WHO SHOULD BE FREE. UH, AND WE WANT SPEEDY TRIALS. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PLACES LIKE, YOU KNOW, NEW YORK IS A 15 DAY RULE THAT THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED. I KNOW CALIFORNIA'S A 30 DAY RULE. OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING ABOUT ONE TO TWO MONTHS IS TYPICAL ON HOUSTON AND DALLAS. SO I THINK WE CAN COME TOGETHER AS A WAY TO MAKE THIS BETTER FOR, FOR EVERYBODY AND THINK ABOUT SOME PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS THAT WORK FOR, FOR EVERYBODY IN THE CITY. WE APPRECIATE IT. WE'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK ANYTIME, UH, TO DISCUSS MORE. IT IS VERY INVOLVED AND ALL IDEAS ARE OPEN. WE'RE, WE'RE OPEN TO ALL TYPES OF IDEAS AND BEING CREATIVE AND BEING DIFFERENT. UM, THAT'S WHY COUNTY ATTORNEY GAR WAS ELECTED. AND SO SHE DOES BELIEVE THAT THIS COMMUNITY, UM, DOES NOT WANT THINGS TO CONTINUE AS IT ALWAYS HAS FOR YEARS AND YEARS. AND, UH, WE'VE DONE MANY THINGS TO CHANGE THAT UP, BUT WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS COME UP, ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, WE'RE OPEN TO WORKING WITH EVERYBODY AND THINKING, I HATE USING THOSE CLICHES, BUT OUTSIDE THE BOX, I MEAN, SOMETHING THAT'S NOT TRADITIONAL PROSECUTION. WE DON'T THINK AS AN OFFICE WE'RE ENGAGED IN THAT KIND OF TRADITIONAL PROSECUTION. UM, BUT YEAH, WE'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK. SO THANK YOU FOR INVITING US. ALRIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE EVERYONE I KNOW. AND I, AND I DO KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE ENGAGED IN TALKS BEHIND THE SCENES THAT THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS. THIS IS JUST ABOUT AWARENESS. SO THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. OKAY, WITH THAT, [5. Update from the Collective Sex Crime Response Model working group.] UM, WE ARE GONNA MOVE ON BRIEFLY TO OUR WORKING GROUP UPDATE, UM, FROM THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL WORK GROUP. UM, IN YOUR BACKUP INFORMATION IS THE LATEST UPDATE, UH, LATEST QUARTERLY UPDATE THAT WE GOT FROM, WITH THE, FROM THE PROJECT MANAGER, HANNAH SANKO, WHO WAS HERE JANUARY, DECEMBER-ISH TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO US. THIS IS THE UPDATE THAT WE'VE GOTTEN SINCE THEN. UM, THE RISKS ACROSS THE BOARD WITH, UM, THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE UNIT ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING. UM, THERE IS THE FORENSIC NURSE, UM, STAFFING ISSUE, UM, THAT WE TRIED TO PASS A RECOMMENDATION AROUND, UM, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, UM, TO HELP, UM, ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PRESSURE ON THE, THE INFA, THE CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND SAFE ALLIANCE. UM, THERE IS, UM, STAFFING CHANGES AT A PD THAT CONTINUE TO POSE A BACKGROUND RISK. AS YOU KNOW, WE, IT IS THE NATURE OF A PD THAT PEOPLE PROMOTE AND MOVE AND IT'S A, IT'S A MOVING PEOPLE MOVE THROUGH THE SYSTEM. AND THAT'S, UM, REEDUCATING RE BRINGING PEOPLE UP TO SPEED. UM, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PLEASE REVIEW MATERIALS AND ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING THAT HAPPENED RIGHT BEFORE, UH, OUR MEETING BECAUSE THEY WERE HAVING SOME OF THESE SAME DISCUSSIONS THERE, UM, BEFORE OUR MEETING. AND WE WILL HAVE THEM BACK NEXT MONTH, THE THREE AGENCIES, UM, A PD TRAVIS COUNTY AND SAFE, PERHAPS WE WILL ADD BRAVE ALLIANCE, UM, TO THE MIX, UM, FOR NEXT MONTH SO THAT WE CAN HAVE, SO THIS IS BASICALLY MUCH MORE INFORMATIONAL FOR THE SAKE OF TRANSPARENCY, AND SO THAT YOU GUYS CAN PREPARE FOR OUR MEETING NEXT MONTH. AND SO I WILL LEAVE [01:40:01] THAT AT THAT. UM, [6. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair.] AND THEN MY FAVORITE ITEM OF, UM, THIS MONTH'S MEETING, UM, IS, UH, ITEM SIX ARE CONDUCT, OR WE'RE CONDUCTING OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. UM, UH, WE, I HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH SEVERAL PEOPLE. WELL, ACTUALLY NO, I'M NOT GONNA, I'VE BEEN IN, I'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH ONE PERSON, , UM, ABOUT NEW LEADERSHIP. UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A PLAN THAT WE HAVE COME UP WITH. UM, WE, OF COURSE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO VOTE ON THIS. THIS IS NOT JUST UP TO ME AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED. UM, HOW SHOULD WE DO THIS? CHELSEA? DO WE START WITH VICE CHAIR? DO WE START WITH CHAIR? SO, COULD I NOMINATE, UH, COMMISSIONER DURAN FOR THE CHAIR POSITION? YEAH, YOU CAN START WITH NOMINATIONS AND THEN YEAH. MOTION AND THEN VOTE. SO, OKAY. SO, UM, I SECOND THAT NOMINATION. YOU, YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT IT. , I ACCEPT THE NOMINATION. OKAY. AND THEN WE DO A VOTE ON THE CHAIR. SO, UM, ANY DISCUSSION? DO WE, DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION? I THINK I WILL ADD THAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH ENRIQUE FOR SOME TIME. HE'S BEEN ATTENDING SOME OF OUR PLANNING MEETINGS SO THAT HE CAN KIND OF START TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH IT. UM, HE'S UP TO THE TASK, WHICH IS EXCITING. UM, AND, UM, I'M, I'M EXCITED FOR HIM AS WELL. I'M EXCITED FOR THE COMMISSION. I'M EXCITED FOR A TRANSITION THAT WILL ALLOW ME TO STAY ON THE COMMISSION AND STILL SUPPORT WHILE WE SORT OF TEE UP NEW, NEW LEADERSHIP. UM, SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS. I JUST HAD TO SUPPORT HIM IN, IN WANTING THIS ROLE. I AM HAPPY TO NOT TAKE IT ON, AS I MENTIONED THE OTHER, THE OTHER MONTH . SO I'M VERY HAPPY THAT HE IS, UH, HAPPY TO STEP UP AND, AND TAKE THAT ON. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND I JUST WANT TO, UM, GO ON RECORD TO THANK NELLY FOR YOUR TIRELESS, UM, WORK AND, AND MANY HOURS YOU'VE PLACED AS CHAIR FOR THE PAST FIVE PLUS YEARS. AND, UM, IN TALKING TO YOU, I KNOW I HAVE GIGANTIC SHOES TO FILL AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU ARE STAYING ON TO HELP ME DURING THE TRANSITION PROCESS. AND I PRAY THAT I, UH, DON'T LET ANYBODY DOWN AND, UM, YOU'LL HAVE PATIENCE WITH ME DURING THIS, UH, PROCESS. THANK YOU FOR THAT. OKAY. SO LET'S DO A VOTE. UM, WE CAN DO A SHOW OF HANDS IF THAT'S OKAY. UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF COMMISSIONER ENRIQUE AS CHAIR. OKAY, THAT IS UNANIMOUS. UM, PART OF THE DEAL THAT I MADE WAS THAT I WOULD STAY ON HIS VICE CHAIR TO SUPPORT HIM AS HE GETS HIS FEET WET AND LEARNS THE ROPES. UM, AND SO I'M PREPARED TO DO THAT. UM, I, I NOMINATE, UH, CHAIR RAMIREZ FOR VICE CHAIR AND THE HOPE IS THAT AS TIME GOES ON, I CAN RETREAT MORE AND MORE. UM, AND MAYBE SOMEBODY ELSE LATER IN THE YEAR WILL BE WILLING TO TAKE ON VICE CHAIR. UM, WE'LL SEE. UM, BUT FOR NOW THAT'S THE PLAN. SO, UM, I WOULD BE HONORED TO HELP ENRIQUE AND SUPPORT ENRIQUE IN THIS ROLE SO THAT HE CAN, UM, BE SUCCESSFUL. SECOND. OKAY. AND A VOTE. I WILL ABSTAIN FROM THIS VOTE IF I CAN. THERE ARE ENOUGH OF Y'ALL. OKAY. OKAY. WELL THAT IS OUR NEW LEADERSHIP. UM, WELCOME ENRIQUE. CONGRATULATIONS. IF, IF THAT CAN BE CONGRATULATIONS AND WE LOOK FORWARD . CONGRATULATIONS. DOES THIS POSITION COME WITH A SASH? . ACCEPTER ? UM, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. . UM, WE MAY HAVE TO DO THAT. UM, [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] AND UH, WITH THAT, MY LAST ITEM OF BUSINESS RUNNING A MEETING WILL BE TO ASK FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ANYTHING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE? I MEAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S MAYBE ALREADY ON THE AGENDA, BUT, BUT CAN WE WORK TOWARDS HAVING A PRESENTATION FROM A PD ON ON HOW THE EVIDENCE DISTRIBUTION ACTION WORKS? YES, YES. UM, I BELIEVE I HAD TALKED TO COMMISSIONER GODWIN ABOUT BEING INTERESTED IN GETTING IN ALL DEPARTMENTS PRESENTATION. I BELIEVE YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE ON JUST OVERTIME IN GENERAL AS WE JUST OVERTIME STATUS IN GENERAL, UM, FROM ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AS WE GET CLOSER TO BUDGET BONANZA IN JULY AND AUGUST. UM, AND I WILL ALSO, UM, PUT ON THE RECORD THAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO THE PRESIDENTS OF ALL THE DEPARTMENT UNIONS. [01:45:01] UM, AND THEY WILL BE JOINING US FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS SO THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT UNION NEEDS, UM, NEEDS FROM THE UNION PERSPECTIVE, UM, AS WE APPROACH, UM, BUDGET SEASON AS WELL. SO THAT'S QUEUED UP. UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO PUT A REQUEST ON THE RECORD TO HAVE THE CIVIL WORKERS UNION COME JOIN US AS WELL. UM, THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE'VE DONE IN MY TIME HERE. THEY SOMETIMES HAVE COME TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY, BUT, UM, WE HAVE AN ENTIRE CIVILIAN WORKFORCE THAT SUPPORTS, UM, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS AND I THINK IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO HEAR FROM THEM AS WELL. SO I'D LIKE TO PUT THAT ON THE RECORD. COMMISSIONER SMITH, UM, JUST WHEN PD COMES BACK TO DISCUSS PROCESSES, YOU HAD A GREAT, LIKE SOLILOQUY OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU WANTED ON THERE. CHAIR TIMELINES, YOU KNOW, , KPI LIKE ALL THESE THINGS. I'D LIKE THAT, LIKE PUT INTO THE LANGUAGE. OKAY. AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, IF POSSIBLE, I WOULD REALLY LIKE SOME CLARITY FROM LEGAL. UM, I, IT COULD EVEN COME FROM A MEMO. LIKE IF IT'S JUST, HEY GIRL, YOU'RE OVER WORRYING, WHICH IS SO ON BRAND FOR ME. OKAY. UH, THAT'S FINE. BUT YEAH, I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE SOME CLARITY SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO ANY POTENTIAL LIABILITY THE CITY INCUR BUY AND THROUGH A BACKLOG OF EVIDENCE SPECIFICALLY, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, UM, UH, DUE PROCESS VIOLATIONS, BRADY VIOLATIONS, OR ANY OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS. OKAY. AND I WILL RE-WATCH THE VIDEO SO THAT I REMEMBER WHAT I SAID. , UM, CHIEF ROGERS LAUGHS AT ME BECAUSE HE SAID THIS TO ME BEFORE YOU SAID THE THING REALLY WELL. CAN WE JUST REWIND AND SAY, SO I WILL WATCH THE VIDEO AND SEE WHAT I SAID. UM, AND WE WILL CRAFT THAT AGENDA ITEM THAT WAY. BUT WITH THAT, UNLESS WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, I THINK ONE, I THINK THIS IS ALREADY A AGENDA ITEM TO COME BACK AND HAVE A DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT, UH, IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND THE NEW GENERAL ORDERS. YES. I DO WANNA MAKE SURE WE SPECIFICALLY HAVE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER WHAT'S BEING DONE IN TERMS OF TRAINING. UM, BOTH SORT OF ROLLING OUT NEW TRAINING. OKAY. UM, AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE COVER THAT ASPECT. YES. I WILL SECOND THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT REMINDER. UM, WE ALSO HAVE THE SOBERING CENTER QUEUED UP A COUPLE OF AUDITS, UM, THAT ARE WRAPPING UP THAT WE'LL BE HEARING FROM SOON. CHIEF ROGERS. SO JUST SEEKING SOME CLARIFICATION ON OVERTIME. WE JUST LEFT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE WHERE THAT IS ONE OF THE DASHBOARD ITEMS. ONE OF THE STRUGGLES THAT WE HAVE WITH PROVIDING OVERTIME, DEPENDING ON THE GRANULARITY, IS WORKDAY TELESTAFF. THAT DATA DOESN'T BELONG TO THE DIFFERENT PUBLIC SAFETY ENTITIES. IT'S AN HR FUNCTION. MM-HMM . WE DON'T, WE HAVE TO MAKE A REQUEST FROM HR TO PULL THE DATA, THEN RELY ON THEM TO PULL IT FOR US AND PROVIDE IT TO US. SO WE'RE, WE'RE INVOLVING MORE PEOPLE IN THE PROCESS. SO IF YOU, WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA ASK FOR IT NEED, LET US TRY TO BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE, OF COURSE. AND GIVE US ENOUGH LEAD TIME, UM, BECAUSE I'M HAVING TO ASK SOMEBODY ELSE'S STAFF TO GATHER THAT, THAT INFORMATION. AND IT'S BEEN TAKING US, UH, AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME WORKING ON THIS PUBLIC SAFETY DASHBOARD FOR THE COMMITTEE. YEAH, I WILL, I WILL LOOK AT WHAT YOU GUYS PRESENTED LAST TIME. I'VE, I'VE, BUT I WILL REVISIT IT TO SEE WHAT YOU GUYS PRESENTED LAST TIME AND DO MY BEST TO FRAME IT IN TERMS OF HOW, HOW YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY DONE IT. AND YES, LEAD TIME IS IS OF COURSE, UM, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR THIS NEXT MONTH. WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING BEFORE BUDGET SEASON AND BEFORE BY JULY IS, UM, IS KIND OF WHAT I HAD IN MIND. 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THIS TAKES TIME. OKAY. AND WHEN YOU SAY LAST TIME, WE MAY HAVE BEEN IN A DIFFERENT SYSTEM LAST TIME IF WE'RE TALKING LAST. YEAH. BUT WE MAY HAVE STILL BEEN IN BANNER. WE MAY HAVE NOT BEEN IN UKG AND TELESTAFF, UH, AT, AT THE TIME. SO I, I THINK THAT'S MY, MY BIGGEST ASK. OKAY. I'M SURE WES HAS MORE POINTED QUESTIONS. , I KNOW IT'S, I KNOW IT'S A MORE COMPLICATED QUESTION THAN JUST GIVE US YOUR OVERTIME FIGURES. I, I APPRECIATE THAT. I, I APPRECIATE THAT. IT IS MORE COMPLEX THAN THAT. YES. DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE ASSOCIATED UNIONS ARE SLATED TO COME SPEAK? THEY WILL BE SPEAKING ON THE HEELS OF YOUR QUARTERLY PRESENTATION. SO STARTING IN MAY, STARTING NEXT MONTH. THANK YOU. YES. STARTING NEXT MONTH. SO MAY, JUNE, JULY. UM, OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. WELL I AM ADJOURNING MY LAST MEETING AS CHAIR. I'M EXCITED. 10 MINUTES EARLY. 10 MINUTES EARLY. UM, YOU GUYS HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. UM, WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. YAY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.