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PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER.
IT IS APRIL 6TH, 2026 AT 2:02 PM UH, THIS MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
WE, IT IS AT CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET, AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT VICE CHAIR LANE.
COUNCILMAN SIEGEL, COUNCILMAN UCHIN.
AND, UH, COUNCILMAN ARI WILL NOT BE JOINING US
[Public Communication: General]
TODAY.UH, WE WILL BEGIN WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
I WILL TURN IT OVER TO JOSHUA QUI TO CALL UP OUR SPEAKERS.
ALRIGHT, SIR, WE HAVE MARIA CAMPOS AND JACOB BREACH.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND AUSTIN PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF.
MY NAME IS JACOB REACH AND I'M THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER AT COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
I HAVE A STRONG HISTORY HERE IN AUSTIN, SPENDING MANY YEARS SERVING AUSTIN STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL, AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, INCLUDING EVEN A TIME PERIOD WHERE I HAD DIRECT SUPPORT WITH THE AUSTIN ISD POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, I WAS ALSO THE LEAD FOR THE AUSTIN ISD SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE DURING THAT TIME.
AND STILL TODAY, I REMAIN FOCUSED ON KEEPING AUSTIN STUDENTS PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY SAFE.
I'M A BELIEVER THAT ONE OF THE STRONGEST THINGS WE CAN DO FOR A SAFE COMMUNITY IS TO HAVE STRONG, MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS.
I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE SUCH A STRONG PARTNER IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND OUR POLICE, FIRE SERVICE, EMERGENCY SERVICE, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAMS. THANKS TO YOUR PARTNERSHIPS, COMMUNITY AND SCHOOLS IS ABLE TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS DIRECTLY TO AUSTIN'S CHILDREN AT A SCALE AND EFFICIENCY THAT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE THROUGH OTHER AVENUES.
OUR PARTNERSHIP ALSO ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE THE MALE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM AT AUSTIN, ISD HIGH SCHOOLS, WHICH ENCOURAGES MALE STUDENTS TO CREATE A POSITIVE BROTHERHOOD, TO EMPOWER THEM TO SUPPORT AND BUILD SKILLS THAT THEY NEED TO AUTHOR THEIR OWN PATHS OF SUCCESS.
I'M ALSO EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT A GROUNDBREAKING STUDY CONDUCTED BY THE OPPORTUNITY INSIGHT.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ED REDESIGN LABS AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, THEY FOUND THAT COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS MODEL EMPIRICALLY IMPROVE STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES, RAISES GRADUATION RATES, AND INCREASES EARNINGS IN ADULTHOOD.
THIS RESEARCH WAS RECENTLY FEATURED IN THE ATLANTIC, AND MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON CIS CENTRAL TEXAS AND CIS NATIONAL WEBSITES.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED TO LEARN MORE, PROBABLY THE EASIEST THING TO DO IS SEARCH JUST SEARCH COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS.
IT'S THE FIRST THING THAT COMES UP THE RESEARCH TITLED WHEN RESOURCES MEET RELATIONSHIPS, THE RETURN TO PERSONALIZED SUPPORT FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS DEMONSTRATES THAT THAT CI S'S RELATIONSHIP DRIVEN APPROACH DRIVES OUTCOMES.
UH, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT INCLUDE IMPROVED TEST SCORES, HIGHER GRADUATION RATES, AND A AND A STRONG RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.
THE STUDY WHICH FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC MOBILITY ALSO SAW DECREASED RATES OF INCARCERATION AND HIGHER RATES OF UPWARD MOBILITY, WHICH DIRECTLY RELATE TO THIS COMMITTEE'S FOCUS.
SO I WANT TO THANK THIS COMMITTEE AND THE CITY FOR YOUR CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP AND OUR COMMITMENT TO BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL OF OUR STUDENTS TO SUPPORT THEIR SOCIAL, MENTAL AND ACADEMIC NEEDS IN AUSTIN.
NEXT WE HAVE, CAN I HAVE POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE? THANK YOU.
UM, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR COMING TO SPEAK WITH THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, I, I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS BOTH DIRECTLY AND THROUGH THE WORK OF THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE AND A VARIETY OF OTHERS, BUT THERE WERE MULTIPLE PROGRAMS THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT I WAS UNAWARE OF.
AND I, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION AROUND HOW WE CAN BRING, UH, YOUR SUPPORTS TO MY DISTRICT.
AND IN PARTICULAR, I KNOW THAT YOU ARE VERY EFFECTIVE AT CONNECTING STUDENTS AND FAMILIES, UM, WITH PROGRAMS THAT ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN IN THE TITLE ONE SCHOOLS IN MY DISTRICT.
AND SO THE ABILITY TO BRING THAT CAPACITY BUILDING TO US IN THE OUTLYING AREAS OF AUSTIN, UM, I ONE LOOK FORWARD TO IT, AND 2:00 AM REALLY GRATEFUL TO KNOW ABOUT THESE SPECIFIC PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED PROGRAMS. THANK YOU.
NEXT WE HAVE SAVANNAH LEE, FOLLOWED BY PETER HUNT, AND FINALLY, A LOKI SHAW.
I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT ONE.
I'M HERE TODAY ABOUT AN ITEM THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT THAT WE BELIEVE NEEDS TO MOVE FORWARD QUITE QUICKLY,
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AND THAT IS COUNCIL MEMBER LANE'S PROPOSAL FOR A JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT COUNCIL DIRECTED THAT THIS PROPOSAL BE BROUGHT BACK FOR REVIEW BY DECEMBER 9TH, AND THAT DEADLINE HAS COME AND GONE.WE ARE ASKING YOU TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY BY CALLING A SPECIAL SESSION OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE IN MAY TO CONSIDER THIS RESOLUTION AND GET IT MOVED FORWARD.
THIS IS NOT A BUREAUCRATIC ISSUE, IT'S A LIFE AND DEATH ONE.
WE SUPPORT CREATING A UNIFIED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE BECAUSE THE WAY OUR DISPATCH SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY SET UP SHAPES OUTCOMES BEFORE A RESPONDER EVER ARRIVES.
AND RIGHT NOW, THAT RESPONSE IS OFTEN TOO SLOW OR INCORRECT ENTIRELY.
WHEN DISPATCH SITS UNDER LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE THE DEFAULT RESPONSE IS ENFORCEMENT THAT AFFECTS HOW CALLS ARE TAKEN, HOW THEY'RE CATEGORIZED, AND WHO GETS SENT.
TOO OFTEN, UNLESS A CALLER EXPLICITLY SAYS MENTAL HEALTH, THOSE CALLS ARE ROUTED TO POLICE INSTEAD OF THE APPROPRIATE CARE.
IN A MOMENT OF CRISIS, PEOPLE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO KNOW THE EXACT LANGUAGE TO GET THE HELP THEY NEED.
THIS RISK OF INACCURACY IS MADE WORSE WHEN WE CONSIDER HOW MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS WE'VE HEARD WHO ARE CURRENTLY SCARED TO CALL, CALL IN AN EMERGENCY BECAUSE THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT APDS WORK WITH ICE.
THE CITY'S OWN AUDIT FOUND THAT A PD IS FREQUENTLY DISPATCHED TO NON-CRIMINAL MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, AND THAT PEOPLE IN CRISIS HERE FACE A HIGHER RISK OF FATAL ENCOUNTERS THAN INCOMPARABLE CITIES.
THESE ARE NOT ISOLATED INCIDENTS.
THEY'RE PREDICTABLE OUTCOMES OF A SYSTEM THAT TREATS HEALTH CRISES AS PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS.
OTHER CI CITIES HAVE SHOWN A BETTER WAY.
CIVILIAN LED CRISIS TEAMS, WHEN PAIRED WITH STRONG DISPATCH SYSTEMS RESOLVE MOST CALLS WITHOUT POLICE INVOLVEMENT AND WITH BETTER OUTCOMES.
BUT THOSE PROGRAMS ONLY WORK WHEN DISPATCH IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT THEM, NOT DEFAULT AWAY FROM THEM.
THE FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE LAST BUDGET CYCLE WAS AN INCREDIBLE WIN, AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR IT.
BUT OUR RESPONSE IS ONLY AS STRONG AS THE SYSTEM THAT DECIDES IT.
A JOINT COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT WOULD ALLOW FOR CONSISTENT TRAINING, BETTER CALL ROUTING, AND A SYSTEM THAT SENDS THE RIGHT RESPONSE THE FIRST TIME.
THIS ACCURACY WILL SERVE EVERY DEPARTMENT INCLUDING A PD, AND ENSURING THAT WE ARE GETTING IT RIGHT AND NOT WASTING RESOURCES BY RESPONDING INCORRECTLY.
IF AUSTIN IS SERIOUS ABOUT PREVENTING FUTURE TRAGEDIES AND BUILDING A PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM ROOTED IN CARE, WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE FRONT DOOR TO THAT SYSTEM, AND THAT STARTS HERE.
UM, MY NAME IS AOKI SHA AND I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED WORKERS OF INTEGRAL CARE.
I'M HERE TODAY IN SUPPORT OF THE SPEAKERS BEFORE ME, AND TO URGE THIS COMMISSION TO TAKE UP THIS ITEM AT A SPECIAL MEETING IN MAY, AND TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TRANSITION OF 9 1 1 OUT OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT IN TIME FOR THE UPCOMING CITY OF AUSTIN BUDGET CYCLE.
THIS TIMELINE MATTERS IF WE WANT TO ENSURE THIS TRANSITION IS DONE THOUGHTFULLY, SMOOTHLY, AND WITH THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO BUILD A SYSTEM THAT ACTUALLY WORKS.
I WANNA SPEAK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS AT INTEGRAL CARE, THOSE WHO ARE ON THE GROUND RESPONDING TO THESE CALLS EVERY DAY.
AUSTIN HAS MADE A PROMISE TO ITS RESIDENTS THAT IF YOU'RE EXPERIENCING A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, YOU'LL BE MET WITH THE RIGHT PROFESSIONAL, A TRAINED MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDER EQUIPPED TO DEESCALATE AND PROVIDE CARE.
BUT RIGHT NOW, THAT PROMISE IS NOT CONSISTENTLY BEING KEPT BECAUSE OF HOW OUR SYSTEM IS STRUCTURED.
DISPATCH OFTEN DEFAULTS TO A POLICE RESPONSE, EVEN IN SITUATIONS WHERE A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL OR A MEDIC WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE.
THIS CAN HAPPEN EVEN WHEN A CALLER SELECTS THE MENTAL HEALTH OPTION.
AND THAT MATTERS BECAUSE DISPATCH DETERMINES OUTCOMES.
WHEN SOMEONE IN CRISIS IS MET WITH THE WRONG RESPONSE, THE SITUATION CAN ESCALATE.
IT CAN LEAD TO INJURY OR EVEN LOSS OF LIFE.
AND BEYOND THAT, IT CAN PULL SOMEONE INTO THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM RESULTING IN JAIL COURT INVOLVEMENT, FINES, AND LONG-TERM BARRIERS TO HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT.
AND WHEN THAT SAME PERSON IS INSTEAD CONNECTED TO INTEGRAL CARE, THE OUTCOME LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT.
THEY'RE MET WITH SKILLED DEESCALATION, THEY'RE SUPPORTED IN THE MOMENT, AND THEY'RE CONNECTED TO ONGOING CARE, OUTPATIENT SERVICES, HOUSING SUPPORT, AND PATHWAYS TO INCOME INSTABILITY.
THAT'S HOW WE BREAK CYCLES OF CRISIS.
THIS ISN'T JUST BETTER FOR INDIVIDUALS, IT'S BETTER FOR THE CITY.
CONNECTING PEOPLE TO GOOD CARE REDUCES REPEAT EMERGENCY CALLS AND LOWERS LONG-TERM COSTS FOR THE TAXPAYER.
AUSTIN HAS ALREADY TAKEN IMPORTANT STEPS TO BUILD AN ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE SYSTEM, AND NOW WE HAVE TO ADDRESS WHAT'S STANDING IN THE WAY.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST BARRIERS IS THE VERY FIRST POINT OF CONTACT 9 1 1.
CREATING AN INDEPENDENT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT WILL HELP ENSURE THAT CALLS ARE ROUTED CORRECTLY AND THAT THE RIGHT RESPONDERS IS SENT THE, SENT THE FIRST TIME, AND THAT BOTH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS ARE SAFE.
THIS IS HOW WE MOVE TOWARD A SYSTEM THAT IS NOT ONLY MORE HUMANE, BUT MORE EFFECTIVE AND MORE COST EFFICIENT.
SO AGAIN, I URGE YOU MOVE THIS FORWARD CALL IS SPECIAL MEETING IN MAY AND ENSURE THIS IS READY FOR THE BUDGET CYCLE.
I'M A VOLUNTEER WITH AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION AND A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10.
UH, I WAS ALSO HOPING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM THAT I EXPECTED TO BE ON THE AGENDA TODAY REGARDING THE COMBINED EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENT.
UM, I OBVIOUSLY WANNA ECHO ALL THE GOOD POINTS MADE BY THOSE WHO COME BEFORE ME ABOUT THE REASONS FOR DOING THIS, UH, BUT I WANNA SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE TIMELINESS OF THIS ISSUE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FORTHCOMING CITY BUDGET LATER THIS YEAR.
UM, THAT CITY BUDGET TAKES UP A LOT OF ATTENTION, A LOT OF, UH, STRESS FOR COUNCIL.
UH, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT ONCE IT REALLY STARTS TO GET ROLLING, I THINK IT'S GOING TO DISTRACT FROM A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, UH, COULD HAPPEN IN PARTICULAR, UM, THIS EFFORT TO MAKE A COMBINED EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
THE NEXT MEETING OF THIS COMMITTEE WOULD BE ON JUNE 1ST, AND WE
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ARE LOOKING AT A PROPOSED BUDGET COMING OUT IN JULY ONCE THAT PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, ARRIVES.I KNOW COUNCILS CAN BE VERY BUSY WITH WORK SESSIONS AND TIME DEDICATED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO IT, CERTAINLY BASED ON THE EXPERIENCES WE HAD LAST YEAR.
THIS MEANS THAT IF THIS COMMITTEE AND IF COUNCIL, UH, ALTOGETHER AREN'T PROMPT IN ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE, THEN THIS ISN'T JUST GONNA GET PUT OFF FOR A COUPLE MONTHS PERHAPS, BUT WELL INTO NEXT YEAR.
UM, THAT'S A REALLY SUBSTANTIAL DELAY FOR WHAT WOULD BE A VERY ADVANTAGEOUS MEASURE.
ONE THAT'S GOOD FOR THE CITY, GOOD FOR ITS RESIDENTS, UM, AND, UH, IT ALSO WOULD LEAD FURTHER TO A GREAT DEAL MORE UNCERTAINTY IN NOT ONLY THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET AS WELL.
UH, I THINK IT'S VERY VALUABLE THAT THIS IS ON TRACK AND WE UNDERSTAND SORT OF WHAT THE BUDGET RAMIFICATIONS ARE OF A COMBINED EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENT BEFORE WE START WORRYING ABOUT, OKAY, WHAT IS THE 2027 BUDGET GOING TO LOOK LIKE? UH, ONE THING THAT I REALLY DON'T WANNA BE DOING IS SITTING IN A BUDGET WORK SESSION IN THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST FRETTING ABOUT WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE EVEN LEGALLY POSSIBLE, UH, TO MAKE THESE SORT OF CHANGES GIVEN WHERE MONEY NEEDS TO BE MOVED FROM, UH, AN A PD, UH, AND THEN WONDERING, OKAY, WELL, WHAT CARVE OUTS, WHAT CONSIDERATIONS DO WE HAVE TO MAKE? WHAT DO WE NEED TO BE ASKING COUNCIL ABOUT IN THESE WORK SESSIONS IN JULY AND AUGUST? UM, THEN THINKING ABOUT NEXT YEAR ALREADY.
SO FOR THAT REASON, I REALLY WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO HAVE A SPECIAL CALL SESSION TO ADVANCE THIS QUICKLY THROUGH THE PROCESS TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION UP TO COUNCIL SO THAT THIS VERY GOOD MEASURE THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE RESIDENTS, UM, CAN, CAN BE PUT FORWARD, UH, TO COUNCIL ALTOGETHER AND BE DONE EXPEDITIOUSLY AND EFFICIENTLY.
IF I, IF I MAY TAKE ANOTHER POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
UM, I WANNA THANK THE PUBLIC COMMENTERS THAT, THAT WE'VE HAD TODAY.
UM, I, I WAS UNAWARE THAT YOU WOULD BE COMING TO SPEAK TODAY, AND IN MANY WAYS YOU READ MY MIND.
UM, AND NO ONE ELSE NEEDS TO READ MY MIND BECAUSE I, I KNOW THAT THERE HAVE, THERE HAVE BEEN CONVERSATIONS ONGOING ABOUT WHEN TO BRING THESE ITEMS FORWARD, UM, INCLUDING A PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION WITH OUR NEW A CM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, WHO I SEE TAKING NOTES RIGHT NOW.
SO I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, OUR, THE CHAIR AND I WILL PROBABLY AS WELL CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT AGENDA ITEMS THAT MAY BE HELPFUL TO HAVE COVERED BEFORE WE ARE DEEPER INTO THE, UM, BUDGET CYCLE.
I WILL SAY, FOR ME, THE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS BEGIN NEXT WEEK WITH THE TOWN HALL, THE BUDGET TOWN HALL THAT'S HAPPENING NEAR MY DISTRICT.
AND SO I, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY WELCOME.
UM, PERSONALLY, I WOULD WELCOME A SPECIAL CALL MEETING IN EARLY MAY.
THESE ITEMS THAT YOU HAVE SPOKEN TO, I TOOK ACTION ON IN THE LAST BUDGET CYCLE IN LARGE PART BECAUSE OF THE WAYS THEY PLAY OUT IN OUTLYING AREAS WHERE THERE ARE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, SUCH AS MY OWN DISTRICT, BUT ALSO KNOWING THAT THEY WILL HAVE POSITIVE IMPACTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, ALL OF THE SPEAKERS TODAY WERE NOT FROM MY DISTRICT, BUT SPEAKING TOWARDS THE, TO THE IMPACT ON THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
SO I THANK YOU FOR COMING AND SHARE THOSE, SHARING THOSE COMMENTS.
UM, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING OFFLINE, UM, AND WHATEVER ELSE MAY COME TO LIGHT ABOUT PLANS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.
[Approval of Minutes]
UM, COLLEAGUES, UH, THE FIRST ACTION ITEM THAT WE HAVE IS TO APPROVE THE, UH, MINUTES FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING ON FEBRUARY 2ND.UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, UH, IS THERE A SECOND COUNCIL, UH, VICE CHAIR LANE.
UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MEETING, UH, THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING ARE APPROVED.
UH, BEFORE WE GET INTO BRIEFINGS TODAY, UH, I WANTED TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF ITEMS ON OUR, UH, AGENDA AND THAT I ASK THAT WE'D BE MINDFUL OF HOW MANY QUESTIONS WE ASK AND, AND SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET THROUGH ALL OF THE ITEMS TODAY.
THAT BEING SAID, OUR OFFICE HAS ALSO REQUESTED THE SPECIAL CALL MEETING THAT HAS BEEN MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES ALREADY.
SO IF THERE ARE ANY ITEMS THAT WE WANT TO, UM, WANT MORE TIME FOR, WE CAN BRING THOSE BACK IN, UH, IN MAY OR JUNE.
[2. Update on Austin Police Training Academy. [Richard Egal, Commander; Angie Jones, Assistant Chief - Austin Police].]
AND WITH THAT, THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS AN UPDATE ON THE AUSTIN POLICE TRAINING ACADEMY.WE HAVE RICHARD INGLE COMMANDER, UH, AND ANGIE JONES, ASSISTANT CHIEF.
MY NAME IS RICHARD EAGLE AND I'M CURRENTLY THE COMMANDER OVER RECRUITING AND TRAINING FOR THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN UPDATING BRIEFING ON
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THE CRAWL RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON IN RECRUITING AND TRAINING, AND THEN I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE HAS BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2019.COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2 0 1 9 1 2 0 5 DASH SIX SIX DIRECTED THE CITY MANAGER TO LOOK AT HOW THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS CONDUCTING TRAINING AT OUR TRAINING ACADEMY, SPECIFICALLY HOW OFFICERS WERE TRAINED, WHAT MATERIALS WERE USED, CURRENT TRAINING PRACTICES, WHERE THOSE PRACTICES CAME FROM, WHAT, WHY THESE SPECIFIC PRACTICES WERE BEING USED AND WHAT PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES WERE BEING USED ELSEWHERE.
THE CITY MANAGER CONTRACTED WITH CRAWL AND ASSOCIATES.
2021, DID AN INITIAL ASSESSMENT.
UM, BASED ON THAT ASSESSMENT, THEY MADE SEVERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, WE COMPLIED OR WERE WORKING TO COMPLY, AND THAT WAS A, A MANDATE FROM THE COUNCIL SO THAT WE COULD CONTINUE WITH OUR TRAINING FOR CADETS AT THE POLICE ACADEMY.
OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, CRAWL HAS COME BACK AND DONE AN INTERIM EVALUATION, A FINAL INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF THE NEXT CADET CLASS, WHICH WAS THE ONE 44TH.
THEY'VE REVIEWED OUR CURRICULUM AND PROCESS ASSESSMENT.
THEY CAME OUT AND DID A SPOT AUDIT OF THE ONE 48TH CADET CLASS IN 2023.
AND LASTLY, THEY ISSUED AN ASSESSMENT OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY, THEIR FINAL REPORT IN FEBRUARY OF 20TH, 2024.
FROM THOSE SIX REPORTS, THEY MADE 84 FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAVE COMPLIED IN SOME FORM OR FASHION WITH ALL OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, EXCEPT FOR THREE THAT I'M GOING TO DISCUSS WITH Y'ALL TODAY.
UM, THEY HAVE TO DO WITH THE TRAINING ACADEMY VIDEO LIBRARY, AN EXPANSION OF A PD TRAINING FACILITIES, AND A REDUCTION IN THE CADET LUNCH HOUR.
ONE OF CROW'S RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO HAVE COMMUNITY INPUT INTO THE VIDEOS THAT WE WERE USING IN OUR TRAINING, AND WE PUT TOGETHER A COMMUNITY VIDEO REVIEW COMMITTEE.
I WAS ACTUALLY A MEMBER OF THIS COMMITTEE AS A LIEUTENANT AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY AT THE TIME.
UM, WE ALSO PROVIDED MEDIA LITERACY TRAINING FOR OUR OFFICERS.
WE ARE STILL WORKING ON CREATING THIS VIDEO LIBRARY.
I'VE ASSIGNED A VIDEO PRODUCTION SPECIALIST TO RESEARCH THE BEST WAY TO STORE THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DATA ASSOCIATED WITH VIDEOS.
WE CREATED A REVIEW PROCESS IN 2022 THAT WE RECENTLY, UM, HAVE REVIEWED AND ARE GOING TO BRING TO OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL AND GET THEIR INPUT SINCE IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF YEARS SINCE WE'VE DONE THAT.
ADDITIONALLY, WE TALKED TO THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES ABOUT EXPANDING OUR TRAINING FACILITY SEVERAL TIMES.
KROLL MADE OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE TRAINING FACILITIES AT THE CURRENT PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ACADEMY WERE, UM, INADEQUATE FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO WITH CD S'S HELP.
WE CAME UP WITH THE PLANS FOR, UH, $100 MILLION JOINT USE SCENARIO-BASED TRAINING FACILITY THAT WAS PROPOSED TO BE USED BY POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. IT WAS INITIALLY PLACED ON THE 2026 BOND PROPOSAL, BUT I BELIEVE SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THAT PACKAGE.
AND CURRENTLY WE DON'T HAVE ANY FUNDING, UH, IDENTIFIED FOR THAT PROJECT.
AND LASTLY, KROLL RECOMMENDED THAT WE REDUCE THE CADET LUNCH HOUR IN ORDER TO GAIN MORE VALUABLE TRAINING TIME.
UM, WE'VE EXPLAINED SEVERAL TIMES THAT THE CADETS ARE ON THEIR OWN TIME, AND AS AT-WILL EMPLOYEES DURING CADET TRAINING, THEIR LUNCH HOUR IS NOT PAID TIME, IT IS TIME OFF.
AND SO WHAT WE HAVE DONE OVER THE YEARS IS OFFERED THEM ADDITIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES BEFORE WORK AND AFTER WORK AND STAFF HAS BEEN AVAILABLE DURING THEIR LUNCHTIME TO HELP THEM ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, A PROFESSIONAL ADULT LEARNING ORIENTED 21ST CENTURY POLICE ACADEMY THAT BUILDS AND EDUCATES THE FINEST POLICE OFFICERS IN THE NATION.
I LEFT THE TRAINING ACADEMY IN 2022 AS A LIEUTENANT.
I RECENTLY RETURNED IN DECEMBER TO TAKE OVER COMMAND.
I WAS VERY IMPRESSED IN EVERYTHING THAT I'VE SEEN.
A LOT OF THE THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IN 2021 AND 2022, WE ARE NOW DOING AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
THESE BULLET POINTS ON THIS SLIDE ARE DIRECTLY FROM OUR ACADEMY OPERATIONS MANUAL.
WE ARE DEDICATED TO TRAINING COMMUNITY FOCUSED CADETS.
WE START CADET TRAINING WITH A TWO WEEK ACADEMY FOUNDATION PROGRAM WITH A IMMERSED IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.
WE'RE COMMITTED TO TEACHING AND PRACTICING.
THE PRINCIPLES OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE CADETS ARE TAUGHT TO TREAT ALL PERSONS ENGAGED IN LEARNING WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT.
WE SUPPORT POSITIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OUR OFFICERS CADETS AND OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE COLLABORATE WITH ADULT LEARNING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS.
WE BRING IN SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS FROM THE COMMUNITY TO HELP TRAIN OUR CADETS AND OUR FUTURE OFFICERS,
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AND WE DEVELOP THEIR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND DECISION MAKING ABILITIES AND ALIGN THEM WITH OUR CORE VALUES.THIS IS ALL CODIFIED IN OUR ACADEMY OPERATIONS MANUAL, WHICH IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF THE CRAWL RECOMMENDATIONS.
IN THEIR FINAL REPORT, THE ASSESSMENT OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY IN FEBRUARY 20TH, 2024, THEY MADE 22 FINAL PROCESS RECOMMENDATIONS.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE IS IN OUR ACADEMY OPERATIONS MANUAL.
THEY MADE FOUR FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS IN ORDER TO KEEP THESE 22 RECOMMENDATIONS IN PLACE.
THOSE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALSO CODIFIED IN OUR ACADEMY OPERATIONS MANUAL.
OUR CADET TRAINING STAFF AND ANYONE ASSIGNED TO THE TRAINING ACADEMY IS ASSIGNED A CLASS ON THE ACADEMY OPERATIONS MANUAL.
AND THEY GO IN AND THEY'RE REQUIRED TO READ IT AND FOLLOW IT WHILE THEY WORK AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
THIS MANUAL IS ALSO UPDATED ANNUALLY, AND CHANGES ARE MADE AS NEEDED TO STAY IN LINE WITH THE CRAWL RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAD A, A CHANGE IN STAFF RECENTLY AT THE ACADEMY.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE 28 SERGEANTS AND SEVEN OFFICERS WITH AN ADDITIONAL 17 PRO PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS, OUR CIVILIAN STAFF.
SO IN ADDITION TO OUR TRADITIONAL CADET TRAINING LEARN SKILLS UNIT AND ADVANCED EDUCATION UNITS, WE ALSO HAVE A CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT TEAM AND E-LEARNING AND LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TEAM, A FIELD TRAINING, A COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM TEAM, AND A TO TEXAS COMMISSIONER LAW ENFORCEMENT TEAM.
AND THESE ENSURE THAT WE INCORPORATE ADULT LEARNING COMMUNITY VALUES, UM, STATE LAW INTO ALL THE TRAINING THAT WE DO AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
THIS IS KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF ALL THE TRAINING THAT WE PRESENT AND CONDUCT AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
IT STARTS WITH THE CADET TRAINING, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS OF OUR ACADEMY FOUNDATION SET AS A COMMUNITY IMMERSION PROGRAM.
THEN IT'S 32 WEEKS OF FORMAL CADET TRAINING, FOLLOWED BY FOUR WEEKS OF INTERMEDIATE TOL ADVANCED TRAINING.
AND THAT'S ALL BEFORE THEY START THEIR FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM.
WE ARE MAKING AN ADJUSTMENT TO MOVE THE INTERMEDIATE TOL TRAINING TO LATER IN THEIR CAREERS AND 12 TO 15 MONTHS AFTER THEY GRADUATE THE ACADEMY.
SO THE OFFICERS CAN GET ON THE STREET FOUR WEEKS SOONER AND GET A LITTLE EXPERIENCE BEFORE WE GIVE THEM SOME ADVANCED CLASSES AFTER THEY GRADUATE OR COMPLETE THAT INTERMEDIATE TRAINING.
THEY START THE FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM.
FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM IS 13 WEEKS LONG.
IT'S ONE WEEK OF ORIENTATION FOLLOWED BY THREE FOUR WEEK TRAINING PHASES.
OUR PROBATIONARY POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE, ARE CADETS, THEY'RE SWORN, THEY'RE COMMISSIONED, AND THEY'RE BEGINNING THEIR CAREERS, OUR PROBATIONARY POLICE OFFICERS FOR 15 MONTHS AFTER THEY GRADUATE.
OUR IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM PROVIDES TRAINING FOR OUR CURRENT OFFICERS, UH, STATE MANDATED TRAINING.
SO UNDER TO RULES, WE HAVE TO CONDUCT A MINIMUM OF 40 HOURS EVERY TWO YEARS TO KEEP OUR TCO LICENSE.
WE ALSO HAVE TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEAPONS PROFICIENCY TRAINING FOR ANY WEAPON SYSTEM THAT WE CARRY ON DUTY.
UM, WE HAVE OUR OWN INTERNAL MANDATED ANNUAL TRAINING.
THIS CONSISTS OF REFRESHER TRAINING FOR OFFICERS WHO HAVE TAKEN CLASSES AND THEN A PERIOD OF TIME HAS GONE BY POLICY AND NEW PROCEDURAL UPDATES, NEWLY OFFERED COURSES OR SPECIALIZED TRAINING.
UM, CURRENTLY WE ARE TEACHING A 20 HOUR ANNUAL REFRESHER TRAINING TO ALL OFFICERS AT THE DIRECTION OF CHIEF DAVIS.
AND THEN WE'RE TEACHING ALL SUPERVISORS A 40 HOUR ANNUAL REFRESHER COURSE THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
AND THAT'S PART OF OUR IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM.
AS PART OF THAT IN-SERVICE TRAINING AND AS PART OF DEVELOPING OUR CULTURE OF COMMUNITY AND DEESCALATION, WE'VE ADOPTED A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS ALONG THE WAY.
UM, THE ACTIVE BYSTANDER SHIP FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, OR THE ABLE PROGRAM IS ONE THAT WE LOOKED AT AND ADAPTED, LOOKED AT ADAPTING BACK WHEN I WAS AT THE ACADEMY IN 2021.
IN THE LAST TWO YEARS AND THREE MONTHS IN 2026, WE'VE GOTTEN ALMOST EVERY SWARM PERSON THROUGH THE ABLE PROGRAM THROUGH THE INITIAL TRAINING.
AND WE ARE CURRENTLY TEACHING A THREE HOUR, TWO HOUR REFRESHER COURSE TO EVERY OFFICER WHO'S ALREADY COMPLETED THE EIGHT HOUR CLASS.
UM, THIS ACTIVE BYSTANDER SHIP TRAINING ENCOURAGES A CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS PURE INTERVENTION TO PREVENT HARM.
AND THEN IF IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO ACTUALLY PREVENT HARM, THEN TO REDUCE HARM AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE TEACH OFFICERS TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES HOW AND HOW TO INTERCEDE WHEN DEALING WITH THEIR PEERS AS WELL AS SUPERIOR OFFICERS.
UM, THE ICAP PROGRAM IS ANOTHER, UM, MODERN DEESCALATION PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE ADOPTED SINCE 2021 OFFICIALLY.
UM, WE'VE BEEN USING ICAP TRAINING PRINCIPLES
[00:25:01]
FOR MANY YEARS.THE ICAP PROGRAM ITSELF IS DESIGNED FOR SITUATIONS WHERE SOMEONE MAY BE IN SOME KIND OF CRISIS AND THEY'RE ARMED WITH A WEAPON OTHER THAN A FIREARM.
SO IT MAKES IT UNSAFE FOR AN OFFICER TO INITIALLY APPROACH.
UM, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED AND WHAT MANY DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING IS WE'RE TAKING THESE CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES AND WE'RE ADAPTING 'EM INTO HOW WE HANDLE EVERY CALL FOR SERVICE.
AND SO, PART OF THE RESEARCH THAT WAS DONE ON ICA SHOWS THAT THIS PROGRAM AND THE AGENCIES THAT HAVE ADOPTED AND USED THIS PROGRAM HAVE REDUCED THE NUMBERS OF USES OF FORCE, HAVE REDUCED THE NUMBERS OF INJURIES TO OFFICERS, AND HAVE REDUCED THE NUMBERS OF INJURIES TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND SUBJECTS.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE THE SAFETY FOR BOTH OFFICERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND WE'VE ADOPTED IT FOR ALL CALLS FOR SERVICE, NOT JUST THE CRITICAL INCIDENTS FROM THE ICAP PROGRAM.
WE'VE TAKEN A TOOL CALLED THE CRITICAL DECISION MAKING MODEL.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS TOOL, YOU CAN SEE IT'S A WHEEL AND IN THE CENTER OF THE WHEEL, WE HAVE ETHICS, VALUES, PROPORTIONALITY, AND SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE.
AND WE'RE TEACHING OUR OFFICERS, STARTING WITH OUR CADETS, USING THIS IN INSERVICE, USING THIS IN SUPERVISOR SCHOOLS, USING THIS IN FORCE REVIEW, AND ALL ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT HOW TO GATHER INFORMATION AND MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON OUR ETHICS VALUES, PROPORTIONALITY AND SANCTITY HUMAN LIFE.
SO THEY COLLECT INFORMATION, THEY ASSESS THE SITUATION, THEY CONSIDER THEIR POLICE POWERS IN THEIR, THE AGENCY POLICY, IDENTIFY OPTIONS, ACT, REVIEW, REASSESS, AND THEN THEY CAN START THE PROCESS OVER AGAIN.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE CURRENTLY IMPLEMENTING THIS AND INFUSING THIS IN ALL OF THE TRAINING THAT WE'RE DOING THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT, AND IT'S A PART OF THE ICAP PROGRAM.
THERE'S A, A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE AT THE MOMENT WITH OUR CURRENT CADET CLASSES AND OUR RECENTLY GRADUATED CADET CLASSES.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 36 CADETS IN THE 1 56 CADET CLASS THAT'S SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE ON MAY 1ST.
WE HAVE 48 IN THE ONE 57TH, AND THEY'RE SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE ON SEPTEMBER 18TH.
DOWN BELOW, YOU'LL SEE IN OUR FIELD TRAINING PORTION, WE HAVE 64, UH, NEW OFFICERS FROM THE 1 30 50 THIRD AND ONE 54TH THAT ARE OFF PROBATION AND CURRENTLY ON PATROL.
AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER 38 THAT ARE IN PHASE THREE OF THEIR FT OF FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM FROM THE ONE 55TH.
UM, WE'RE VERY FOCUSED AND TRYING AND WORKING TO KEEP OUR CADETS ONCE THEY START ON PREPARING OUR APPLICANTS BEFORE THEY BECOME CADETS, AND THEN PREPARING OUR CADETS TO BECOME OFFICERS.
AND WE HAVE, UH, PUT SOME RESOURCE RESOURCES TO USE IN THIS WAY.
UH, WE HAVE A VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELOR THAT IS ON THE TRAINING ACADEMY CAMPUS FULL-TIME, AND SHE MEETS WITH CADETS.
UM, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL SITUATIONS WHERE CADETS ARE GOING THROUGH TRAINING AND SOME PAST TRAUMA MAY, MAY COME TO LIGHT, AND WE HAVE SOMEONE THERE THAT CAN IMMEDIATELY HELP THEM WITH THAT.
UM, WE HAVE SHIFTED AND ADOPTED THE VICTIM CENTER APPROACH TO OUR TRAINING AS WELL AS TO HOW WE DO OPERATIONS.
AND WE ARE INCORPORATING THAT AND USING OUR VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELOR ON SITE TO HELP US.
OUR INSTRUCTOR, OUR ICS, OUR INSTRUCTOR COUNSELORS ARE NOW SERGEANTS.
UM, THEY BRING MORE EXPERIENCE.
THEY BRING A BACKGROUND IN, IN HANDLING OFFICER RELATED ISSUES THAT IS HELPING WITH OUR CADETS AND IS HELPING GUIDE THEM THROUGH THEIR TRAINING.
WE HAVE A CONDUCTED PHYSICAL TRAINING WORKOUTS BEFORE APPLICANTS ACTUALLY BE BEGIN CADET TRAINING.
WE ALSO HAVE STUDY SESSIONS TO HELP THEM BEFORE THEY BEGIN TRAINING, AS WELL AS DURING TRAINING TO HELP THEM ACHIEVE OUR MINIMUM STANDARDS.
WE HAVEN'T LOWERED OUR STANDARDS, BUT WE HAVE SOUGHT OUT AND FOUND CREATIVE WAYS TO HELP GIVE THEM MORE TRAINING TIME AND TO HELP THEM ACHIEVE THOSE STANDARDS SO THAT WE CAN TURN THEM INTO GOOD PRODUCTIVE OFFICERS.
UM, AND AGAIN, OUR INSTRUCTORS ARE AMAZING.
THEY WORK WITH OUR CADETS BEFORE, AFTER AT LUNCH HOURS.
UM, I'VE KNOWN INSTRUCTORS TO COME IN ON WEEKENDS.
UM, OUR RECRUITING STAFF ALSO, WE HAVE WORKOUTS FOR OUR APPLICANTS, AND WE ARE ENGAGING THEM AND DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP THEM SUCCEED AND, AND MEET OUR STANDARDS.
LOOKING FORWARD TO RECRUITING AND RETENTION.
UM, AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY, WE DO SURVEYS, EXIT INTERVIEWS.
AT THE END OF EACH CADET CLASS, WE HAVE A, A REPORT AND AUDIT THAT WE DO.
UH, WE HAVE A FULL-TIME RESEARCH
[00:30:01]
ANALYST WHO IS HELPING US GATHER THIS INFORMATION AND THEN HELPING US USE THIS INFORMATION IN A CONSTRUCTIVE WAY SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR TRAINING PROGRAM IN, IN THE WAY THAT WE NEED TO.UM, WE'VE ALSO HAD SOME HELP FROM SOME OUTSIDE AUDITORS WITH MARY DUNN AND THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
OVER ON OUR RECRUITING SIDE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE WAYS THAT WE DO RECRUITING, HOW WE, UH, TRACK OUR DATA AND HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY OF OUR DATA, AND THEN HOW CAN WE WORK ON ENHANCING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATION AND OUTREACH.
WE HAVE, UM, RECENTLY CONDUCTED SOME TRAINING WITH OUR RECRUITING UNIT, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ACTUALLY GOING OUT AND RECRUITING PEOPLE TRADITIONALLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE HAVE TRIED TO GET A, A LOT OF APPLICATIONS, AND THEN WE FILTER THOSE APPLICATIONS TO FIND THE, THE GREATEST NUMBER OF QUALIFIED PEOPLE, AND THEN WE HIRE THEM AND TRY AND GET THEM TO MEET OUR MINIMUM STANDARDS.
WE ARE KIND OF SHIFTING OUR FOCUS, AND WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON THE BEST APPLICANTS TO PRODUCE THE BEST CADETS AND THE BEST POLICE OFFICERS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IT, WE'RE VERY POSITIVE ABOUT OUR APPROACH AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE.
AND WE ALSO HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP TRAINING COMING ON TO THAT IN THE END OF JUNE.
AND AT THIS TIME, I WILL OPEN UP TO ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE MAY HAVE.
COMMANDER EAGLE, UH, COLLEAGUES, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL.
AND, UH, I, I HEARD YOUR RECOMMENDATION THAT WE KEEP EVERYTHING PRETTY TIGHT, SO, UM, THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU COMMANDER AND CHIEF, UH, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
AND ALSO WANNA THANK CHIEF DAVIS, UH, REALLY FOR BUILDING THIS LARGER VISION OF DEPARTMENTAL EXCELLENCE, BEST PRACTICES, AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING.
UM, AND VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE USE OF THIS CRITICAL DECISION MAKING MODEL.
UM, JUST WANNA ASK ABOUT A COUPLE OF THE SLIDES, COMMANDER.
UM, MAYBE IF WE COULD PUT UP SLIDE NINE, WHICH IS FOCUSED ON ATTRITION.
AND, UM, FOR ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS, IF IT'S BETTER TO ANSWER THEM OFFLINE, UH, THAT, THAT'S ALSO JUST FINE.
BUT, UH, IN TERMS OF ATTRITION, DO YOU KNOW HOW THESE RATES COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES? WE'VE LOOKED AT IT.
I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION WITH ME RIGHT NOW.
ONE THING I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, AND ALSO IF WE COULD ALSO HAVE THE ATTRITION RATES FOR A FEW OF THE PRIOR CLASSES, UM, JUST TO KNOW KIND OF WHAT TRAJECTORY WE'RE ON, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE HUNDRED 57TH CLASS, IS THIS ATTRITION RATE AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE HUNDRED 56? IF YOU COMPARE, YOU KNOW, RELATIVE POINT IN TIME, I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THAT RELATIVE POINT IN TIME BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING READY TO START SOME HARDER ASPECTS OF THE CADET TRAINING PROGRAM.
AND SO WE WILL TRADITIONALLY, WE'LL PROBABLY LOSE A FEW MORE CADETS IN THE NEXT FOUR TO SIX WEEKS.
BUT I WOULD ALSO ASK OUR, OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, MS. BRIS EDWARDS, IF SHE HAS ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT.
UH, TYPICALLY THIS IS A LOWER ATTRITION RATE THAN WE'VE SEEN IN THE LAST ABOUT FOUR CLASSES.
UM, I CAN GET YOU THE EXACT POINT IN TIME REFERENCE.
UH, WE WILL, AS COMMANDER SAID, LOSE A FEW MORE, BUT THIS IS A LOWER ATTRITION RATE THAN WE'VE SEEN RECENTLY.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS LAST JUNE THERE WAS A VERY DONE REPORT THAT KIND OF COMMENTED ON THE LOSS OF RECRUITS DURING THE ACADEMY.
AND I BASICALLY SUGGESTED THAT THE DEPARTMENT LOOK INTO THE PERCENTAGE AND REASONS, UM, FOR THE, THE LOSS OF RECRUITS AND SUGGESTED THAT WE LOOK AT THE HIRING PROCESS OR THE TRAINING CURRICULUM OR BOTH.
UM, AND I WAS WONDERING IF IS KIND OF THIS REPORT AN EXAMPLE OF THAT ANALYSIS OR, UH, ARE ARE THERE OTHER ANALYSES HAPPENING? SO WE'RE, WE'RE CONSISTENTLY LOOKING AT WHY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING.
UNFORTUNATELY, AT THIS TIME, CADETS ARE STILL GIVING US PRETTY GENERAL REASONS.
WE TYPICALLY LOSE PEOPLE OVER ACADEMICS, SOME INJURIES.
UM, AND PRIMARILY THEY TELL US PERSONAL REASONS.
SO TRYING TO DRILL DOWN IN, INTO EXACTLY WHAT THOSE REASONS ARE IS WHERE WE'RE A LITTLE BIT STUCK, BUT WE ARE CONSISTENTLY LOOKING FOR WAYS TO GET BETTER DATA.
SO WE CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE THAT, THAT IT KIND OF LIKE ALONG THE LINES OF LIKE, UH, IF MAYBE THE REASON THEY'RE DROPPING OUT IS THEY COULDN'T HACK IT OR WHATEVER, THEY'RE NOT GONNA TELL YOU THAT STRAIGHT UP, OH, IT WAS TOO HARD FOR ME.
RIGHT? AND PART OF THAT IS RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WITH OUR CADETS.
SO THEY ARE COMFORTABLE SHARING THAT.
UM, WE WE'RE, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW EXACTLY TO DO THAT, BUT WE ARE OPEN TO RECOMMENDATIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY FOR US.
I WOULD ADD TO THAT, THAT WE ARE, DURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS, GIVING THEM MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET WITH OUR STAFF AND WORK BOTH PHYSICALLY ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AND ACADEMICALLY ON STUDYING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
IF WE SEE SOMEBODY THAT SCORES RELATIVELY LOW ON THE, ON THE CIVIL SERVICE EXAM, WE KNOW THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA STRUGGLE WITH OUR CURRICULUM.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN FRONT OF THAT SO WHEN THEY SHOW UP TO IT, THE ACADEMY TRAINING, THEY'RE PREPARED BECAUSE WE WANT THEM ALL TO SUCCEED, BUT WE WANT THEM TO SUCCEED
[00:35:01]
BY EXCELLING OUR STANDARDS.UM, AND THEN A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, IF YOU COULD SHARE ANY KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXIT INTERVIEWS SO FAR, UH, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO GET ALL OF THE INFORMATION WE HAVE FROM THE EXIT INTERVIEWS AND PROVIDE THAT TO YOU.
I DON'T HAVE THAT WITH ME RIGHT NOW, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, YOU ASKED A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS.
HOWEVER, I HAVE AN EQUAL NUMBER, UH, AS IT RELATES TO ATTRITION, RETENTION, AND RECRUITING.
AND, YOU KNOW, I WANNA START FIRST ALSO BY THANKING CHIEF DAVIS AND THANKING THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE PRESENTING TODAY.
UM, I WANNA RAISE THE POSSIBILITY THAT PERHAPS, UM, WE COULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIG INTO THIS, UH, MORE ROBUSTLY AT OUR SPECIAL CALLED MEETING THAT WILL BE UPCOMING.
AND I ASK THAT AND, AND IF, IF WE DID DECIDE TO DO THAT, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE MY QUESTIONS TO YOU IN ADVANCE SO YOU HAVE THEM IN MIND AS YOU'RE PREPARING THAT BRIEFING.
UM, 'CAUSE I'LL CERTAINLY BE HAPPY IF I, IF IT'S ALL COVERED IN THERE.
SO IF THAT'S THE CASE, UM, I, WELL, REGARDLESS, I WILL MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE THAT DO NOT RELATE TO ATTRITION, RETENTION, AND RECRUITING.
UM, AND THEN I MAY LOOK TO YOU FOR A QUEUE ABOUT WHETHER I SHOULD HOLD OFF ON THOSE OR NOT.
UM, SO I, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE ACTIVE BYSTANDER TRAINING.
UM, ARE YOU ABLE TO, ACTUALLY, BEFORE I SAY THAT, UM, ONE, I, I AM SO PLEASED AND I COULD SEE IT WHEN I READ THE BRIEFING AHEAD OF TIME, AND ALSO WHEN I HEARD YOUR PRESENTATION ABOUT ALL OF THE STEPS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER THE YEARS, WARMS MY HEART.
I HAVE ONLY BEEN ON COUNCIL FOR A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME.
UM, I, I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE THE GROWTH AREAS AS IT RELATES TO THE TRAINING ACADEMY THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PRESENTATION.
MAYBE TWO OR THREE PRIMARY, CERTAINLY TOP OF MIND, UM MM-HMM
DEFINITELY THE INCORPORATION OF ADULT LEARNING CONCEPTS.
SO IN OUR LESSON PLANS, IN ALL OF OUR LESSON PLANS, THERE'S A SECTION THAT SPECIFICALLY LINES OUT WHAT ADULT LEARNING CONCEPTS ARE INCORPORATED INTO THIS LESSON PLAN.
UH, IN OUR LESSON PLANS, THERE'S A SECTION FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.
THERE'S A SECTION FOR, UM, COMMUNITY, EXCUSE ME, HOW ME WITH THIS BRIAN'S
UM, THERE'S A SECTION IN COMMUNITY AWARENESS ABOUT, SO WHAT IN THIS LESSON PLAN RELATES BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO JUST HAVING THE CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT TEAM HELP OUR OFFICERS WORK ON THESE LESSON PLANS AND INFUSE THESE THINGS INTO ALL OF OUR CLASSES HAS HELPED CHANGE THE CULTURE.
UM, THAT, THAT'S BEEN A BIG THING.
IT'S BEEN, AGAIN, A RESULT OF THESE CROW RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
THE INCORPORATION OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS OUTSIDE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, UM, USING LOCAL PROFESSIONALS IN OUR PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO GIVE US FEEDBACK.
SO, PAUSING, UM, I LOVE HEARING THE SUCCESSES, BUT WHAT I'M WONDERING ABOUT IS WHAT YOU THINK IN THE FORWARD, LOOKING FORWARD, WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT ARE NEXT TO TACKLE? OKAY.
CERTAINLY, UM, IN DEVELOPING OUR INSTRUCTOR, CADRE IS OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT THE MOMENT.
WE RECENTLY HAD A SHIFT IN STAFFING.
WE HAVE 20, I THINK I GAVE YOU THE NUMBER, BUT, UH, 28 NEW SERGEANTS OUT THERE.
SOME OF THEM HAVE A BACKGROUND IN INSTRUCTION, UH, IN SOME FORM OR FASHION.
SO DEVELOPING THEM, GETTING THEM THEIR BASIC TCO INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATION, GETTING 'EM ALL THE CERTIFICATIONS AND TRAINING THAT THEY NEED WHILE CONTINUING TO PUT ON OUR, OUR TRAINING AT THE ACADEMY.
SO WHILE WE'RE DOING THIS, WE HAVE STILL CONTINUOUSLY HAD CADET CLASSES.
WE HAVE CONTINUOUSLY HAD IN-SERVICE TRAINING AND CONTINUOUSLY DONE EVERYTHING THAT WE STILL NEEDED TO DO.
AND SO DEVELOPING OUR STAFF IS PROBABLY OUR, OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UM, AND THE FACILITIES,
SO REALLY BOTH OF THE AREAS THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, RELATE VERY SIGNIFICANTLY TO EITHER THE TRYOUT OF ATTRITION, RETENTION AND RECRUITING OR TO MONEY IN GENERAL.
AND SO, UM, IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT ON THE TABLE AND ALSO I DEFINITELY WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK TO THAT AT OUR SPECIAL CALL MEETING.
UM, THE OTHER THREE QUESTIONS I HAVE, CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF ACTIVE BYSTANDER TRAINING, SPECIFICALLY HOW IT DIFFERS FROM PREVIOUS TRAINING OR ON SIMILAR INCIDENTS? DO YOU FEEL THAT THE OUTCOME OF THIS CHANGE HAS MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN HOW NEW OFFICERS APPROACH DISAGREEMENTS WITH MORE SENIOR OFFICERS ON HOW TO HANDLE A SPECIFIC SITUATION IN THE FIELD? YES.
UM, I AM AN ABLE TRAINER, SO I WENT THROUGH THE INSTRUCTOR COURSE.
[00:40:01]
ABLE CLASSES AT THE DEPARTMENT.UM, WE GIVE THEM TOOLS, WE GIVE THEM MODELS, AND THEN WE DO ROLE PLAYS IN THE CLASSROOM SO THAT THEY CAN ADDRESS SPECIFIC SITUATIONS.
WE TEACH THEM HOW TO DEAL WITH A PEER, AND THEN WE GIVE THEM A MODEL ON HOW TO DEAL WITH A SUPERIOR AND GIVE THEM A WAY TO ESCALATE THEIR INTERVENTION IF THEY KNOW THEY'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING, NOT JUST TO TRY SOMETHING AND QUIT.
YOU KEEP GOING UNTIL YOU GET YOUR POINT ACROSS.
AND SO, YES, I BELIEVE WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN THAT, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO MEASURE THAT.
MOST OF OUR ABLE TRAINING HAS BEEN IN THE LAST, JUST OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS MM-HMM
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO MEASURE THAT.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR RESEARCH ANALYST ON MEASURING ON THE PARAMETERS OF WHAT WE CAN MEASURE AND HOW WE CAN MEASURE IT SO WE CAN COME BACK AND, AND SHOW DATA.
UH, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT DOING THAT WITH OUR ICAP PROGRAM AND OUR DEESCALATION.
UM, AND I'M GONNA ADD THAT TO MY MENTAL LIST OF LIKE, THE GROWTH AREAS.
LOOKING FORWARD IS JUST GETTING TO THE POINT OF QUANTITATIVE MEASURE FOR THE SUCCESSES THAT WE'RE DESCRIBING.
UM, AND I WILL, MY NEXT QUESTION WAS ABOUT I ICAT TRAINING AND IT WAS THE SAME, SO WE'RE GOOD.
UM, FINALLY ON SLIDE EIGHT, YOU REFERENCED THE CRITICAL DECISION MAKING MODEL.
UH, IS THIS A MODEL THAT IS UNIVERSALLY APPLIED THROUGHOUT ALL TRAINING MATERIALS? THAT'S, I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD.
IT'LL BE A SHORT FOLLOW UP AFTER THAT.
I'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING ON THAT BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR.
SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, JANUARY 1ST, THIS WAS INCORPORATED INTO OUR USE OF FORCE POLICY.
WE BEGAN INTEGRATING IT INTO ALL OF OUR TRAINING.
WE STARTED WITH THE CADET CLASSES THAT ARE CURRENTLY AT THE ACADEMY.
WE HAVE INTEGRATED IT INTO OUR MANDATORY IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR ALL OF OUR SWARM PERSONNEL.
WE'VE USED IT IN OUR FIELD TRAINING OFFICE OR SCHOOL THIS YEAR.
WE'VE USED IT IN OUR SUPERVISOR SCHOOL THIS YEAR.
AND IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE INTEGRATED THROUGHOUT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING.
NOT ONLY IN TRAINING, BUT IN OPERATIONS.
I'VE MET WITH OUR FORCE REVIEW UNIT.
THEY ARE INTEGRATING IT INTO SOME OF THE TRAINING THEY DO WITH OUR PATROL SHIFTS AND SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THEY GIVE TO OUR PATROL SHIFTS.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON GETTING THIS MODEL BLOWN UP INTO SOME WALL POSTERS AND HANGING IT UP AT ALL OF OUR POLICE FACILITIES.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION WE'LL BE HAVING ALONG, ALONG ABOUT SOME OF THAT IN THE WORK SESSION, UH, NEXT WEEK.
UH, MY LAST, MY FOLLOW UP, ARE THERE ANY REMAIN REMAINING MATERIALS THAT STILL REFLECT THE WARRIOR MINDSET TRAINING PHILOSOPHY? I, I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
I, AGAIN, THAT, THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE, THOSE CONCEPTS THAT IT, IT'S SO SUBJECTIVE.
UM, SO, SO I WOULD APPRECIATE OFFLINE FOLLOW UP TO OKAY.
KIND OF HIGHLIGHT WHERE, WHERE THERE MAY STILL BE SOME SUBJECTIVE, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SEE THAT AS STILL BEING PRESENT IN OUR TRAINING MATERIALS VERSUS NOT, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
WHEN SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT SOMETIMES THEY MEAN LIKE PARAMILITARY TRAINING MM-HMM
AND SOMETIMES THAT GETS CONFUSED WITH WEARING A UNIFORM, STANDING IN FORMATION, JOGGING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT WE CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, AND IF WE COULD ALSO LEAVE IT THAT IF YOU, THAT THE ANSWER'S NO, BUT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING, YOU WILL SHARE IT WITH US.
COUNCIL MEMBER DE YOU KNEW I HAD QUESTIONS.
UH, FIRST, UH, THANK YOU COMMANDER FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
UM, I'LL TRY AND COVER A COUPLE THINGS I'M NOT SURE WE'VE BROUGHT UP YET.
ONE IS, UH, I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU CAN FIRST SHARE, UH, PER COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL'S REQUEST SOME OF THE DATA THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, THE ACADEMICS, THE INJURIES, THE PERSONAL REASONS.
I KNOW SINCE I'VE STARTED, I'VE ASKED A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UH, OFFICERS.
I THINK MY ONE COMMANDER, UH, FOR BAKER SECTOR, UH, SPECULATED AT ONE POINT THAT IT WAS THE PHYSICAL COMPONENT THAT PEOPLE WERE STRUGGLING WITH AT SOME POINT THAT WAS LEADING TO SOME OF THE ATTRITION ISSUES.
SO I'D LOVE TO SEE ANY DATA YOU GUYS CAN SHARE ABOUT WHAT THE ACTUAL BREAKDOWN OF AS YOU'RE GETTING GOING THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS OR THE EXIT INTERVIEWS.
AND WE KEEP THAT FOR EVERY CLASS.
I JUST DON'T HAVE IT WITH ME TODAY.
BUT YEAH, GOING FORWARD, UM, THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL TO TAKE A LOOK AT BECAUSE I SAID I, I, WHEN I WAS OUT THERE FOR, UM, GETTING THE TOUR RECENTLY, I THINK COMMANDER ALEXANDER SPECULATED THERE WAS THE ACADEMIC PIECE OF IT.
SO I WAS LIKE, THAT WASN'T WHAT I'D HEARD PREVIOUSLY.
SO WOULD LOVE TO DRILL INTO WHAT IS GOING ON THERE, UM, AND WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SEEING.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER, JUST FOR AWARENESS, THAT DATA IS HELD ON OUR OPEN DATA PORTAL.
UM, ALL OF THE CADET INFORMATION GOING BACK TO, I BELIEVE THE ONE 51ST.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO ASK ABOUT, IT SEEMS LIKE THEN THERE'S SORT OF TWO PLACES THAT ATTRITION COULD BE HAPPENING.
ONE IS DURING THE CADET PROGRAM, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE FIELD TRAINING PORTION TOO, RIGHT? WHERE WE'RE LOSING SOME FOLKS UPWARDS OF, YOU
[00:45:01]
KNOW, NINE OR 10% DEPENDING ON HOW LONG WE'RE LOOKING AT.SO I'M CURIOUS, WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT YOU'RE SEEING ATTRITION THROUGH THAT PROCESS? I'M GONNA LET MS. EDWARDS ANSWER THAT.
SHE WAS RECENTLY OVER OUR FIELD TRAINING AND COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM.
WE RECENTLY STARTED COLLECTING EXIT SURVEYS FROM THE PPOS, THE PROBATIONARY POLICE OFFICERS WHO LEAVE DURING THIS PROGRAM.
I WOULD BE ABLE TO GET YOU A A BETTER SAMPLE SOON, BUT WHAT I TYPICALLY HEAR IS IT'S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED.
UM, THIS DIDN'T CONFORM WITH WHAT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.
UH, BUT THEN THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT COME UP THERE, FAMILY ISSUES.
PEOPLE NEED TO MOVE BACK HOME, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'VE COME INTO TEXAS TO, TO WORK WITH US.
UH, BUT I'M HAPPY TO GIVE YOU A MORE FORMAL BREAKDOWN OF, OF WHY WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE LEAVE.
UM, I WANNA SWITCH GEARS AND JUST TALK ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I SAW WHILE I WAS OUT THERE AND APPRECIATE ALL THE, UM, THE HANDHOLDING FOR THE TOUR THAT WE HAD.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS A SURPRISED WAS HEARING ABOUT CERTAIN FACILITIES AND THINKING ABOUT THE OBSTACLE COURSE I THINK THEY MENTIONED, AS WELL AS, I'M NOT EVEN SURE IT COULD BE CALLED A BUILDING.
IT'S THE, IT'S THE STRUCTURE MADE OF, UH, RAILROAD TIES OR SHOOT HOUSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE SOME GAPS WHERE WE COULD CREATE PERHAPS, AND I VOLUNTEERED WITH COMMANDER ALEXANDER, MAYBE SOME BETTER COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS TO RESOURCE SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT HUGE BUDGET ITEMS, BUT I'M WONDERING IF THERE IS A LIST OF PLACES.
I MEAN, I HAD SOME, I HAD SOME SAFETY CONCERNS JUST LOOKING AT THAT PLACE.
UH, SO WOULD CERTAINLY BE OPEN TO A CONVERSATION ABOUT ANY KIND OF PARTNERSHIPS, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE CAN CREATE TO RESOURCE SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE BETTER THAN GOING OUT AND COLLECTING LITTLE RAILROAD TIES TO CREATE STRUCTURES.
WELL, OVER THE COURSE OF MY SWAT CAREER, I DID HELP PUT SOME OF THOSE THERE.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO TOUCH ON THE UTILIZATION.
WE SPENT SOME TIME WITH, UH, I MIGHT BE MISPRONOUNCING IT.
I THINK IT'S THE, THE, UH, RA SIMULATOR CORRECT.
WE WATCHED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SIMULATIONS.
I WAS CONCERNED THOUGH, WHEN I SPOKE WITH, UM, SOME OF THE STAFF THAT IT SEEMS LIKE THE UTILIZATION RATE MAY BE FAIRLY LOW FOR HOW OFTEN THAT SYSTEM IS USED, GIVEN HOW POTENTIALLY VALUABLE IT COULD BE FOR TRAINING OFFICERS IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW TO, IF ONE, THAT'S THE CASE AND I MAY BE MISTAKEN ABOUT THAT.
UM, 'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE SOMEBODY ON SITE THAT'S TRAINED TO USE IT, THAT'S A CONSTRAINT BY ITSELF.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY GETTING DIFFERENT, WHETHER IT'S THE CADET CLASSES OR GETTING CURRENT OFFICERS TO COME OUT THERE AND BUDGET A DAY TO GO GO THROUGH THE, THE TRAININGS.
THAT SEEMS LIKE A SECOND CONSTRAINT.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? ARE THERE ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE FOR IMPROVING UTILIZATION OF THAT TECHNOLOGY? YES, SIR.
WE'RE DEVELOPING INSTRUCTORS RIGHT NOW.
I HAVE TWO INSTRUCTORS THAT HAVE A, A TRAINING PACKET TO GO TO PHOENIX WHERE VIRTUAL'S LOCATED TO GET THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY, SOME OF OUR FOLKS THAT HAD THAT TRAINING HAVE BEEN REASSIGNED IN OUR, OUR STAFFING REALLOCATION.
UM, WHEN I LEFT LEARN SKILLS UNIT BACK IN 2022, WE WERE USING IT, UM, IN THE EVENING HOURS.
WE WERE, WE WERE UTILIZING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN WE ARE CURRENTLY.
AND WE DO HAVE PLANS TO THAN GREATLY INCREASE THE WAY WE ARE USING THAT.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE, UH, VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS MM-HMM
THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPING A PLAN TO TAKE TO THE DIFFERENT PATROL SUBSTATIONS AND WORK WITH DIFFERENT PATROL SHIFTS IN THEIR SUBSTATIONS ON DEESCALATION, UH, TRAINING SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THAT EXPERIENCE TO THEM WITHOUT THEM HAVING TO COME TO THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
SO THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, YES, SIR.
WE ARE WORKING ON WAYS TO GET MORE PEOPLE IN THERE, GET MORE OFFICERS TRAINED, AND TO UTILIZE THAT VERY VALUABLE TOOL.
NO, I'M, I'M VERY ENCOURAGED TO HEAR THAT.
UM, AND ALSO ENCOURAGED TO HEAR THE OTHER WAYS YOU'RE, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE EXPLORING TECHNOLOGY TO TRY AND ACHIEVE THE SAME ENDS.
UH, I THINK THE LAST QUESTION I'VE GOT IS JUST ABOUT, UM, THE RECRUITING EFFORTS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE UNDERTAKEN.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S JUST ANY PARTICULAR TOOLS OR METHODS YOU MENTIONED SORT OF SHIFTING TO THIS NEW MODEL, UH, I MY WORDS NOT YOURS, BUT SORT OF QUALITY OVER QUANTITY AS OPPOSED TO JUST SORT OF WEEDING OUT THROUGH, I DON'T KNOW, THOUSANDS OF APPLICATIONS AND TRYING TO PICK THE BEST ONES.
WHEN DO YOU THINK WE'LL HAVE SOME DATA INDICATING THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A HELPFUL APPROACH TO THIS? AND I THINK THE SECOND THING I'LL ADD IS, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I LOOK AT HOW WE'RE, AND WE'RE INVESTIGATING SORT OF HOW EMS
[00:50:01]
IS SUCCESSFUL, WHAT THEY'RE RECRUITING.A LOT OF THAT'S TRAVEL, IT SEEMS LIKE.
SO I'M WONDERING WHAT ARE THE SORT OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU ALL ARE EXPLORING TO TRY AND EXPAND THE REACH? I KNOW WHEN I GO TO THE, UH, GRADUATIONS, I'M SEEING WHAT FEELS LIKE AN INCREASINGLY AMOUNT OF CADETS THAT GRADUATE THAT ARE FROM NOT JUST OUT OF THE REGION, BUT OUTTA STATE, EVEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THAT? YES, SIR.
IT'S, SO THE TRAINING THAT WE GOT RECENTLY WAS FOR OUR UNIT.
UM, AND AGAIN, TRADITIONALLY WE FILTERED APPLICATIONS.
OUR FOLKS AT TRAINING ARE ALL DETECTIVES NOW.
THEY'RE GREAT AT DOING BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS.
THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT DOING THAT.
WHAT WE'RE LEARNING AND WHAT EVERYONE'S LEARNING ACROSS THE PROFESSION IS THAT WE'VE GOTTA MAKE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS WITH PEOPLE AND WE'VE GOTTA FIND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AND THEN SHOWING THEM HOW OUR ORGANIZATION CAN GIVE THEM WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AND MAKE THEM WANT TO COME WORK HERE.
AND IT SEEMS REALLY MILD NUANCE SHIFT, BUT LISTENING TO SOMEONE WHO'S A PROFESSIONAL TALK TO US ABOUT THESE THINGS HAS REALLY HELPED US.
AND SO WE ARE GOING TO INCREASE OUR EFFORTS IN MAKING THOSE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS.
UM, WE ARE FINISHING UP A RECRUITING CYCLE RIGHT NOW FOR THE ONE 59TH CADET CLASS.
AND THEN ONCE WE START WITH THE ONE 59TH, WE'LL HAVE A A 0.2 START AND LOOK AT THIS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN RECRUITING ARE NOW WORKING ON WAYS TO INTEGRATE THESE CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES.
WE WERE JUST TAUGHT INTO THEIR EVERYDAY RECRUITING ACTIVITIES.
WE ARE EXPLORING THE TRIPS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE AS FAR AS GOING TO CERTAIN PLACES AND MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS, AS WELL AS LOOKING IN THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR PEOPLE THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN COMING TO WORK IN AUSTIN, WHO ARE CURRENTLY WORKING IN OTHER POLICE ORGANIZATIONS IN DIFFERENT CITIES.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, WE'RE MAKING THIS SHIFT NOW.
AND SO BEGINNING WHEN WE WRAP UP THE ONE 58TH BEGINNING WITH THE ONE 59TH, WE SHOULD HAVE A POINT IN TIME WHERE WE CAN START LOOKING TO MEASURE THOSE AND SEE HOW THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CHANGING ARE AFFECTING OUR NUMBERS.
WE'RE ALSO SHIFTING OUR FOCUS FROM GETTING A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN SEATS AT DAY ON DAY ONE TO GETTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN A SEAT ON DAY ONE.
AND WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT FILLING CADET SEATS, WE'RE LOOKING AT GETTING OFFICERS ON THE STREET.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE END PRODUCT.
AND SO WE'VE TOOK A LOOK INTERNALLY AT OUR RECRUITING UNIT, AND I'VE ASKED THEM, WHAT ATTRIBUTES MAKE THE BEST APPLICANT FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE? WHAT DO YOU THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR? WE'RE ALSO LOOKING INTERNALLY AT OUR CADET TRAINING SIDE, WHAT PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES MAKE THE BEST POLICE CADET? AND THEN WE'RE GONNA REACH OUT TO OUR FIELD TRAINING OFFICERS AND ASK THEM WHAT ATTRIBUTES MAKE THE BEST PROBATIONARY POLICE OFFICER? AND WE'RE GONNA BRING ALL THESE TOGETHER AND THEN GIVE THIS MODEL TO OUR RECRUITING TEAM AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
BECAUSE THE END RESULT IS WHAT WE NEED.
WE NEED OFFICERS ON THE STREET AS MUCH AS WE NEED CADETS AND CADET TRAINING, WE NEED THEM TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THAT TRAINING.
SO WE HAVE THE OFFICERS ON THE STREET, SO AS A, AS A COLLECTIVE GROUP, WE'RE SHIFTING FOCUS FROM GETTING PEOPLE IN SEATS TO GETTING OFFICERS ON THE STREET IN THAT WAY.
NO, I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTFULNESS IN THE WAY YOU'RE APPROACHING IT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DATA AND, UH, HOPEFULLY SUCCESS OF THAT APPROACH.
AND, UH, I'VE GOT SOME MORE STUFF THAT I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH, BUT I APPRECIATE THE TIME AND, UH, I KNOW WE NEED TO GET MOVING.
[3. Briefing on Austin Police alternative response models. [Angie Jones, Assistant Chief - Austin Police].]
UM, COLLEAGUES.NEXT WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER THREE.
UH, IT'LL BE A BRIEFING ON AUSTIN POLICE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE MODELS BY, UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF ANGIE JONES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE.
I'M EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING RELATED TO ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE AND SHOWING YOU GUYS THE, UH, RESULTS OF THIS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GOALS OF ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, WE'RE LOOKING AT OPTIMIZING OUR EXISTING RESOURCES WHILE IMPLEMENTING SOME INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT ENABLE EFFICIENT SERVICE ORIENTED NON-SWORN RESPONSES, IMPROVING OUR RESPONSE TIMES TO EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE, TO ENSURE A TIMELY AND RE RELIABLE ASSISTANCE WHEN RESIDENTS NEED IT.
DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL AND CONSISTENT COM CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT BUILDS TRUST, CONFIDENCE, AND POSITIVE EXPERIENCES FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE ALSO WANNA REDUCE SOME NON OUR SWORN OVERTIME EXPENSES WHILE MAINTAINING HIGH QUALITY RESPONSIVE SERVICE DELIVERY.
MINIMIZE EMPLOYEE BURNOUT IF EVERYONE KNOWS THERE'S BEEN A BIG PUSH ON THE OFFICER WELLNESS FRONT.
SO WE WANT TO HAVE OFFICERS THAT ARE NOT FATIGUED OUT THERE.
SO HAVING SOME ASSISTANCE FOR THEM AND GIVING THAT, UM, CONSISTENT SERVED BY, UH, ENGAGED AND ATTENTIVE PERSONNEL AND FOSTER A HEALTHY AND WELL-TRAINED WORKFORCE EQUIPPED TO PROVIDE EMPATHETIC, PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE, UH, RELATED TO NON-SWORN OR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES.
[00:55:01]
OF 2025, COMMANDER EAGLE REFERENCED IT A FEW TIMES.WE DID A BIG REALLOCATION OF OFFICERS BACK TO PATROL, SO AROUND 70 OFFICERS WERE REALLOCATED BACK TO PATROL FULL-TIME.
BEFORE THAT, WE WERE FILLING THOSE PATROL POSITIONS WITH OFFICERS IN A BACKFILL CAPACITY, WHICH CAUSED THEM TO LEAVE THEIR SPECIALIZED UNITS AND THEN GO PART-TIME TO PATROL TO ASSIST WITH CALLS FOR SERVICE.
AND WE HAVE NOTICED A SHIFT IN OUR RESPONSE.
WE'RE HAVING BETTER RESPONSE TIMES NOW THAT WE HAVE OFFICERS THAT ARE PERMANENTLY ASSIGNED TO PATROL.
AND IT'S, IT'S INCREASING, UM, SOME OF THAT MORALE AS WELL.
'CAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT FEELING TORN BETWEEN TWO JOBS.
WE'VE ALSO, ALSO, I HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO COUNSEL HERE ON THIS ONE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RESERVE OFFICER PROGRAM.
THIS HAS BEEN A BLESSING FOR OUR AGENCY.
AS WE KNOW AUSTIN IS, UH, HUSTLING AND BUSTLING.
THERE'S ALWAYS BIG EVENTS HERE AND WE NEED A LOT OF PATROL OFFICERS AND PEOPLE TO HELP KEEP THE COMMUNITY SAFE DURING THESE SPECIAL EVENTS.
AND MAN, THOSE BARRICADES AND OUR RESERVE OFFICER PROGRAM HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY HELPFUL IN THAT REGARD.
WE'VE ALSO LAUNCHED SOME CO RESPONSE MODEL PILOTS.
SO AUSTIN FIRST AND THE NO WRONG DOOR.
SO WE'VE GOT THAT COLLABORATION BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT, MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, EMS ALL ALL RESPONDING TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN ASSIST FOR SOME OF THESE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS FOR SERVICE.
AND THEN PARTNERING WITH AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION, AGAIN, ANOTHER SHOUT OUT TO COUNCIL HERE.
UM, YOU'LL SIGN AN ORDINANCE THAT GAVE TRANSPORTATION THE ABILITY TO DO VEHICLE ABATEMENTS TO ASSIST US THERE.
AND THAT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
UH, WE'RE SEEING SUCCESS IN THAT PROGRAM CURRENTLY AND USING EMPLOYEE AND PUBLIC FEEDBACK TO IDENTIFY CALL TYPES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A PHONE REPORT OR ONLINE REPORTING.
UH, BARRY DUNN ALSO ASSISTED WITH THIS AS WELL AND FURTHERING OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON 3 1 1.
UH, IN FACT, WE HAVE SOME VERY GOOD CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING ABOUT HOW WE CAN ENHANCE THAT SERVICE.
BUT JUST FOR PERSPECTIVE SAKE, BACK IN MARCH OF 2025, WE ASKED 3 1 1 TO START IDENTIFYING WHEN PEOPLE CALLED 3 1 1 FOR ASSISTANCE IF THE PERSON WAS ELIGIBLE TO MAKE THE REPORT THROUGH OUR ONLINE SYSTEM.
AND SINCE THEY'VE DONE THAT, APPROXIMATELY HALF OF ALL REPORTS THAT USED TO BE TAKEN VIA PHONE ARE NOW BEING TAKEN THROUGH OUR IREPORT ONLINE SYSTEM.
SO THAT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
SO I'LL INTRODUCE A PILOT PROGRAM THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING.
UH, THIS WAS PART OF A RECOMMENDATION BY BARRY DUNN.
IT'S A COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER PROGRAM.
THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER AGENCIES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE NATION THAT HAVE PROGRAMS LIKE THIS WHERE THEY USE NON-SWORN TO ASSIST WITH CALLS FOR SERVICE.
THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATIONS WITH BARRY DUNN, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY SOME ELIGIBLE CALLS THAT WE FELT A CIVILIAN RESPONSE COULD ASSIST WITH, AND WE LOOKED AT ALSO DATA THAT WAS RELATED TO CALLS WHERE WE HAD THE FEWEST OFFICER INJURIES AND THE FEWEST USES OF FORCE, THE LOWEST USE OF FORCE.
WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO BE PUTTING OUR CIVILIAN STAFF IN ANY HARM'S WAY.
SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT WERE IMPORTANT FOR US.
AND THEN WE USE SOME GUIDANCE, UH, FROM CITY LEGAL, OF COURSE, TO ENSURE WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW, CITY, UH, CITY ORDINANCES AND LEGAL PRECEDENT.
SO THE PILOT PROGRAM WILL BE A SIX MONTH PROGRAM BEGINNING THIS MONTH, WE WILL BE, IT'S GOING TO BE VERY SMALL.
UH, TWO PART-TIME TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES, THEY'LL BE SCHEDULED TO WORK FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS NOON TO 10.
THAT SCHEDULE MIGHT CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE DATA, BUT CURRENTLY, ACCORDING TO OUR DATA, THE CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH HAPPEN DURING THESE TIMES ON THESE DAYS.
UM, AND EDWARD SECTOR HAS THE HIGHEST OF THESE TYPES OF CALLS.
UH, SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE, WE'RE DEPLOYING.
THIS IS BASED OFF OF THE DATA.
THEY'RE NOT T COLE CERTIFIED, SO THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY AUTHORITIES OR ANY OF THOSE TYPES OF, THEY'RE NOT PEACE OFFICERS.
THEY'RE EQUIPPED WITH RADIOS, BODY-WORN CAMERAS.
THEY'LL HAVE SPECIAL UNIFORMS THAT HELP IDENTIFY THEM SEPARATE FROM A PATROL OFFICER, SO THERE'S NO CONFUSION FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND THEY'LL COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING WITH A PD STAFF TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE CONSISTENCY IN HOW WE'RE, UM, DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC AND HANDLING THESE CALLS FOR SERVICE.
THESE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF CALLS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED FOR THEM TO RESPOND TO.
THIS LIST MAY CHANGE AS THE PILOT GOES ON.
UH, THIS IS JUST A BASELINE EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THESE CALLS.
SO, FAN DEMAND FOUND AND ABANDONED PROPERTY, DISABLED VEHICLES, ABANDONED VEHICLES, CRASHES ON PROPERTY, UH, PRIVATE PROPERTY, NON-INJURY CRASHES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE A TOW.
UM, I'LL ALSO PUT A CAVEAT IN THERE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CRASHES, WE ALL, THEY CANNOT GO IF THERE'S SUSPECTED
[01:00:01]
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OR A CRIMINAL NEXUS, SO THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GO TO A DWI OR, OR THINGS LIKE THAT.AND THEY CAN ALSO ASSIST WITH SOME OF OUR DELAYED REPORTS.
SO IF SOMEONE DOESN'T QUALIFY TO TAKE THE ONLINE, UH, REPORT, IF THEY AREN'T ABLE TO COMPLETE THE I REPORT, A CSO CAN ASSIST WITH THAT.
SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF THIS PROGRAM, AS MS. EDWARDS POINTED OUT, UH, WE HAVE HAD SOME PPOS PROBATIONARY OFFICERS THAT WHEN THEY GOT OUT ON THE STREET, REALIZED THIS IS NOT THE JOB THAT I THOUGHT IT WAS.
UH, SO THIS IS A, HOPEFULLY A POTENTIAL RECRUITING PIPELINE FOR US AS WELL.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN'T AWARE, YOU CANNOT BE A PEACE OFFICER IN THE STATE OF TEXAS UNTIL YOU'RE AT LEAST 21 YEARS OF AGE.
SO THERE'S A GAP FROM WHEN PEOPLE GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL UNTIL GOING INTO THE WORKFORCE WHEN THEY, THEY GO INTO OTHER JOBS IN OTHER CAREER FIELDS BECAUSE THEY DON'T QUALIFY TO BE A PEACE OFFICER.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO HELP BRIDGE THAT GAP AS WELL.
AND USE THIS AS A RECRUITING PIPELINE FOR US, GIVES OUR THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE.
AND WE DO HAVE SOME APPLICANTS THAT THEY MIGHT BE A WONDERFUL POLICE OFFICER, BUT THEY JUST NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE EXPERIENCE UNDER THEIR BELT FIRST BEFORE THEY'RE READY FOR THIS JOB.
UH, SO THIS WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM THERE.
IMPROVING OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TO THOSE LOWER NON-EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE.
I'M SURE EVERYONE HERE HAS RECEIVED A PHONE CALL ABOUT CALLING A PD AND WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO SHOW UP ON A LOW LEVEL CALL, AND IT TOOK SOME TIME.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GET SOMEONE THERE QUICKER AND HAVE A BETTER RESPONSE AND, AND BETTER RELATIONS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, OR OUR APOLOGIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND STRENGTHENING OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND BUILD COMMUNITY TRUST.
THIS WILL ALSO HOPEFULLY INCREASE SOME OF THAT UNCOMMITTED TIME SO THAT OFFICERS CAN ENGAGE MORE IN COMMUNITY POLICING OUTREACH.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE OFFICERS RUNNING FROM CALL TO CALL, THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS PROGRAM WILL HELP WITH THAT, AND IT'S A COST EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO SWORN PATROL OVER TIME.
SOME OF THE NEXT STEPS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY IN IS THE JOB, UH, POSTING, WHICH HAS POSTED ALREADY.
WE'LL BE CONDUCTING CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS AND HIRING AND ONBOARDING, PROVIDING NEW EMPLOYEE TRAINING, CONDUCTING A PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ABOUT THE CSO PROGRAM.
UH, SO THIS WILL BE TARGETED SPECIFICALLY IN OUR EDWARDS SECTOR BECAUSE WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE, WHO THEY ARE, AND WHAT SERVICES THEY CAN ASSIST WITH.
AND THEN RUNNING THE PILOT FOR SIX MONTHS AND EVALUATING THE PROGRAM SUCCESSES.
WE'LL BE DOING THAT THROUGH SEVERAL SURVEYS.
ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT THIS PROGRAM IS THAT EACH COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER WILL HAVE THEIR OWN CALL SIGN.
SO TRACKING THE DATA OF WHAT THEY DO AND HOW LONG THEY SPEND ON THESE CALLS IS VERY EASY FOR US, AND IT'S ALSO EASY FOR US TO HAVE THOSE CONNECTIONS TO WHO THEY TALK TO.
SO THEY'LL BE FILLING OUT REPORTS AND WE'LL HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
WE CAN SEND THE SURVEYS TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT THEY HAD CONTACT WITH TO FIND OUT WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS AND WHAT WAS THE LEVEL OF OF SERVICE THAT YOU RECEIVED FROM THIS PROGRAM.
AND ADDITIONALLY, HAVING, UH, SURVEYS WITH THE OFFICERS THAT ARE GONNA BE WORKING ALONGSIDE OUR CSOS.
HOW DID THIS WORK FOR THEM? DID IT HELP? AND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE AS WELL.
AND THEN WE'LL BE DETERMINED FEASIBILITY AND PROGRAM COST FOR PERMANENT ADOPTION AND CITYWIDE IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, THAT WILL TAKE SOME TIME, OF COURSE, BUT WE WANT TO COLLECT ALL THAT DATA AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS HOLISTICALLY.
AND I'LL BE REPORTING OUT THE PROGRAM RESULTS AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR COUNCIL.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT I HAD TRIED TO MAKE IT.
ASSISTANT CHIEF, UH, COLLEAGUES.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, I'M GONNA ASK, I HOPE THE QUESTION THAT ALL OF US ARE THINKING, WHICH IS WHY THE PILOT FEELS VERY LIMITED WITH TWO PEOPLE, AND IS THAT GONNA GIVE US ENOUGH DATA TO HELP MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE TO TAKE THIS? YES, AND WE DID.
WE KEPT AN INTENTIONALLY SMALL, UH, PARTIALLY FOR BUDGET REASONS.
THESE ARE JUST TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.
UM, SO WE WANTED TO BE CONSCIOUS WITH OUR BUDGET.
UH, BUT THEN ALSO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CALLS THAT WE'VE ALREADY DIVERTED TO I REPORT AND 3 1 1, THERE'S REALLY NOT A LOT.
UM, THE DATA SHOWS CRASHES ARE WHERE WE HAVE THE MOST, AND CURRENTLY WE DO NOT SEND PATROL OFFICERS TO A NON-INJURY.
NOT BLOCKING NO CRIMINALITY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO, NO CRIMINAL NEXUS.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, WE REALLY DO, UM, AND WHETHER THAT'S BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS TO 9 1 1, OH, MY NECK HURTS.
BUT THEN WHEN THE OFFICER GETS THERE, THEY SAY, NO, I'M NOT INJURED.
WE DON'T KNOW THAT WE'D HAVE TO DRILL DOWN INTO THAT DATA,
[01:05:01]
BUT IT DOES SHOW THAT WE DO RESPOND TO APPROXIMATELY 60,000 CRASH CALLS A YEAR OR SO.AND I CAN GET BETTER NUMBERS FOR YOU IF YOU'D LIKE THAT.
UH, BUT THOSE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE A CSO MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASSIST.
AND YES, IT IS, IT IS SMALL, PARTIALLY 'CAUSE WE WANNA FINE TUNE IT, UM, AND BE CAREFUL WITH IMPLEMENTATION AND KEEP IT UNDER, UM, LIMITED.
UM, SO WE'VE GOT VERY SMALL, UH, JUST TWO TO KEEP UP WITH
WE ALSO DON'T HAVE CARS NECESSARILY, SO WE WERE ABLE TO FIND TWO VEHICLES FOR THIS PROGRAM.
UH, BUT THAT IS, WE HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES.
THANKS FOR WALKING ME THROUGH THOSE CONSTRAINTS AND, AND THE LOGIC BEHIND THAT.
THE OTHER QUESTION I'M GONNA ASK IS, ONE OF THE THINGS I KNOW I VISITED WITH, UM, OTHERS INCLUDING MICHAEL BULLOCK ABOUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK OF NOT KNOWING THESE PEOPLE, NOT KNOWING THAT IT'S NOT ACTUALLY US DOING THE WORK, IS THE, UH, HIGHWAY EMERGENCY RESPONSE OPERATORS, THE HERO PROGRAM THAT TEXTILE HAS.
AND I'M WONDERING, I'M SENSING THERE MIGHT BE SOME OVERLAP BETWEEN THE WORK THAT THEY DO THERE AND THE, WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING HERE, PARTICULARLY WITH THE VOLUME OF CRASHES YOU'RE GETTING.
AND, UM, AND SO MY QUESTION REALLY IS DO YOU SENSE THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY WITH WHAT WE LEARN HERE TO POTENTIALLY HAVE THAT KIND OF EQUIVALENT PROGRAM THAT RATHER THAN DOING THE MAJOR FREEWAYS IS FOCUSED ON THE CITY ROADS THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, BUT STILL HELPS DO ALL THE WORK, THAT THEY'RE ALL, ALL THE GOOD WORK, INCLUDING I WOULD IMAGINE FREEING UP OFFICERS FOR HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH INTO.
I'VE BEEN CONSULTING WITH CITY LEGAL SPECIFICALLY ON THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE SECTIONS OF TRANSPORTATION CODE THAT REQUIRE A PEACE OFFICER OR CERTAIN DESIGNATED PARTIES TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO REMOVE VEHICLES FROM THE ROADWAY.
A CSO WOULD NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT.
HIRO DOES UNDER A SPECIFIC SECTION AS WELL AS, UM, SOME OF THE TRAINING THROUGH TXDOT THAT THEY RECEIVE.
UM, AND I'VE, I'VE REACHED OUT TO MS. WARREN ABOUT THAT, IF SHE'S SOMEWHERE HERE, UM, SPECIFICALLY TO UNDERSTAND, CAN WE EXPAND THIS, UM, SO THAT CSOS HAVE THAT ABILITY TO HELP WITH, WITH REMOVING VEHICLES FROM THE ROADWAY.
AND AT THIS TIME THEY WOULD NOT.
UH, BUT THEY CAN BE THERE IN A BACKUP FASHION.
SO IF WE HAVE ONE PATROL OFFICER ON SCENE, THEY CAN ASSIST AS A BACKUP AND BE DIRECTED BY PATROL TO DO CERTAIN THINGS.
THEY'LL HAVE AMBER LIGHTS ON THEIR VEHICLES SO THAT THERE'S SOME VISIBILITY THERE.
UM, SINCE OBVIOUSLY THEY'LL BE WORKING AFTER HOURS LATER IN THE EVENINGS.
NO, I'M ENCOURAGED BY THE FACT THAT YOU GUYS ARE INVESTIGATING THIS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESULTS.
AND IT DOES SEEM LIKE, UH, THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY WE JUST NEED TO GO WORK OUT.
IT SOUNDS LIKE SOME LEGAL ISSUES AND OTHER THINGS.
UH, JUST TWO QUESTIONS IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, AND THANK YOU CHIEF JONES, REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WANTED TO ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP IN ONE OF THE BARRY DUN REPORTS.
UM, ONE WAS ABOUT, UH, AN OVERLAP DAY THAT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS.
UM, AND THIS IS, I GUESS IN A REPORT THAT CAME OUT EARLY LAST YEAR.
UM, AND IT SUGGESTED THAT THE CURRENT PATROL SCHEDULE FOR A PD INCLUDES A WEEKLY OVERLAP DAY AND IS NOT OPTIMIZED TO PROVIDE COVERAGE AND FLEXIBILITY TO MEET OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES.
ALTHOUGH THEY SERVE A PURPOSE, OVERLAP SCHEDULES DO NOT EFFICIENTLY MAXIMIZE THE USE OF AVAILABLE PERSONNEL TIME.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF WE STILL HAVE AN OVERLAP DAY OR, OR HOW WE'VE KIND OF RESPONDED TO THAT, THAT QUESTION BY
WE DO CURRENTLY HAVE AN OVERLAP DAY.
WHAT WE UTILIZE THAT FOR PARTIALLY IS WE'RE STILL SHORT SIGNIFICANTLY IN OUR, UM, OFFICER RANK.
SO WE DO NEED THOSE RESOURCES.
UM, AND IT DOES ASSIST TO HAVE ADDITIONAL BODIES ON THE STREET, BUT WE ALSO NEED OFFICERS TO BE TRAINED.
SO THEY DO HAVE TO GO TO TRAINING AND SOME OF THAT OCCURS DURING THOSE OVERLAP DAYS.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, ASSISTANT CHIEF MIKE CHANCELLOR IS ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THAT WHOLE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BARRY DUNN AS WE'RE LOOKING AT A DAY WHEN WE HAVE, UM, UM, AN EXPONENTIAL AMOUNT OF OFFICERS THERE AND THEY CAN DO TRAINING, THEY CAN DO ALL THOSE TYPE OF THINGS, THAT'S WONDERFUL.
BUT DOES IT MAKE SENSE WHEN WE CAN USE THEM DIFFERENTLY? SO WE ARE LOOKING, DO WE HAVE TOO MANY SECTORS? CAN WE, UH, LOOK AT THE MAP AND, AND REBUILD THAT? SO THOSE ARE CERTAINLY THINGS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHIEF DAVIS.
AND MY OTHER QUESTION WAS KINDA A SIMILAR VEIN ABOUT, UM, RESPONSES TO AD HOC DEPLOYMENT OR CROSS CITY DEPLOYMENT.
UM, THERE WAS BASICALLY A SUGGESTION THAT, UH, THERE'S A LARGE NUMBER OF HOURS IN THE AGGREGATE OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR OF OFFICERS WHO RESPOND OUT OF BEAT AND THEN HAVE TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL BEAT.
AND THAT MIGHT BE AN AREA FOR EFFICIENCY THAT HAS
[01:10:01]
ALREADY CHANGED.WE ARE IN DISTRICTS NOW, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, BEAT OR A DISTRICT, AND WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY SEEN SUCCESS.
WE HAVE SEEN OUR PRIORITY THREES IMPROVE BY OVER 30 MINUTES.
AND AS WE GO AND WE'RE GETTING MORE PEOPLE INTO PATROL AS TIME GOES BY, UM, THAT IS ONLY GOING TO IMPROVE.
SO I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THAT AND, AND THAT IS WORKING.
CHIEF SHIRLEY AND I HAVE ALSO SEEN SUCCESS WITH THOSE DISTRICTS AND BEATS AND DISTRICT SIX AND INCLUDING SOME SPEEDING TICKETS ON STREETS THAT DON'T HAVE SIDEWALKS, WHICH I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE AND THAT ARE NEAR SCHOOLS.
UM, I FOUND THIS, UH, THIS PRESENTATION EXTREMELY HELPFUL.
UM, I LOVE THE GOAL OF EXCEPTIONAL CONSISTENT CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT BUILDS TRUST, CONFIDENCE, AND POSITIVE EXPERIENCE.
AND ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT.
UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION ON PAGE SIX.
WHEN WE LIST OUT THE TYPE OF COMPLAINTS THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED IN THIS PILOT, I'M WONDERING IF CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO NOISE COMPLAINTS.
UM, I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN SOME OTHER PARTS OF MY TRAVELS.
AND THE CH ONE OF THE CHALLENGES BEING THAT CODE ISN'T NECESSARILY ABLE TO RESPOND TO THINGS AFTER 5:00 PM AND SINCE THIS PILOT INCLUDES THE HOURS OF FIVE TO 10:00 PM UM, SO WE DID TALK ABOUT THAT WITH CITY LEGAL.
AND THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE COME ACROSS IS THAT THEY WILL NOT BE OPERATING WITH ANY AUTHORITIES, SO THERE'S NO ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS TAKEN, NOISE COMPLAINTS, THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR ENFORCEMENT.
SO THOSE STILL WILL BE HANDLED BY PATROL OFFICERS.
UH, CSOS WOULD ONLY BE THERE TO ASSIST WITH THOSE ISSUES WHERE THERE'S, THERE'S NO ENFORCEMENT ANTICIPATED.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TOO, WITH THIS PROGRAM, I'M REALLY EXCITED.
I WANNA THANK CHIEF JONES FOR HER WORK ON THIS.
BUT YES, WE ARE STARTING, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER DCIA WHEN YOU SAID WITH, WITH JUST THE TWO.
UM, BUT THE, WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO BUILD FROM THIS, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT BECAUSE YOU THINK ABOUT PARTNERING WITH TEXAS STATE AND THE WORK THEY'RE DOING.
THEY HAVE A GREAT CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM THERE.
STUDENTS WANT TO COME WORK WITH A DEPARTMENT.
AND SO YOU IMAGINE HIRING SOMEONE AT THE AGE OF 18, UH, FROM TEXAS STATE THAT'S ABLE TO COME AND MAYBE WORK PART-TIME AND GET IN THIS LINE OF WORK.
AND TO THE POINT OF LOOKING AT RECRUITING AND, UM, TRYING TO BUILD, UM, YOU KNOW, GET THE, GET THE OFFICER THAT WE WANT IN AND SOMEONE THAT KNOWS WHAT THE WORK IS, WHAT TO EXPECT, AND TO HAVE THIS BEHIND THEM TO HAVE A FEW YEARS WORKING HERE.
AND THEN HOW DO WE TAKE THIS AND NOT JUST DO THIS CSO, BUT THEN THEY'RE GOING AND THEY'RE WORKING OVER IN HOMICIDE, THEY'RE WORKING AT THE ACADEMY, THEY'RE SEEING THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT FROM A DIFFERENT VIEW.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT HOW WE CAN, UM, GROW THIS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY PRESENT.
AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE REPORT BACK SO THAT I CAN, UH, MAYBE SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOME OF WHAT I'M SEEING THERE TOO.
UM, I, I WANNA RAISE THE QUESTION OF ONLINE REPORTING VERSUS 3 1 1.
I KNOW CHIEF DAVIS AND I HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS AS WELL AS I DID PREVIOUSLY WITH A CM GARCIA AND I ALREADY HAVE WITH A CM BATISTA.
UM, I, I WOULD LOVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE, NOT NOT RIGHT NOW.
'CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE TIGHT ON TIME, UH, WHERE WE'RE GOING IN TERMS OF CONTINUING TO USE 3 0 1 VERSUS ONLINE REPORTING.
I'M TOTALLY FINE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT IN THE REPORT BACK ON THE JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.
UM, BUT I KNOW IT WAS MENTIONED IN BARRY DUNN THE VALUE OF THE ONLINE REPORTING AND IF THERE IS IN FACT BUDGETARY NEED IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THAT, UH, I'M HAPPY TO RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION.
I'M HAPPY TO GET THAT FOR YOU AS WELL.
[4. Briefing on the Austin-Travis County Enabling Ordinance Update. [Rob Luckritz, Chief of ATCEMS - Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services].]
UH, COLLEAGUES.NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR.
IT'S A BRIEFING ON THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY ENABLING ORDINANCE UPDATE.
UH, AND WE WELCOME CHIEF LUCK.
COUNCIL MEMBERS APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE WORK, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH OVER THE PAST, UH, SEVERAL YEARS.
THIS IS ACTUALLY, UH, A LABOR OF LOVE FOR US.
WE'VE BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, GOING THROUGH OUR ORDINANCE AND MAKING SOME UPDATES FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, UM, AND NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO YOU, UH, AND TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, UH, WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO, UH, TO CHANGE.
SO THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, UH, ENABLING ORDINANCE, THE, UH, THE ORDINANCE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN CODE THAT CREATES THE EMS DEPARTMENT AND PROVIDES THE PROVISIONS FOR, UM, HOW EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE AND MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION IS PROVIDED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, IS LOCATED IN CHAPTER 10 DASH TWO.
UM, THAT ORDINANCE WAS LAST, MA LAST HAD A MAJOR UPDATE IN 1992.
UM, AND SPEAKING TO MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE LAW DEPARTMENT, UM, THAT WAS A TIME WHEN ACTUALLY ALL OF THE CODE WAS, UH, COMPLETELY REWRITTEN.
UM, AND SO THEREFORE, TO KNOW WHEN THE CONTENT, UH, WAS LAST
[01:15:01]
UPDATED, IT WAS EVEN BEFORE THAT.UM, FOR SOME CONTEXT, THE ORIGINAL ENABLING ORDINANCE FOR EMS ACTUALLY PREDATES THE DEPARTMENT BACK TO THE MID 1960S.
I BELIEVE 1966, UH, WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THERE WAS A, UH, ORDINANCE SPECIFIC TO MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE CURRENT STATE.
RIGHT NOW, THE CURRENT ORDINANCE THAT WE HAVE REGULATES TWO AREAS OF EMS, UH, THE FIRST BEING THE PROVISION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND THE SECOND BEING MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, UH, IN THE ORDINANCE THAT EXISTS NOW UNDER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
UM, THE, UH, THERE IS A RESTRICTION ON THE PROVISION OF EMS OR EMERGENCY AMBULANCE TRANSPORTATION TO, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR DEPARTMENT TO AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, UM, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THE MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISES CAN BE PUT UNDER CONTROL OF THE CITY MANAGER DURING WHAT IS A PUBLIC CALAMITY OR MAJOR DISASTER, UNDEFINED.
UH, THE SECOND AREA THAT'S REGULATED IS MEDICAL TRANSFER SERVICES, MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION.
THIS IS THE PRIVATE AMBULANCE COMPANIES.
UM, THIS IS A FRANCHISE, UH, MODEL.
SO THE CITY ACTUALLY FRANCHISES, UH, THESE, UH, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THESE COME BEFORE COUNCIL.
UH, THEY DO REQUIRE COUNCIL APPROVAL.
UM, THEY'RE AUTHORIZED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, THERE'S CERTAIN, UH, MINIMUM STANDARDS.
THEY'RE REGULATED BY OUR DEPARTMENT AT EMS. THEY'RE INSPECTED BY THE EMS DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE HAVE CERTAIN MINIMUM STANDARDS AS WELL AS CERTAIN PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING STANDARDS.
UH, IN ADDITION, THEIR FEES ARE SET BY THE COUNCIL.
THE REASON THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO UPDATE THE ORDINANCE IS REALLY THREEFOLD, FIRST AND FOREMOST.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, MANY TIMES THAT WE'VE SPOKEN, UH, THE NATURE OF EMS HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES AND CERTAINLY, UH, LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF WHERE IT WAS IN 1992 OR, OR EVEN BEFORE THAT.
UH, AND WE'RE AT A POINT NOW WHERE WE RELY ON PARTNERSHIPS TO ADDRESS THE MULTITUDES OF REASONS THAT FOLKS CALL 9 1 1.
UM, SOME OF THOSE ARE INTERNAL WITH OUR PARTNERS AT A-P-D-I-F-D, UM, BUT ALSO SOME OF THESE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, LIKE THE USE OF INTEGRAL CARE MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, ANY OTHER TYPES OF SOCIAL SERVICES THAT OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS MAY, MAY, UM, FIND ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THE PATIENTS THAT ARE CALLING 9 1 1, WE REALLY ARE LOOKING TO INCREASE, UH, OUR FLEXIBILITY SO THAT WE CAN, UH, DEVELOP DEPLOYMENT MODELS THAT, THAT ALLOW US TO DO SOME OF THESE, THESE THINGS.
UM, AND TO TRY TO, UH, GIVE US PROVISIONS WITHIN THE ORDINANCE TO GIVE, GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY TO BE INNOVATIVE AS A DEPARTMENT.
UH, LASTLY IS SOMEWHAT UNRELATED, BUT WE DID BECOME A SWORN DEPARTMENT UNDER TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE IN, UH, 2012.
UM, AND SO, UH, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE WERE UPDATING TO REFLECT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE, WE ARE A SWORN DEPARTMENT AT THIS POINT.
SECONDLY, UH, THE EXPECTATIONS OF OF MEDICAL TRANSFER SERVICES HAVE CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY AS WELL.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT RECRUITING.
THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT E UH, EMT AND PARAMEDIC SHORTAGE ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
UM, THOSE SHORTAGES NOT JUST AFFECT EMS DEPARTMENTS, BUT ALSO MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND SO IT HAS DECREASED THEIR AVAILABILITY, UM, WHICH IN TURN, UM, WE'VE SEEN AN UPTICK IN SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES USING THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM WHEN THEY'RE UNABLE TO GET A NON-EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION.
UM, WHICH IS NOT THE BEST USE OF THOSE RESOURCES OF OUR RESOURCES.
UH, AND LASTLY, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND OF COURSE, WE'RE KNOWN AS A SPECIAL EVENT CITY WITH LOTS OF MASS GATHERINGS, UM, WITH THAT GROWTH, UM, AS AN EMS DEPARTMENT, OUR ABILITY TO KEEP PACE WITH THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE MEDICAL SERVICES FOR ALL OF THE EVENTS THAT COME THROUGH AUSTIN HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH OUR, WITH OUR STAFFING SHORTAGES.
UM, AND WE'VE BECOME INCREASINGLY RELIANT ON PRIVATE EVENT MEDICAL PROVIDERS, UM, PRIVATE CORPORATIONS, PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES.
UNLIKE THE MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, HOWEVER, THEY ARE NOT REGULATED BY THE CITY.
WE DO NOT PROVIDE OVERSIGHT TO THESE SERVICES, UH, IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE DO FOR THESE PRIVATE AMBULANCE COMPANIES.
AND, AND WITH THAT, THERE'S ALSO NO MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR THOSE ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF EQUIPMENT REPORTING OR, OR ANY OF THOSE THINGS.
AND SO THAT'S THE NEXT REASON.
SO IT'S REALLY THREE MAIN THINGS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO CHANGE WITHIN THE EMS SYSTEM, UH, PERSPECTIVE.
SO THE 9 1 1 PORTION OF OUR ORDINANCE, UM, ONE IS TO ALLOW US TO USE THESE FRANCHISES THAT WE HAVE IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM.
UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, UH, AS WE LOOK AT THE USE, UH, AND THE, THE CALL OUTS THAT WE GET TO SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER AREAS WHERE WE MAY SEE, UM, PARTICULARLY AREAS OR LOCATIONS OR BUSINESSES THAT ARE HIGH UTILIZERS OF THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE BETTER RESOURCES THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THEM OR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THESE FRANCHISES.
UM, SECONDLY, IT ALLOWS US TO REALLY FOCUS IN OUR MUTUAL AID.
I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS, PARTICULARLY UP IN THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY AREA, ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT WE CAN, UM, BETTER PERFORM AUTO AID MUTUAL AID WITH WILLIAMSON COUNTY, UM, WITHIN THE, THE CURRENT, UM, ORDINANCE.
IT'S VERY STRICT IN TERMS OF OUR, THAT WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT ALL EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
SO ALTHOUGH MUTUAL AID IS A PRETTY STANDARD THING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IN THE ORDINANCE, IT'S SPELLED OUT THAT WE CAN USE MUTUAL AID AUTO AID AND ENTER INTO THOSE TYPES OF, UH, AGREEMENTS.
AND LASTLY, IT DOES, UH, ALSO CODIFIES OUR SWORN AUTHORITY AS EMS PROVIDERS AND MATCHES THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE AND WHAT OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE FIRE SERVICE HAVE IN TERMS OF CLOSING
[01:20:01]
ROADS, DIRECTING TRAFFIC, UH, PREVENTING PEOPLE FROM ENTERING SCENES ON THE MEDICAL TRANSFER SIDE.MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION SIDE, UH, PROVIDES US SOME ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS FOR NON-PERFORMANCE.
UM, REALLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS, UH, UH, OR WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SEE HERE IS THE ABILITY TO RECUPERATE SOME OF OUR COSTS, UH, WHEN WE DO HAVE TO, UH, FILL IN THE GAP FOR THE MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES THAT CAN'T PROVIDE THAT.
IT ALLOWS US A RECOURSE IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COSTS ARE BEING COVERED.
AND SECONDLY, THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL INTEROPERABILITY REQUIREMENTS.
OBVIOUSLY, UH, WITH ALL THE TECHNOLOGY WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, THINGS LIKE GPS, UH, MODERN RADIO SYSTEMS INTEROPERABILITY.
SO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, IF WE ARE GOING TO BE USING THEM THROUGH FOR SOME OF THESE LOWER ACUITY EMERGENCIES, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO SEE THEM AND COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE PERFORMING.
AND LASTLY, ON THE EVENT MEDICAL SIDE, REALLY, UM, UH, KIND OF, UH, MIMICKING WHAT WE HAVE ON THE, UH, AMBULANCE TRANSPORTATION SIDE.
UH, CREATES A PERMITTING SYSTEM FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FOR COMPANIES THAT WANT TO PROVIDE MEDICAL SERVICES AT SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, SETS MINIMUM OPERATING STANDARDS.
IT CODIFIES OUR AUTHORITY TO INTERVENE.
UM, IF WE, UH, TO INSPECT AND INTERVENE IF WE FEEL LIKE THE RESOURCES BEING PROVIDED ARE NOT MEETING THE STANDARDS FOR AN EVENT.
UM, IT REQUIRES CERTAIN IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS TO CLARIFY ANY CONFUSION BETWEEN EVENT MEDICAL PROVIDERS AND THE, UH, SWORN EMS DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES, UH, REGULATES THE UTILIZATION OF THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM IN TERMS OF HOW IT IS THAT THEY INTEGRATE WITH, UH, WHEN THEY DO NEED MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION FROM THESE EVENTS.
AND IT PROVIDES CERTAIN, UH, REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
I WILL SAY OUR GOAL HERE, OF COURSE, UH, KNOWING THAT THIS IS SUCH A SPECIAL EVENTS HEAVY CITY, IS TO REALLY, UM, FOCUS IN ON THE PROVIDERS, THOSE INDIVIDUALS PROVIDING THE MEDICINE.
UM, THE REASON WE ARE PUTTING THESE THINGS HERE IN CHAPTER TEN TWO UNDER EMS, RATHER THAN IN THE SPECIAL EVENTS SECTION OF THE CODE, UH, IS REALLY TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE EVENTS.
WE REALLY JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE MEDICAL PROVIDERS THAT ARE PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES.
AND SO THE PROCESS WITH ACE, THE, THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS WILL NOT CHANGE AS A RESULT OF THIS ORDINANCE.
AND THEN HERE'S JUST A SUMMARY OF EVERYTHING I JUST SAID TO YOU, UH, THE THREE AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO.
SO AGAIN, EXPANDING FROM EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM AND MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, UH, TO INCLUDE THOSE TWO AREAS WITH SOME UPDATES, UH, CHANGING HOW IT IS, WE CAN USE THE FRANCHISE SYSTEM, UH, ALLOWING FOR AUTO AID AND MUTUAL AID, UH, CERTAIN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, THE ABILITY TO RECUPERATE COSTS, AND OF COURSE, UM, THE NEW AREA OF EVENT MEDICAL SERVICES TO BE ABLE TO, UH, REGULATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS, CREATE A PERMITTING SYSTEM, UM, AND REALLY HAVE BETTER OPTICS ON THE MEDICAL CARE THAT'S BEING PROVIDED AT SPECIAL EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN FOR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, CHIEF COLLEAGUES, GOING ONCE.
[5. Briefing on Austin Police Sexual Assault Program overview [Deanna Lichter, Commander - Austin Police; Kachina Clark, Division Manager - Victim Services and Employee Wellness].]
UH, COLLEAGUES, NOW WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON THE AUSTIN POLICE SEXUAL ASSAULT PROGRAM OVERVIEW.UM, AND WE'LL HAVE DEANNE LICHTER, UH, COMMANDER AUSTIN POLICE AND KATRINA CLARK, DIVISION MANAGER, THE, EXCUSE ME, OF THE VICTIM SERVICES AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING WITH US.
IT'S FOR THE LENGTHY PRESENTATION.
WE'RE GONNA TRY TO SPEED IT UP.
I'M GONNA, UH, STICK TO MY TALKING POINTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE WORK BEING DONE TO ADDRESS ADULT SEX CRIMES IN AUSTIN.
I'M KACHINA CLARK, UH, THE VICTIM SERVICES AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS MANAGER.
THIS IS COMMANDER DEANNA TER OVER THE SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.
SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION TOUCHES, I GUESS I SHOULD SAY THE ONE, SORRY, UM, TOUCHES ON THREE AREAS, WHAT THE, UM, SEX CRIMES UNIT IS SEEING IN REPORTED CASES, WHAT HAS CHANGED AND WHERE RISKS REMAIN.
YOU'LL ALSO GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEX OFFENDER APPREHENSION AND REGISTRATION, UH, SOAR UNIT.
AT ITS CORE, THE WORK IS ABOUT REBUILDING TRUST AND HOW CASES ARE INVESTIGATED, AND HOW THE UNIT COMMUNICATES WITH SURVIVORS IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE VISION STATEMENT REFLECTS THAT SURVIVOR EMPOWERMENT, OFFENDER ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AREN'T JUST TALKING POINTS OF THE STANDARD.
THE UNIT, THE UNIT HOLDS ITSELF TO A SEX CRIMES UNIT INCLUDES THREE SERGEANTS, 16 DETECTIVES THAT WORK ON ACUTE CASES, FOUR COLD CASE DETECTIVES.
WE A VICTIM SERVICES SUPERVISOR, UM, AND SIX VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELORS, AND THEN AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT.
THEY'RE EMBEDDED ALONG WITH, UH, UM, SWORN.
SO THE INTEGRATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND VICTIM SERVICES WITHIN, UH, ONE UNIT IS INTENTIONAL.
IT REFLECTS A COORDINATED WHOLE PERSON APPROACH, AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THIS TEAM, UM, AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR ABILITY TO, UM, DELIVER ON THE SEX CRIMES UNIT VISION.
WITH THAT FOUNDATION IN MIND, WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WHERE THE WORK STANDS.
I'M THE COMMANDER OF THE SPECIAL VICTIMS INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU AND SEX CRIMES UNIT IS PART
[01:25:01]
OF THAT, THAT PART OF THAT TEAM.I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT APRIL IS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH, AND, UM, I'M ALSO OVER THE CHILD ABUSE UNIT, SO I WOULD BE NEGLECTFUL IF I DON'T MENTION THAT IT IS ALSO CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH.
UH, ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, IN 2022 AND 2023, WE AVERAGED JUST OVER 400 REPORTED SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES PER YEAR.
IN 2024, THAT NUMBER GREW TO MORE THAN 500 REPORTED CASES.
WE SAW A LARGER INCREASE IN 2025, OVER 600, OVER 6, 620 REPORTED CASES WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT.
ACROSS JANUARY AND FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, WE HAVE RECEIVED 87 REPORTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY CASES THE UNIT INVESTIGATES.
WE ALSO WORK ALL OTHER ADULT SEX CRIMES.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE RECENTLY ARRESTED AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS A PROLI PROLIFIC WINDOW PAPER FOR SOME TIME.
THIS TYPE OF SEX BASED CRIME CAN LEAD TO SEX TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS DOWN THE ROAD.
AN INCREASE IN REPORTING CAN REFLECT MULTIPLE THINGS, BUT ONE OF THEM IS INCREASED WILLINGNESS TO COME FORWARD, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO SUPPORT.
OVER THE LAST DECADE, A, THE A PD SEX CRIMES UNITS FACED A SERIES OF SIGNIFICANT COMPOUNDING CHALLENGES.
IN 2016, WE HAD SYSTEMIC ISSUES WITH THE DNA LAB, UH, WHICH LED TO ITS CLOSURE.
IN 2017, A PD LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHDREW FROM OUR, UM, SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPON RESPONSE AND RESOURCE TEAM, THE SART, UM, WHICH SEVERED A CRITICAL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP.
AT THAT TIME IN 2018, AN INVESTIGATION FOUND IN PROPER USE OF EXCEPTIONAL CLEARANCE, RAISING SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT HOW CASES WERE BEING HANDLED AND CLOSED THAT SAME YEAR, AND AGAIN, IN 2020 CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS WERE FILED AGAINST THE CITY FOR IMPROPER HANDLING OF SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES.
AND IN 2022, THE, UH, POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM PERF CONDUCTED A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE UNIT AND PRODUCED OVER A HUNDRED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE.
THAT IS SIGNIFICANT INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, AND IT'S IMPORTANT CONTEXT FOR EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS.
UM, THIS WAS A UNIT THAT NEEDED SOME STRUCTURAL REFORM.
SO IN RESPONSE, THE DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL PROJECT TO WHICH C-S-C-R-M TO ENSURE REFORM WOULD BE INTENTIONAL, MEASURABLE, AND SUSTAINED.
THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2023, SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS THAT NEED TO SUPPORT A PD IN THE SEX CRIMES UNIT THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF BOTH THE LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT AND THE PERF RECOMMENDATIONS.
IT IS A STRUCTURED MULTI-STAKEHOLDER EFFORT, AND IT CREATED THE FORMAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND PROGRESS TRACKING THAT WE'RE WE'LL BE REPORTING ON TODAY THAT YOU, OH, YEAH.
SO THE PROJECT IS CURRENTLY 60 CENTS, 66% COMPLETE OF THE 123 SCOPE ITEMS. SO THIS IS THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PERF AND WHAT WE AGREED TO IN THE SETTLEMENT FOR THE LAWSUIT 81 ARE FULLY COMPLETE.
42 REMAIN IN PROGRESS, AND WE FEEL THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY MEANINGFUL, AND IT REFLECTS SUSTAINED WORK ACROSS A COMPLEX SET OF REFORMS. COMPLETED INITIATIVES INCLUDE POLICY REDESIGN, IMPROVED DATA PRACTICES, ENHANCED SURVIVOR SUPPORT PROTOCOLS, AND A STRENGTHEN INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.
OF THE 42 REMAINING ITEMS, 21 ARE TIED TO A NEW TRAINING CURRICULUM CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPED WITH THE TARGET COMPLETION AND QUARTER THREE OF 2027.
UM, WE'RE, UH, WE'VE GOT A FEDERAL GRANT THAT WILL ASSIST IN CREATING SOME, UM, CURRICULUM FOR THAT.
THE OTHER 21 ITEMS SPAN A RANGE OF OPERATIONAL AND POLICY AREAS THAT ARE ACTIVELY BEING WORKED.
OH, IS THAT, I'M STILL ON MINE.
A MAJOR FOCUS FOR US HAS BEEN IMPROVING OUR DATA INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
IN OCTOBER, 2025, WE IMPLEMENTED A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF OUR SEX CRIMES CASES DATING BACK TO 2019 TO STRENGTHEN THE ACCURACY AND CONSISTENCY OF OUR RECORDS.
WE SPECIFICALLY LOOKED AT ALL CASES PREVIOUSLY TITLED AS AN INFORMATION, OR AS A SUSPECTED SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND ENSURED THAT THE PROPER TITLE CODE IS APPLIED, WAS APPLIED, AND THAT IN THAT PRIVATE SEXUAL ASSAULT OCCURRED, THERE IS NO NEW, THERE WAS NOT A NEW INVESTIGATION.
ALL OF THESE CASES HAD BEEN THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED.
THESE, THIS WAS REALLY ABOUT ENSURING THE DATA OF THE CASE ACCURATELY REFLECTS WHAT OCCURRED.
WE MADE TITLE CODE CHANGES TO APPROXIMATELY 16% OF THE CASES AND KEY CHANGES TO O SUCH AS OCCURRED DATE OR VICTIM LINKAGE TO 16% OF THE CASES IN FEBRUARY, 2026.
WE MOVE FORWARD WITH A CONSOLIDATION OF SEVERAL TITLE CODES.
WE SIMPLIFIED MULTIPLE OFFENSE CATEGORIES INTO A SINGLE SEXUAL ASSAULT CLASSIFICATION.
THIS REDUCES CONFUSION AND ENSURES EVERY OUTCRY IS CAPTURED APPROPRIATELY.
WE'RE ALSO LAUNCHING A PUBLIC FACING IN INTERACTIVE DATA DASHBOARD
[01:30:01]
ON THE A PD WEBSITE TO MAKE DATA MORE ACCESSIBLE AND TRANSPARENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.WE SENT A MEMO FORWARD TO COUNCIL ANNOUNCING THIS NEW DASHBOARD THAT HOPEFULLY YOU, YOU HAVE RECEIVED, AND ONCE WE HAVE APPROVAL WILL BE DEPLOYED.
THE DASHBOARD HIGHLIGHTS REPORTED SEX CRIMES CASES, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND CASE STATUS OR OUTCOMES OF, FOR THIS ADULT SEX CRIMES TRANSPARENCY ONLY WORKS IF THE UNDERLYING DATA IS ACCURATE, AND THAT'S THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING.
FIRST, THE SEC, THIS IS A, UH, THE DASHBOARD GIVES A CLEAR SHARED VIEW OF THE ADULT SEX CRIMES DATA.
IT IS AN INTERACTIVE AND USER FRIEND IS INTERACTIVE AND USER FRIENDLY.
IT HELPS TRACK TRENDS AND CASES OUT CASE OUTCOMES IN ONE PLACE.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
AND TAKE THE THIS CONCEPT SERIOUSLY.
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CREATE REAL OPERATIONAL CHANGE, NOT JUST POLICY.
IN THE EARLY FALL OF 2025, WE LAUNCHED STANDARDIZED REPORT WRITING FOR THE SEX CRIMES UNIT TO IMPROVE CONSISTENCY AND CLARITY, AND IN CASE DOCUMENTATION, THIS IMPROVES CONSIST CONSISTENCY AND SUPPORT BETTER PROSECUTION OUTCOMES.
THIS FRAMEWORK WILL SOON BE EXPANDED ACROSS THE SPECIAL VICTIMS INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU.
WE ALSO JUST FINISHED OUR SECOND ANNUAL CASE REVIEW THROUGH THE CONTRACT WITH THE EVA, THE END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL.
THIS REVIEW SHOWS IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE PRIOR YEARS, AND WE ARE NOW MOVING INTO OUR REMEDIATION PHASE OF WORK TO IMPROVE FUTURE CASES.
YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A MEMO ANNOUNCING THE CASE REVIEW FINDINGS IN OUR REMEDIATION PLAN.
WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED THE REVIEW PROCESS FOR THIS YEAR'S CASE REVIEW, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FINDINGS OF AT THE END OF THE YEAR WITH THIS CURRENT CASE REVIEW THAT IS IN PROCESS NOW, WE'VE ACTUALLY CAUGHT UP AND WE'LL BE EVALUATING THE PRIOR YEAR.
UM, THE SECOND ANNUAL CASE REVIEW WAS A REVIEW OF 2023 AND 2024 CASES.
WHEN WE GET THE NEXT ONE, IT WILL BE A REVIEW OF THE 2025 CASES.
THE PATROL RESPONSE PROTOCOL UPDATE FOR SEX CRIMES IS AN EXAMPLE OF OUR, UH, COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND OPERATIONAL CHANGES.
AS A DEPARTMENT, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR RESPONSE TIME TO ANY CALL FOR SERVICE.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT SEX CRIMES, WE SPECIFICALLY REALIZED SOME CHANGES WERE NEEDED.
WE UPDATED RESPONSE PROTOCOLS IN LATE SEPTEMBER, 2025.
OF NOTE, WE ESTABLISH CLEAR EXPECTATION EXPECTATIONS FOR SEX CRIMES CALLS RELATED TO PRIORITY LEVELS, SUPERVISORY OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND VICTIM SERVICES RESPONSE TO CALLS.
WE'RE SEEING MORE CALLS RESOLVED WITHIN 30 MINUTES, AND A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN CALLS EXTENDED BEYOND TWO HOURS.
JUST A NOTE ON THOSE THAT ARE EXTENDED BEYOND TWO HOURS.
SOMETIMES THE, UH, CALL IS NOT TITLED APPROPRIATELY, AND THEN WHEN WE GET THERE, WE REALIZE THAT IT'S A SEX CRIMES CASE.
SO, UM, WE WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TO IMPROVE ON THAT PROSECUTION PARTNERSHIP.
WE HAVE CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
WE HAVE REGULAR MEET ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION WITH THE TR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE THROUGH MONTHLY MEETINGS THAT FOCUS ON POLICY NEEDS AND ON EVIDENCE SHARING.
QUARTERLY MEETINGS, WE PROVIDE TIME FOR CASE DEBRIEFS AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.
THE TCDA HAS PROVIDED THE SEX CRIMES UNIT WITH AN EMBEDDED A DA TWICE PER WEEK.
THE SYSTEM REMAINS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL, ALLOWING FOR FASTER CONSULTATION AND BETTER COORDINATION BETWEEN DETECTIVES AND PROSECUTORS.
THIS MODEL IS ALSO BEING EXPANDED TO OTHER INVESTIGATIVE UNITS WITHIN THE A PD CHILD ABUSE UNIT.
RECENTLY PARTNERED WITH THE A DA FOR AN ONSITE COLLABORATION A FEW TIMES PER WEEK.
WE'RE ALSO BUILDING A CASE TRACKING SYSTEM FOR REPORT FROM REPORT THROUGH PROSECUTION, WHICH STARTED AS A SEX CRIMES DISCUSSION MORPHED INTO LARGER DEPARTMENT-WIDE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EVIDENCE SHARING AND BACKLOG.
WE NOW MEET MONTHLY WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, ALONG WITH KEY A PD PERSONNEL TO ADDRESS BROADER CONCERNS REGARDING TIMELY AND THOROUGH THOROUGHLY SHARE EVIDENCE SHARING.
I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT SEX CRIMES RECENTLY ELIMINATED THEIR EVIDENCE SHARING BACKLOG AND ARE NOW UP TO DATE ON ALL CASES.
OKAY, SO THIS WORK HAS NEVER BEEN SILOED.
WE BUILT A MULTIDISCIPLINE DISCIPLINARY PROJECT TEAM OF 35 TO 40 MEMBERS DRAWN, UM, FROM AGENCIES ACROSS AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, REFLECTING A TRUE CROSS SECTOR INVESTMENT IN THIS ISSUE.
PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS AND RESOURCE MATERIALS HELP EMPOWER COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SEEK ASSISTANCE AND UNDERSTAND THEIR OPTIONS.
WE, UH, WITH OUR, WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UM, HELPED, UH, ESTABLISH ATX
[01:35:01]
BELIEVES.ORG, AND IT'S OUR PUBLIC FACING HUB.IT CENTRALIZES EDUCATION RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION IN ONE ACCESSIBLE PLACE.
WE ALSO HAVE, WE, WE CREATED A, UH, CALLED THE TEAL RAT CARD.
UM, IT IS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS.
SO WHEN THEY REPORT, UM, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT PATROL OFFICER OR VICTIM SERVICES COUNSELOR WILL GIVE THEM ONE OF THESE IF YOU ALL WANT, AND I CAN PASS IT AROUND.
UM, IT, IT ENSURES THAT SURVIVORS IN COUNTY ANY ENCOUNTERING ANY PART OF THE SYSTEM, WALK AWAY WITH THE CURRENT ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE TO GET HELP.
WE ALSO PROVIDE REGULAR ACCOUNT.
THE C-S-C-R-M PROVIDES REGULAR ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION THROUGH QUARTERLY UPDATES AND BIANNUAL DA DAILY PRESENTATIONS, KEEPING COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT INFORMED AND ENGAGED.
THE SART ALSO RECEIVES QUARTERLY UPDATES AS WELL, MAINTAINING STRONG ALIGNMENT WITH OUR SEXUAL ASSAULT ASSAULT RESPONSE PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE.
UM, THE CS RECEIVED RECOGNITION FROM NATIONAL ORGANIZATION, UM, NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH IS EXCITING.
IN 20, IN NOVEMBER OF 2025, APDS WORK, CS ROOM WORK WAS PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCI ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE.
UM, AND THEY REPORT, THEY REPORTED OUT ON THE NATIONAL REC.
THEY GAVE US RECOGNITION FOR THE MODEL THAT WE'VE BUILT HERE.
WE'RE ALSO AN APPLICANT FOR THE HERMAN GOLDSTEIN GOLDSTEIN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROBLEM ORIENTED POLICING TO BE CONSIDERED IN JUNE OF 2026.
AND OUR TEAM HAS ALSO PRESENTED THIS WORK IN MAJOR CONFERENCES, INCLUDING INVAL AGAINST WOMEN INTERNATIONAL IN 2024.
AND AGAIN, TOMORROW AT THE, THE CONFERENCE WE HAVE, WE HAVE TWO FOLKS PRESENTING, UM, AT THE CONFERENCE, UH, ON TUESDAY.
WE'VE PRESENTED AT THE GOVERNOR'S SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS TASK FORCE IN 2025, AND THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIME VICTIM SERVICES CONFERENCE IN 2025 AS WELL.
SO, WE'LL, PROGRESS HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT.
KEY REFORM COMPONENTS DEPEND ON FEATURE INVESTMENTS AND, UM, STAFFING AND ANALYTIC ANALYTIC CAPACITY.
REGIONAL FORENSIC EXAM CAPACITY REMAINS FRAGILE, HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED FOR A DIVERSIFIED PROVIDER MODEL.
THESE RISKS HAVE NOT EMERGED SUDDENLY.
THEY HAVE NOT BEEN MANAGED QUIETLY.
THE CSRM PROCESS INCLUDES QUARTERLY REPORTING TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.
UM, COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AND FORENSIC EXAM CAPACITY WAS IDENTIFIED, PUBLICLY POSTED AND DISCUSSED AS FORMAL AS A FORMAL RISK AS EARLY AS 2024.
THE UNDERLYING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS, UH, WERE FLAGGED BY SAFE ALLIANCE ITSELF AND BROUGHT TO THE SART IN 2023, THEN ELEVATED TO THE, UH, C-S-C-R-M AS A TRACKED RISK AROUND THAT SAME TIME.
WITH THAT CONTEXT ESTABLISHED, THIS IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM.
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CONSTRAINED FORENSIC EXAM CAPACITY HAVE BEEN ONGOING FOR ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS.
DURING THAT TIME, WE'VE UNDERSTOOD FROM SAFE'S REPORT OUTS TO SART C-S-C-R-M AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, THAT THE NUMBER OF SURVIVORS WHO COULD NOT BE SERVED AT THE TIME OF THE INITIAL REQUEST WHEN THEY CALLED IN, UM, REACHED AS HIGH AS 30% AT ITS PEAK AND HAS BEEN GRADUALLY DECLINING.
UM, UNTIL TODAY, WE RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION THAT HAS DROPPED TO AS LOWS, UH, ABOUT 4% EVEN.
AND WHAT MAKES IT PARTICULARLY CONCERNING IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER SURVIVORS WHO ARE, UM, NOT SERVED AT THE TIME THAT THEY REQUEST AN EXAM RETURN FOR THE EXAM.
SO ONCE SOMEONE DISENGAGES FROM THE PROCESS, THE WINDOW FOR BOTH CARE AND EVIDENCE COLLECTION MAY CLOSE PERMANENTLY.
COMPOUNDING THIS SAFE ALLIANCE, CURRENTLY ONE OF THE TWO FORENSIC EXAM PROVIDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY IS FACING A BUDGET CRISIS THAT COULD RESULT IN SERVICES CEASING ENTIRELY BY MAY 31ST OF THIS YEAR.
WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH CITY LEADERSHIP AND PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS, BUT THE COMMITTEE, AND WE JUST WANT YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND, UM, OF THE URGENCY OF IT.
AUSTIN'S FORTUNATE TO NOT ONLY HAVE THE SAFE ALLIANCE, BUT WE HAVE BRAVE ALLIANCE AS A SECOND PROVIDER IN THIS ECOSYSTEM.
THE SART STEERING COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS RELEASED LAST WEEK ARE EXPLICIT ON THIS POINT.
BOTH BRAVE ALLIANCE AND SAFE ALLIANCE ARE RECOGNIZED AS CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF THE FORENSIC EXAM ECOSYSTEM AND ANY PATH FORWARD MUST SUSTAIN BOTH AS WELL AS ANY FUTURE PROVIDERS WHO MADE THE FORENSIC EXAM REQUIREMENTS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED BY SART.
THAT MULTIPROVIDER FRAMEWORK IS NOT JUST A CONTINGENCY, IT'S THE FOUNDATION OF A MORE RESILIENT LONG-TERM SYSTEM FOR SURVIVORS.
WORKFORCE SUSTAINABILITY AND KNOWLEDGE, RETEN RETENTION WILL BE CRITICAL TO MO MAINTAINING MOMENTUM OF THE PROJECT.
THERE ARE TWO OPEN C-S-C-R-M ITEMS CARRYING DIRECT BUDGET IMPLICATIONS.
WE JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE OF.
THE FIRST IS A PER PER RECOMMENDATION ADDRESSING CRIME ANALYST AND VICTIM SERVICES STAFFING LEVELS.
THE SECOND STEMS FROM A LAWSUIT AGREEMENT WITH DIRECT IMPLICATIONS FOR VICTIM SERVICES STAFFING.
NEITHER IS FULLY RESOLVED, BUT FUNDING WILL BE A DETERMINING DETERMINING FACTOR AS BOTH MOVE FORWARD.
UM, AND WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU ARE AWARE AS BUDGET CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE, PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, REFORMS MUST BE INSTITUTIONALIZED TO PREVENT, UH, REGRESSION.
ONCE THE FORMAL PROJECT CONCLUDES, THERE IS AN END DATE AT SOME POINT.
THE RISK OF REFORM EROSION IS STRUCTURAL AND NOT A REFLECTION OF APDS COMMITMENT OR CAPABILITY.
STAFF TURNOVER IS A DIRECT CONTRIBUTOR TO THAT STRUCTURAL RISK.
[01:40:01]
UM, WHEN EXPERIENCED STAFF LEAVE, THEY TAKE WITHIN THE RELATIONSHIPS, THE JUDGMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE THAT MAKE A SYSTEM FUNCTION AND THAT LOSS COMPOUNDS OVER TIME.CSCM CREATED DEDICATED OWNERSHIP, RESOURCING AND CADENCE AROUND, UM, STANDARDIZED PROCESSES, ONGOING CASE REVIEW CYCLES, TRAINING, REINFORCEMENT, PERFORMANCE MONITORING, AND EXTERNAL, UH, PARTNERSHIP ALIGNMENT.
AND THOSE ARE NOT ONE TIME CHANGES THERE ONGOING, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, SO ON A FORMAL PROJECT, AS YOU ALL PROBABLY KNOW, STRUCTURE SUNSETS, THESE ELEMENTS CAN LOSE THEIR HOME.
UH, NOT A NO SINGLE PERSON OR UNIT AUTOMATICALLY INHERITS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KEEPING ALL OF IT RUNNING.
UM, SO THERE, THIS, THAT IS A GAP THAT WE ARE NEEDING TO PLAN FOR.
SUSTAINING REFORM REQUIRES THE SAME INTENTION INTENTIONALITY AS LAUNCHING IT.
THE COMMITTEE'S ROLE IS NOT TO JUST SUPPORT INITIAL REFORM, IT IS TO ENSURE THIS REMAINS A PRIORITY AS ORGANIZATIONAL FOCUS, UH, NATURALLY SHIFTS OVER TIME.
ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE TO SAY THAT WHAT MADE OUR THE CSUM PROJECT AMONG ONE OF OUR MORE SUCCESSFUL AND EFFECTIVE INITIATIVES IS THAT WE HAD A PROJECT MANAGER WITH TRUE PROJECT MANAGEMENT, WITH A TRUE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLSET, NOT JUST SOMEONE COORDINATING LOGISTICS, BUT SOMEONE RINGING STRUCTURE, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND DISCIPLINE TO A VERY COMPLEX MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT.
THAT APPROACH WAS PROVEN SO EFFECTIVE THAT WE'RE NOW REPLICATING AS, UH, COMMANDER LICHTER MENTIONED, PIECES OF IT FOR OTHER CRIME TYPES, SO THAT THAT MODEL IS WORKING AND WE ARE PUTTING IT TO YOU ELSEWHERE.
SO BEFORE I TALK ABOUT THE SEX OFFENDER APPREHENSION AND REGISTRATION TEAM, I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK THE COUNCIL'S CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE C-S-C-R-M, UH, PROJECT.
IT HAS, I'VE BEEN WITH THIS COMMAND FOR TWO YEARS, AND I HAVE SEEN INCREDIBLE WORK DONE THROUGH THE PROJECT.
AND, UH, THE CONTINUED SUPPORT BY THE COMMUNITY AND CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN, IN ENSURING THAT THAT, UH, PROJECT MOVE FORWARD.
THE SEX OFFENDER APPREHENSION AND REGISTRATION UNIT IS A SEPARATE UNIT FROM THE SEX CRIMES UNIT.
THEY, UH, THE NUMBER OF SEX OFFENDERS THAT WE HAVE IN AUSTIN THAT ARE ACTIVE IS 16, 16 18.
WE HAVE JUST OVER TWO, UH, 2200 THAT ARE ON OUR ROLL.
THE, SOME OF THOSE THAT ARE ON OUR ROLL HAVE, UH, TIMED OUT AND, BUT, AND, AND NEED TO GO THROUGH THE, THE, UH, PHASE OUT PROCESS.
SO WE HAVE 1600, UM, ACTIVE SEX OFFENDERS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF AUSTIN SO FAR THIS YEAR, SOAR HAS COMPLETED 340 COMPLIANCE CHECKS WITH OVER 1300 EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
IN AN EFFORT TO ADDRESS THE PATROL STAFFING SHORTAGE, THE TWO SOAR OFFICERS WERE REASSIGNED TO PATROL.
THE SOAR UNIT DID RECEIVE FIVE TEMPORARY CIVILIANS FOR EXTRA SUPPORT, BUT THOSE OF IN INDIVIDUALS ARE ONLY ABLE TO PROCESS REGISTRATIONS.
THE UNIT IS DEDICATED TO IMPROVING SAFETY FOR THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY THROUGH SEVERAL KEY DUTIES.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS UNIT DOES NOT OPERATE LIKE A PAROLE OFFICE.
SO ROLE IS NOT TO CONTINUALLY MONITOR MONITOR OFFENDERS, BUT THEY MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES TO KEEP THE COMMUNITY SAFE, REGISTRATION AND VERIFICATION OF ALL SEX.
AND WITH RE FAIRLY RECENT LEGISLATION, TERRORIST DEFENDERS CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL NEGLECTS TO RE REGISTER AT, OR SCON CONDUCTS COMPLIANCE CHECKS UNDER THE CHAPTER 62 OF THE CODE FOR CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DOES NOT MANDATE THAT THESE CHECKS ARE MADE, BUT A PD RECOGNIZES THAT THEIR BEST PRACTICES, SO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO DO THEM.
THESE IN-PERSON, THESE IN-PERSON UNANNOUNCED SPOT CHECKS USUALLY OCCUR AT A, AT THE, UH, SEX OFFENDER'S HOME COMPLIANCE CHECKS ARE DONE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.
THE SO UNIT, WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW? WE ARE, UH, HAVE, WE HAVE SEVERAL, UM, PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD.
WE'RE ENHANCING THE WORK, UH, WORK THROUGH WITH NEW TOOLS LIKE THE OFFENDER WATCH LIVE TO IMPROVE TRACKING AND COORDINATION ACROSS JURISDICTIONS.
WHILE REGISTRATION AND INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE TO BE THE PRIMARY FOCUS FOR THE UNIT, WE HAVE ALSO INCREASED EFFORT AROUND THE COMPLIANCE CHECKS THROUGH QUARTERLY INITIATIVES WHERE WE CONDUCT HUNDREDS OF SURPRISE CHECKS.
WE HAVE ALSO IMPROVED PATROL TRAINING REGARDING IT, COMPLIANCE CHECKS TO IMPROVE, ENLIST THEIR SUPPORT, AND WE'RE REVIEWING SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCES OF NEARBY JURISDICTIONS TO ENSURE WE ARE ALIGNED WITH BEST PRACTICES HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, IN THE APPENDIX, YOU SEE AN EX, THE, UH, ATX BELIEVES.ORG, THE LANDING PAGE, AND ALL THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO SURVIVORS, AND AN EXAMPLE OF THE RAC CARD.
[01:45:01]
THANK YOU.AND IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES.
UM, JUST VERY QUICKLY, ONE, VERY ENCOURAGED BY THE REPORT.
UH, CLEARLY YOU'VE HEARD THE MAGIC WORD THAT MOTIVATES ALL OF US, WHICH IS DASHBOARDS,
UH, MY QUESTION JUST AS RARELY, AT THE VERY END, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE SHORT THE PERSONNEL TO DO THE FULL AMOUNT OF COMPLIANCE CHECKS.
YOU SAY IT'S BEST PRACTICE, BUT NOT A LEGAL MANDATE.
IS THERE ANY REAL, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF, OF NOT DOING THE LAST, THE, YOU KNOW, THE REMAINING 250 OR SO CHECKS? IT'S, IT IS MAINLY JUST TIME, THE ABILITY TO GET THE RESOURCES OUT THERE TO DO IT AT THAT, WE, WE TEST PILOTED A NEW PROCESS LAST QUARTER OF 2025, WHERE WE HAD OUR CRIME ANALYST, UH, ACTUALLY COORDINATE THE PATH BY WHICH WE WOULD TAKE, UM, TO HIT ALL, ALL THE, WITH EACH INITIATIVE THAT WE DO, WE CAN HIT JUST OVER 300 SEX OFFENDERS.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE OF THE EFFICIENCY BY WHICH OUR CRIME ANALYST IS ABLE TO PUT THAT, THAT IN THAT PATH TOGETHER FOR THE DIFFERENT TEAMS THAT WE SET UP.
IF WE CAN GET FOUR TEAMS OUT THERE, WE CAN HIT MORE PEOPLE.
IT JUST, THE LAST TWO, WE'VE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO GET THREE TEAMS TOGETHER TO, TO HIT, UH, JUST OVER 300 PEOPLE IN TWO DAYS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS VERY SENSITIVE, VERY HELPFUL PRESENTATION.
UM, I ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE THE, UM, I KNOW SO MUCH WORK HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE IN, IN RECENT YEARS, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS FORWARD, LOOK AT ALL OF THE CHALLENGES AND WHERE WE REALLY ARE RIGHT NOW, UM, INCLUDING THE INFORMATION AROUND BUDGET, UH, AND PARTNERSHIPS.
AND I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS UNDERWAY AROUND THAT, AND, UM, AND THEY WILL BE INFORMATIVE AS WELL.
I WILL HIGHLIGHT THAT FOR ME AS A PARTICULARLY PARTICULAR CONCERN THAT WE FIND FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT MANAGER WITH A PROJECT MANAGER SKILLSET.
UM, PARTICULARLY IN THE EVENT THAT THERE ARE FUND FUNDING CHALLENGES.
THAT IS, THAT IS A WAY THAT WE CAN BE STRATEGIC.
UM, BUT SO MUCH OF WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS A CORE CONCERN TO ME.
UM, HAVING SAID THAT, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, FIRST, IF WE LOSE OUR PRIMARY PROVIDER OF SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EXAMS IN MAY, WHAT IS OUR BACKUP PLAN? CAN HOSPITALS OR OTHER HEALTHCARE CENTERS PROVIDE THESE EXAMS FREE OF CHARGE? YOU LAID OUT VERY EFFECTIVELY WHY THAT WILL NOT CREATE THE SAME SUCCESS THAT THIS STAFFING MODEL WILL PROVIDE.
BUT IF WE END UP IN THAT SITUATION, DO WE KNOW? YES.
THERE, THERE IS A SECONDARY FORENSIC PROVIDER IN THE AREA THAT HAS BEEN DOING IN THE PAST, UM, FORENSIC EXAMS FOR US.
SO WE HAVE CONTACTED THEM AND, UH, THEY FEEL FULLY PREPARED TO ABSORB.
IF NOT, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY COULD DO ALL, BUT MM-HMM
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE HOSPITAL, WE WOULD RELY ON THE HOSPITALS.
THAT IS NOT, UM, THE HOSPITALS IS, IT'S A VERY STERILE ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT THEIR FIRST CHOICE MM-HMM
FOR OUR VICTIMS. UM, BUT THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM IS, IS, IS AN, IS AVAILABLE AND IT IS NOT THAT I DON'T PRIORITIZE SOME OF THOSE OTHER, THE FUNDING THAT'S NEEDED TO PREVENT US HAVING TO GO TO HOSPITALS AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT AS WELL.
UM, SHIFTING OVER TO THE CONVERSATION AROUND BUDGET AND PARTNERSHIPS, UM, I'M SURE YOU'VE ALREADY LOOKED AS CAREFULLY AS YOU CAN AT OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLOCATE FUNDING FROM LOWER PRIORITY LAW ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES.
UM, AND OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO BE REALLOCATING OUT OF THINGS LIKE THE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE MODEL AND SOME OF THE OTHER EFFORTS THAT ARE BEING MADE AROUND THOSE LOWER PRIORITY CALLS.
UM, SO I WILL SAY WITH THIS ITEM AS WELL, AS WE GET DEEPER INTO BUDGET, IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNTS AND IMPACTS THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH MY OFFICE, I WELCOME THAT.
UM, AND THEN I, ONE QUESTION THAT I HAD AS I WAS LISTENING WAS, UH, WHEN THE, I WAS WONDERING WHEN THE MOMENT IS, WILL BE RIGHT TO START TO EXPEND EXTEND SOME OF THESE PARTNERSHIPS INTO WILLIAMSON COUNTY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS 60% OF MY DISTRICT.
AND, UM, I'VE CERTAINLY BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH CARRIE ROGERS AROUND HOW TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS EFFECTIVELY SO THAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE BRINGING IN PARTNERS WHO HAVE BEEN THUS FAR TRYING TO CATCH THE BALLS OUT IN THAT PART OF MY DISTRICT.
[01:50:01]
WOULD LOVE A HEADS UP EITHER WHEN YOU THINK THE TIME IS RIGHT, UM, OR YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHEN THE TIME WILL BE.AND I ALSO, UM, AM WONDERING, I JUST LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT ON THIS LAST LITTLE BIT.
UM, UH, YEAH, I THINK THAT THAT'S A CONVER, OH YEAH, THIS IS WHAT IT WAS.
SHOULD I BE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION WITH CARRIE ROGERS OR WITH A PD CARRIE ROGERS WHO SUPPORTS OUR INTERGOVERNMENTAL PARTNERSHIPS? MM-HMM
UH, OR BOTH? I, I THINK BOTH REALLY.
UM, I THINK THAT WE CAN BEGIN THE INROADS, YOU KNOW, AND BEGIN THE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR COUNTERPARTS AT, AT, AT THE LOWER LEVEL.
AND CARRIE CAN REALLY KIND OF TALK WITH THE HIGHER LEVEL, UM, ENTITY.
SO I THINK IT'S REALLY A, A, A TWOFOLD.
WELL, YOU'VE GIVEN ME PLENTY TO WORK WITH, SO I'LL START BY TALKING WITH HER ABOUT SOME OF MY THOUGHTS ON THAT.
AND, UM, ONE THING THAT I WILL JUST SAY RIGHT NOW IS THAT, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO SOME OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY SAFE AND BRAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE A CORE PART OF FINDING FUNDING IS THAT IT IS ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE WILLIAMSON COUNTY AREAS, WHICH, UM, MUCH OF SERVICE DELIVERY ISN'T CURRENTLY.
CHIEF DAVIS, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? I, I WANTED TO KIND OF CIRCLE BACK ON THE, UM, SOAR QUESTION, UM, I THINK, UM, THAT YOU HAD, BUT I JUST WANTED TO, TO LET YOU KNOW MY COMMITMENT TO THAT AND I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE AND, AND WHETHER WE'RE STATE MANDATED OR NOT.
THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT FUNCTION THAT THE POLICE, UM, OFFER.
AND SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'RE LOOKING, YOU KNOW, REMOVING TWO OFFICERS FROM THAT, THAT WAS DONE, I BELIEVE, A FEW YEARS AGO, CERTAINLY BEFORE I GOT HERE.
UM, AND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT PLACES TO PULL FROM, THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MY FIRST CHOICE AT ALL.
SO AS WE'RE LOOKING AT GETTING THOSE AND, AND COMMITTING TO HAVING 1300 OF THOSE DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, UM, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THAT HAS MY FULL SUPPORT IN WHATEVER IT TAKES.
THANK YOU, CHIEF COUNCILMAN SINGLE THANK YOU CHAIR.
AND, UH, THANK YOU MS. CLARK AND COMMANDER FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, JUST WANT TO ADD ONE NOTE ACTUALLY ON SLIDE 12, BECAUSE, UH, MY OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE SAFE ALLIANCE ON A SEPARATE ISSUE, THEY WANTED US TO SHARE THAT THE 10 TO 30%, UH, FIGURE THAT'S IN THIS SLIDE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DECREASED TO 4%, AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY'VE ADDED MORE NURSES AND CHANGED THE MODEL TO REACH THAT REDUCTION.
YES, THEY SHARED THAT WITH ME TODAY, THE 4%.
SO YEAH, I GOT IT RIGHT BEFORE THE MEETING.
THANK YOU ALL, UH, COLLEAGUES.
[6. Briefing on the development of Public Safety Dashboards from Austin Police, Austin Fire, and Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services. [Lee Rogers, Chief of Staff - Austin Police; Joel G. Baker, Fire Chief - Austin Fire; Rob Luckritz, Chief of ATCEMS - Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services].]
WE HAVE ONE MORE, UM, PRESENTATION.UH, AND THE COMMITTEE WILL TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER SIX, AND IT'S A BRIEFING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY DASHBOARDS FROM A PD, UH, A FD AND THE TRAVIS COUNTY EMER, UH, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
AND I SAVED Y'ALL FOR LAST BECAUSE I KNEW Y'ALL COULD GET, GET IT DONE IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.
HE'S ALSO THE CHIEF AUCTIONEER, SO HERE HE GOES.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE WERE HERE, UH, AT THE PREVIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, COMMITTEE MEETING AND, UH, PRESENTED, UH, A WORKING DASHBOARD TO YOU ALL, UH, AND YOU DID PROVIDE US WITH SOME FEEDBACK.
AND SO WE ARE HERE TODAY TO SHOW YOU AN UPDATED VERSION.
UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I'M GONNA, UM, THE EMS DASHBOARD IS FIRST, BUT I WILL JUST GIVE YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, AHEAD OF TIME JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME SENSE.
I KNOW ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS ASKED FOR WAS, UH, TO DISPLAY THE PERCENTAGE OF THE REMAINING BUDGETS, UM, BY MONTH, WHICH IS ON HERE.
UM, WE DO HAVE SOME DEFINITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO HERE, UM, WITH RELATION TO SOME OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING IN TERMS OF VACANCIES AND SEPARATIONS, WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH THE BEST WAY TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU ALL.
UM, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT ON IN TERMS OF HIRING AND SEPARATIONS, THE SCHEDULES OF THE ACADEMIES, UM, ON A MONTH TO MONTH BASIS.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY DO, THEY DON'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME.
SO THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES THERE WITH THE BEST WAY TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU ALL.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT IS NOT ON HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF, UH, SCHEDULED VERSUS UNSCHEDULED CATEGORIES OF LEAVE.
UM, WHICH IS THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, THINGS ON THE BACK END IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT CODES THAT ARE USED FOR DIFFERENT LEAVES.
AND SO WE JUST NEED TO FINISH CLEANING THOSE UP AND, AND IDENTIFY THE BEST WAY TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL JUST FROM AN, THIS IS THE EMS DASHBOARD.
UM, JUST A FEW THINGS TO HIGHLIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE WE DO REMAIN, UM, UNDER BUDGET THIS YEAR.
WE ARE DOING, DOING WELL, UM, IN TERMS OF MANAGING OUR, OUR STAFF AND, UM, AS WELL AS STAYING, UH, ON TRACK WITH OUR, WITH OUR BUDGET.
OUR OVERTIME AS WELL IS, UH, BELOW WHERE WE HAD ORIGINALLY PROJECTED IT TO
[01:55:01]
BE.UM, WE ARE SEEING, UH, A, A FEW SEPARATIONS AS WAS MENTIONED TO, TO YOU GUYS, UM, LAST MONTH.
UM, A FEW FOLKS THAT HAVE LEFT THE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE, WE ARE WORKING THROUGH TRYING TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR RECRUITING PLAN, BUT THAT DID HAVE AN IMPACT ON, UH, SOME OF OUR SPEND.
UM, WE CONTINUED TO DO WORK, DO THE NORMAL WORK THAT WE CELEBRATE REGULARLY IN TERMS OF SENDING RESOURCES OTHER THAN AN AMBULANCE.
7.5% OF OUR CALLS, UH, WERE RESOLVED WITHOUT EVER SENDING AN AMBULANCE TO THEM.
OVER A THOUSAND INSTANCES OF COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS INTERVENING.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR RESPONSE TIMES, UM, COMING INTO THIS YEAR WITH SOME NEW THINGS THAT WE'VE PUT INTO PLACE AND OUR COMPLIANCE IS REFLECTIVE OF THAT.
UM, AND ABSENT ANY OF THE QUESTIONS, I'LL HAND THIS OFF TO MY COLLEAGUE FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PICK.
JOEL BAKER, AUSTIN, FIRE CHIEF.
I WILL READ THIS, UH, DASHBOARD FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, TOP AND BOTTOM THUS FAR.
FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, 2026, WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 9,300 TOTAL INCIDENT.
OF THOSE TOTAL INCIDENT, 387 WAS PRIORITY AND WE MET ABOUT 50% PERCENTILE ASSIST MINUTES AND 11 SECONDS.
UH, 90 PERCENTILE IS ABOUT NINE MINUTES, 51 SECOND QUARTER TO NFPA 1500.
THE GOAL IS TO GET 90 PERCENTILE WITHIN EIGHT MINUTES THUS FAR FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.
OUR RESPONSE TIME WAS ABOUT 77%, 76.6 TO BID IS THAT, HOWEVER, TOTAL FIRE RELATED CALLS WERE 661.
UH, GOING DOWN TO THE SECOND ROW THERE, UH, OUR EXPENSE FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY WAS APPROXIMATELY 22 MILLION.
BECAME VERY, CAME JUST A LITTLE BIT, UH, OVER 22 MILLION.
UM, BUT THE TOTAL BUDGET REMAINING THUS FAR IS OUT OF 270,000.
I MEAN, CORRECTION OUT OF 270 MILLION OR 269 MILLION, UH, THUS FAR WE HAVE SPENT 124 MILLION, WHICH INCLUDES S AND BENEFITS, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT AND OTHER ITEMS. THE OVERTIME EXPENSE, WE BUDGETED FOR 8.8 MILLION, UH, 8.95 MILLION.
BUT TO DATE, WE HAVE SPENT 9 MILLION IN OVERTIME.
OUR VACANCY RATES IS ABOUT 6%.
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 1,328 PERSONNEL ABOVE 47 IS FULL.
UH, RETIREMENT FOR, UH, SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT IS, IS ABOUT NINE TOTAL.
UH, THE MEDICAL CALLS HERE, UH, OF ALL THE COSTS, WE, WE HAVE DUST, DUST FOR US A LITTLE BIT OVER, UH, 3000.
OTHER COSTS CAN BE GAS, LEAK, CHECKING, ADVISED SMOKING AREA, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
HAMAN CALLS OF FOUR TO ONE AND RESCUE ARE 25.
IF YOU LOOK AT CHALK CHART MARK PERMIT TO THE RIGHT, YOU WILL NOTICE STILL ONCE AGAIN, UH, DISTRICT NINE HAS THE MOST CALL VOLUME FROM PRIORITY ONE TO PRIORITY FIVE.
AND I WILL PAUSE THERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
LEE ROGERS, AUSTIN, POLICE ASSISTANT CHIEF.
I'M JUST GONNA GO OVER REAL QUICK, UH, THE REQUESTS THAT WERE MADE THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE FOR PRESENTATION, UH, AND THEN JUST SAVE TIME FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, YOU ASKED FOR US TO UPGRADE THE DISPLAY WITH, UH, WHAT WE HAVE REMAINING IN THE BUDGET.
YOU CAN SEE WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN BEING ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT COUNCIL MEMBER LANE.
YOU ASKED FOR DEFINED TERMINOLOGY, UH, WHEN THIS IS ACTUALLY A LIVE DASHBOARD, YOU ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO HOVER OVER THAT.
WE WERE ABLE TO UPGRADE THAT DASHBOARD THAT HAS LEGENDS NOTE FIELDS ADDED, AND WE HAVE PRODUCED DATA DICTIONARY THAT WILL GO INTO FURTHER DETAIL.
THE LIVE DASHBOARD WILL HAVE A TOOL, TIPS THAT PROVIDE EXPLANATIONS WHEN HOVERING OVER GRAPHICS WITH YOUR MOUSE.
SO THOSE ARE THE GOOD THINGS THAT I HAVE TO REPORT OUT TODAY.
UH, JUST THE SAME WITH EVERYBODY ELSE.
WE STILL HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH NOT BEING OWNERS OF ALL OF THE DATA WHEN IT COMES TO THE HR AND THE PAYROLL PIECE.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, YOU ASKED FOR HISTORICAL VACANCY AND SEPARATION TRENDS MONTH TO MONTH AND YEAR TO YEAR, AND DIFFERENTIATE THOSE WITH SEPARATIONS BY YEARS OF SERVICE.
AND THE ROLE THAT'S REQUIRING US TO ASK FOR THE DATA FROM A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT AND FOR THAT DATA TO BE MANUALLY ENTERED.
IT'S A BYPRODUCT OF ALL OF THE SYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE.
UH, I'M SURE Y'ALL HEAR THIS FROM EVERYBODY ELSE ABOUT, UH, TELESTAFF AND WORKDAY.
BUT AS WAS MENTIONED, UH, BY COMMANDER EAGLE AND CHIEF JONES, ALL OF THAT IS AVAILABLE WHEN IT COMES TO CADETS IN THAT PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD, UH, ON THAT OPEN DATA PORTAL FOR THE CADET SIDE, UH, NOT FOR THE REST OF THE DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, YOU ASK US FOR A BREAKDOWN OF LEAVE INTO SCHEDULED VERSUS UNSCHEDULED.
AGAIN, THAT'S A MANUAL PULL FROM A DEPARTMENT OTHER THAN OURS AND CONTINUES TO BE A STRUGGLE, BUT
[02:00:01]
WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT.ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER DE FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR ACCOMMODATING THOSE CHANGES.
I DO NOW HAVE ONE OTHER REQUEST FOR, UM, CHIEF LUCRE, WHICH IS, IF YOU WOULD NOT MIND BRINGING YOUR REPORTING FOR BUDGET YEAR TODAY IN LINE WITH POLICE AND FIRE, BECAUSE I COULD SEE THIS BEING CONFUSING TO SOMEBODY THAT'S EXPECTING TO SEE IT REPORTED THE SAME WAY, BUT IT'S REPORTED INVERSELY FOR, UH, FOR EMS. I'M SEEING DEPARTMENT BUDGET USED VERSUS DEPARTMENT BUDGET REMAINING FOR THE OTHER TWO.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE.
[7. Identify items to discuss at future meetings.]
UH, COLLEAGUES.THAT'LL BRING US TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, AND THAT'S TO IDENTIFY ANY ITEMS TO DISCUSS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.
I'M SURE NOBODY HAS ANYTHING THAT THEY, THEY'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO.
SO, UH, NO, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A NUMBER OF THINGS WE WILL HAVE.
NO, YOU'VE HEARD MY VOICE UP ON THAT.
WE, WE WILL HAVE A, UH, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO OUR SPECIAL CALL MEETING TO BRING SOME MORE ITEMS FORWARD.
BUT THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR, FOR EVERYTHING AND FOR YOUR SERVICE, UM, UH, MEMBERS.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE HERE, UH, AT OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 4:04 PM THANK YOU EVERYONE.
AND THANK Y'ALL FOR HANGING OUT FOR FOUR EXTRA MINUTES WITH US.