[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
UM, SO I AM READY TO CALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE TO ORDER.THIS IS A MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
WE ARE AT AUSTIN CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT WITH MYSELF.
COUNCIL MEMBER LANE SHARING THIS MEETING.
COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE SEGAL, PRESENT IN PERSON AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ PRESENT VIRTUALLY.
UM, WE'LL BEGIN WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS.
UH, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM
[Approval of Minutes]
ONE.THE FIRST ACTION ITEM IS APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING FROM MAY 12TH, 2026.
I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ.
SECOND, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL.
WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO,
[2. Briefing on warrants issued for failure to appear on Class C misdemeanor charges, court notices, and failure to appear rates for Austin Municipal Court and Austin Community Court. [Mary Jane Grubb, Municipal Court Clerk - Austin Municipal Court]]
WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON WARRANTS ISSUED FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR ON CLASS C MISDEMEANOR CHARGES AND FAILURE TO APPEAR RATES FOR AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT AND AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT.I WILL LOOK TO MARY JANE GRUBB.
I AM THE COURT CLERK FOR AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT.
I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT INFORMATION ON CLASS C.
NOTICES WARRANTS, ARREST, COLLECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE.
SO BACKGROUND CLASS C MISDEMEANORS ARE THE LOWEST LEVEL CRIMINAL OFFENSE IN TEXAS, THEY'RE TYPICALLY PUNISHABLE BY A FINE, UM, UP TO $500, THOUGH SOME OFFENSES MAY HAVE DIFFERENT FINE STRUCTURES.
AND WHEN WE SAY FINE ONLY, THAT'S MEANING NO JAIL TIME AT THE TIME OF CONVICTION.
COMMON EXAMPLES INCLUDE TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS, PUBLIC INTOXICATION, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, ASSAULT BY CONDUCT AND FAMILY VIOLENCE, FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPERTY, HIGH GRASS AND WEEDS, ILLEGAL DUMPING ZONING AND BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS.
CASES ARE EITHER INITIATED BY CITATION OR PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVIT AND DEFENDANTS ARE REQUIRED TO APPEAR TO ANSWER THE CHARGES THAT HAVE BEEN FILED AGAINST THEM.
FAILURE TO APPEAR TO ANSWER CHARGES OR SATISFY A JUDGMENT MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONAL CHARGES FILED, FOR EXAMPLE, A FAILURE TO APPEAR OR THE ISSUANCE OF A WARRANT.
SO CITATIONS SERVE AS THE PRIMARY LEGAL NOTICE AND MUST INCLUDE A WRITTEN NOTICE TO APPEAR THE TIME AND PLACE OR INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTACT THE COURT.
INFORMATION ON ALTERNATIVES TO FULL PAYMENT CASES THAT ARE FILED BY PROBABLE CAUSE.
AFFIDAVITS ARE CHARGED BY COMPLAINT AND THEN A NOTICE TO APPEAR IS MAILED TO THE DEFENDANT.
REQUIRED NOTICES ALSO INCLUDE, UH, PRE-WAR NOTICES, UH, FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR.
AND THIS DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THE PERSON'S BEEN CHARGED WITH A VIOLATION OF FAILURE TO APPEAR.
IT MEANS THEY DID NOT APPEAR TO ANSWER THE CHARGES AGAINST THEM.
SO WE ARE REQUIRED TO SEND A NOTICE PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF A WARRANT.
THAT NOTICE MUST INCLUDE ALTERNATIVES IF UNABLE TO PAY OPTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF NOT COMPLYING POST JUDGMENT, MEANING THEY'VE CAME IN, THEY'VE ENTERED A PLEA AND THERE'S A JUDGMENT ON THE CASE AND THEY HAVE FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THE COURT ORDERS.
NOTICES ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO BE MAILED, UM, PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF A WARRANT, AND THE DEFENDANT HAS OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD BEFORE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS TAKE PLACE.
SO AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT, UM, HAS A ROBUST CAMPAIGN OF NOTICES, PHONE CALLS AND TEXT.
SO THE TOP PORTION OF THIS CHART ARE UN ADJUDICATED CASES.
AGAIN, THOSE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE FAILED TO APPEAR TO ANSWER THE CHARGES FILED AGAINST THEM.
AND OF ALL OF THESE NOTICES, UM, THE ONES WITH ASTERISK NEXT TO THEM ARE ADDITIONAL NOTICES THAT WE SEND.
SO THERE IS THE REQUIRED DELINQUENT APPEND APPEARANCE NOTICE, BUT WE ALSO SEND AN INITIAL APPEARANCE, PHONE CALL AND TEXT IF THEY HAVE SCHEDULED COURT DATES.
WE SEND REMINDER PHONE CALLS AND TEXT.
UH, WE SEND THEM ANOTHER NOTICE AFTER A WARRANT'S BEEN ISSUED.
[00:05:01]
ALSO PLACE A PHONE CALL AND TEXT AND THEN WE SEND ANOTHER NOTICE BEFORE THE CASE IS REFERRED TO A COLLECTION AGENCY FOR THE ADJUDICATED CASES.AGAIN, THESE ARE THE ONES WHO FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THEIR COURT ORDER.
WE SEND DOCKET REMINDERS AND PHONE CALLS AND TEXTS THREE DAYS BEFORE THE SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE.
WE SEND A PAST DUE PHONE CALL AND TEXT FOR ANYONE WHO HAS FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS DUE.
MAYBE THEY WERE ON A PAYMENT PLAN OR COMMUNITY SERVICE.
WE ALSO DO A PASS DUE PHONE CALL AND TEXT.
WE DO A SECOND PASS DUE PHONE CALL AND TEXT.
WE SEND A NOTICE AFTER THE WARRANT'S BEEN ISSUED AND WE ALSO DO ANOTHER PHONE CALL AND TEXT AFTER WARRANT.
ALL RIGHT, OUTSTANDING WARRANTS.
AS OF APRIL 23RD OF 26, THERE ARE ALMOST 61,000 OUTSTANDING WARRANTS.
52,000 OF THOSE ARE IN CAP PIA STATUS.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THEY'RE UN ADJUDICATED.
THERE'S NO JUDGMENT, MEANING THEY FAILED TO APPEAR TO ANSWER THE CHARGES.
SO THAT'S 85% OF OUR WARRANT CASELOAD IS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE FAILED TO APPEAR 15% OR FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE APPEARED, BUT THEY FAILED TO COMPLY WITH COURT ORDERS.
SO LET'S SEE, ALMOST 61,000, 60,934 WARRANTS.
SO PEOPLE MAY HAVE MULTIPLE WARRANTS.
AND THE TABLE TO THE LEFT, I'M SORRY, TO THE RIGHT, THAT'S A BREAKDOWN OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME DISPARITIES THERE.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT, I THINK THE NATURAL TENDENCY IS TO LOOK AT THE, THESE DEMOGRAPHICS AND COMPARE 'EM TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT 40% OF PEOPLE IN WARRANT STATUS LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THESE NUMBERS REFLECT BOTH, BOTH AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT AND COMMUNITY COURT, THAT 89% OF THESE CASES ARE AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT CASES.
SO THERE'S MULTIPLE THINGS THAT WE DO TO TRY TO, TO CLEAR THE WARRANT CASELOAD, NOT JUST THE WARRANT CASELOAD, BUT MOVE CASES, UH, FOR THE CLOSURE UN ADJUDICATED CASES, AGAIN, THOSE ARE THOSE WHO FELL TO APPEAR.
WE ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED THOSE AFTER EIGHT YEARS.
THERE ARE SOME EXCLUSIONS TO THAT IF THEY'VE HAD ACTIVITY IN THE LAST YEAR OR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS INVOLVING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY OR FATALITIES ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE CLOSURE PROCESS.
WE CLOSED THOSE CASES IN SEPTEMBER OF EACH YEAR.
SO THE LAST CLOSURE WAS THROUGH 2017 ADJUDICATED CASES, WHICH ARE THOSE WHO FAIL TO COMPLY.
WE HAVE LESS DISCRETION ON THOSE AND STATE STATUTE PROHIBITS US TO CLOSE THOSE CASES FOR 15 YEARS.
AND AGAIN, THERE ARE SOME EXCLUSIONS IN THOSE CLOSURES.
SO LOOKING AT ALL OF HER WARRANTS, OUR OUTSTANDING WARRANTS STATING BACK TO 2005, WHICH ARE VERY FEW, BUT THOSE ARE THOSE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN ADJUDICATED REPRESENT 1% OF ALL THE CASES FILED DURING THAT TIME.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE OUTSTANDING WARRANTS STATING BACK TO 2017, UH, THAT REPRESENTS 16% OF ALL CASES FILED DURING THAT TIME.
I'M GONNA GO BACK TO THIS FOR A MINUTE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART YOU CAN SEE IN 2019, THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE A SPIKE.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING THAT TIME IS THAT WE STOPPED SENDING CASES TO THE SCOFF LAW PROGRAM IN IN 2018.
THE SCOFF LAW PROGRAM WAS A PROGRAM WHERE THE, UH, THE DMV WOULD PLACE A DENIAL OF RENEWAL FOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION.
SO THAT CONTRACT EXPIRED IN 2019.
WE ALSO USED TO HAVE A CONTRACT WITH OMNI BASE, WHICH DENIED THE RENEWAL OF A DRIVER'S LICENSE.
THAT CONTRACT EXPIRED AND WAS ENDED IN 2020.
UH, ALSO IN 20 RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF 2018.
[00:10:02]
WE SUSPENDED WARRANT CONFIRMATIONS AND THE ISSUANCE OF WARRANTS FOR ABOUT 18 MONTHS.DURING THE PANDEMIC 2022, I BELIEVE OUR COLLECTION AGENCY, OUR THIRD PARTY COLLECTION AGENCY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.
SO WE WERE WITHOUT A CONTRACT FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF.
AND THAT CONTRACT WAS JUST RE-IMPLEMENTED LAST YEAR.
SO THERE ARE MULTIPLE FACTORS THAT LEAD TO A HEAVY CASELOAD OF 20 19, 20 AND 21.
THE ACTIONS I JUST DESCRIBED WERE THE RESULT OF COUNCIL DIRECTION AND NOT RENEWING THE COLLECTION CONTRACTS TOP 10 OFFENSES ARE LISTED HERE.
THESE ARE THOSE IN WARRANT STATUS.
OUR NUMBER ONE IS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, WHICH REPRESENTS ABOUT 23% OF THE WARRANT CASELOAD ARREST ON CLASS CS.
THIS IS FROM APRIL 20TH, 24TH THROUGH APRIL 20TH OF 26TH.
THERE WAS, LET'S SEE, 3,182 PEOPLE ARRESTED WITH 5,343 CHARGES.
THE BREAKDOWN OF THIS IS ON VIEW, THAT MEANS THE PERSON HAS NO WARRANT, THEY'RE ARRESTED ON SITE THAT MAKES UP 52% OF ALL ARRESTS ON CLASS CS.
THEIR 45% IS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD CAP S WARRANTS.
AGAIN, CAP PS OR UN ADJUDICATED AND FAILURE TO APPEAR.
AND THEN, LET'S SEE, 3% ARE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD CAP PS PRO PROFILE WARRANTS.
AND AGAIN, THOSE WARRANTS ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO FAILED TO COMPLY WITH COURT ORDERS COLLECTION RATE ON CLASS CS.
AGAIN, THIS IS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
SO THERE IS NO MONEY DUE ON A CASE UNTIL THAT CASE HAS A PLEA ENTERED AND A HAS BEEN SENTENCED.
SO THERE'S A JUDGMENT AMOUNT ON IT.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS PAY WITHIN THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF BEING SENTENCED IN THE NEXT, UH, WITHIN, WELL YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKOUT THERE.
WE'VE GOT A 30 DAYS, 180 DAYS, AND 365 DAYS.
SO 98% OF ALL PEOPLE PAY WITHIN WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF BEING SENTENCED WITH ONLY 2% PAYING AFTER A YEAR COMMUNITY SERVICE IN LIEU OF FINANCIAL PENALTIES.
SO IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, THERE WERE 31,000 CASES ADJUDICATED OF THOSE 2,192 REQUESTED COMMUNITY SERVICE.
SO THAT'S A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE, 7%.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE DEFENDANTS MUST APPEAR TO REQUEST OR THEY DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO APPEAR IN PERSON.
THEY CAN DO IT BY MAIL OR EMAIL, BUT THE DEFENDANT DOES HAVE TO REQUEST COMMUNITY SERVICE.
THE MEDIAN DAYS THE INDIVIDUAL IS SENTENCED TO COMPLETE THEIR COMMUNITY SERVICE IS 90 DAYS AND MANY COMPLETE IT WITHIN THE FIRST 75.
SO IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, THERE'S BEEN 21,637 HOURS ASSESSED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE.
ABOUT HALF HAVE BEEN COMPLETED, THE OTHER HALF DID NOT COMPLETE IT.
AND THEN IT'S ABOUT 3,400 HOURS REMAINING STILL OWED.
SO IN CONCLUSION, WE DO HAVE A HIGH VOLUME OF OUTSTANDING WARRANTS, ALTHOUGH IT'S LOW COMPARED TO TOTAL CLASS CS FILED.
AND IT'S DRIVEN MAINLY BY THE FAILURE TO APPEAR CASES.
THERE ARE DEMOGRAPHIC DISPARITIES PRESENT IN BOTH OUTSTANDING WARRANTS AND ARREST.
WE DO HAVE STRONG PAYMENT COMPLIANCE WITH MOST FINES, COST AND FEES PAID QUICKLY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE IS AVAILABLE AND USED EFFICIENTLY, BUT USED IN A RELATIVELY SMALL SHARE OF THE CASES.
THE COURT DOES RELY HEAVILY ON AUTOMATED NOTICES TO ENCOURAGE COMPLIANCE PRIOR TO ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS? DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? YEP, GO AHEAD.
[00:15:01]
YOU GO AHEAD CHAIR.ALRIGHT, WELL THANKS SO MUCH, UH, APPRECIATE IT MS. GRUBB FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, IT'S CLEAR THE COURT IS DOING A LOT OF GOOD WORK AND THAT WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM AND THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD INFORMATION PACKED INTO THESE SLIDES, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THE CLASS C TICKETS.
THINGS LIKE TRAFFIC TICKETS OR ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS SUCH AS SITTING OR LYING DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK ARE CRIMINAL OFFENSES IN TEXAS.
THEY CARRY FINES, NOT JAIL SENTENCES, BUT A LOT OF THE DEBT PEOPLE ACCUMULATE IS PAID OFF WITH JAIL CREDIT AND THEY DRIVE A LOT OF ARRESTS.
MOST ARREST WARRANTS IN TEXAS ARE FOR CLASS C TICKETS.
AND I THINK IT'S CLEAR THESE ARE WEALTH BASED ARRESTS.
PEOPLE WITH MONEY CAN PAY OFF THE TICKET WITH NO EXTRA COURT COSTS THAT ONLY APPLY TO PEOPLE WHO CAN'T PAY RIGHT AWAY.
AND IT'S JUST PLAIN MORE EXPENSIVE TO BE POOR.
AND BECAUSE THESE ARE CRIMINAL CASES, IT MEANS YOU COULD GO TO JAIL.
AND I THINK, UM, I SPEAK FOR MULTIPLE PEOPLE ON THE COUNCIL THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN REDUCING THESE NUMBERS AND I'M GRATEFUL TO THE FINES AND FEES JUSTICE CENTER FOR BEING HERE AND OFFERING TO HELP US WITH THAT GOAL.
UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT A WAIVER IS APPROPRIATE FOR FINES WHEN SOMEBODY IS UNABLE TO PAY OR PERFORM COMMUNITY SERVICE WITHOUT UNDUE HARDSHIP.
AND WAIVER IS APPROPRIATE FOR COSTS WHEN THEY'RE UNABLE TO PAY REGARDLESS OF ABILITY TO COMPLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE.
IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS A JUDGE CAN WAIVE FINES, FEES, OR COSTS.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT ONLY FINES COULD BE, UH, WAIVED FOR AN UNDUE HARDSHIP, BUT JUDGE COFFEY CONFIRMED THAT IS CORRECT.
DO YOU KNOW IF THIS WAIVER AS AN OPTION IS MENTIONED ON THE TICKETS THAT THE CITY ISSUES AND MAILED OUT TO PEOPLE? I BELIEVE THAT IT IS, BUT I WILL NEED TO CONFIRM THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU.
YEAH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONE OF OUR CONCERNS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY DATA ON THE PERCENTAGE OF CASES IN WHICH FINES OR COSTS ARE WAIVED? WE DO HAVE DATA.
AND I WOULD, WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW ALL THAT'S ON OUR WEBSITE IS THE NUMBER OF CASES IN WHICH WAIVERS WERE GRANTED.
SO WE WOULD HAVE TO COUNT, CALCULATE THAT AS A TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF CASES FILED DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD.
WE MIGHT FOLLOW UP ON THAT ONE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ARRESTED ON THEIR CLASS C TICKETS WHEN THEY COME TO COURT.
DO YOU KNOW IF THE NOTICES EXPLAINED THAT THERE'S NO RISK OF ARREST, UH, FOR CLASS C WARRANTS IF SOMEONE COMES TO COURT? YES.
I BELIEVE THAT VERBIAGE IS ON THE NOTICES.
AND THEN, UM, JUST WANNA GO, UH, TO A COUPLE OF, NOPE, I GUESS THAT WAS FOR THE NEXT ITEM.
THANK YOU COUNCILOR VELAZQUEZ, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? IF SO, JUST COME ON, ON CAMERA AND I'LL, I WILL CALL ON YOU.
UM, I'VE ALSO JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL OH, YES, I DON'T CHAIR.
I'VE ALSO JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL SPEAKER ON THIS ITEM WHO'S SPEAKING VIRTUALLY.
ARE WE ABLE TO INVITE HER TO SPEAK NOW? AND THEN I'LL HAVE MY QUESTIONS AT THE END.
CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
AND LET ME SEE IF YOU CAN SEE ME.
FIRST OF ALL, I'M LISA FOSTER.
I'M A RETIRED CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE FOR ACCESS TO JUSTICE AT THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
AND HERE TODAY AS THE CO-FOUNDER AND SENIOR ADVISOR OF THE FINES AND FEES JUSTICE CENTER.
AND LET ME APOLOGIZE BECAUSE I'M TALKING TO YOU FROM MY CAR IN NEW ORLEANS.
I JUST LEFT MISSISSIPPI WHERE I WAS TRAINING JUDGES ABOUT THEIR FINE AND FEE PRACTICES, FINES, AND FEES.
JUSTICE CENTER IS THE ONLY NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON THE SANCTIONS THAT ARE IMPOSED, COSTS, FI, FEES, ASSESSMENTS, FINES IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM.
I WORK WITH COURTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO IMPROVE THEIR FINE AND FEE PRACTICES TO MAKE THEM EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT, FAIR, AND LEGAL.
I WANNA SAY AT THE OUTSET, THE PROBLEMS YOU ALL HAVE WITH WARRANTS IN AUSTIN ARE NOT YOURS ALONE.
MANY JURISDICTION ARE FACING SIMILAR PROBLEMS. THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE ARE SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY OTHER
[00:20:01]
COURTS THAT WORK.I WANNA ADDRESS THREE THINGS TODAY.
FIRST, THE COST OF WARRANTS TO THE CITY, THE COURT, AND THE COMMUNITY.
SECOND, I WANNA TALK ABOUT WHY PEOPLE GET WARRANTS IN THE FIRST PLACE, FOCUSING PARTICULARLY ON THE FAILURE TO APPEAR WARRANTS, THE UN ADJUDICATED WARRANTS SINCE THOSE ARE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE WARRANTS YOU ALL HAVE ISSUED, AND THAT'S TRUE ELSEWHERE AS WELL.
AND FINALLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANNA TALK ABOUT WHAT OTHER COURTS HAVE BEEN DOING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
BEFORE I DO THAT, LET ME SAY A WORD ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.
IF SOMEONE VIOLATES THE LAW, NO MATTER HOW MINOR THAT LAW IS, THEY NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
THAT'S WHAT THE RULE OF LAW IS ALL ABOUT.
BUT ACCOUNTABILITY IS NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
AND WITH OVER 60,000 WARRANTS AUSTIN NOT HOLDING A FAIRLY, FAIRLY LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS I'M GONNA MAKE TODAY WITH RESPECT TO WARRANTS ALSO APPLY TO ACCOUNTABILITY BECAUSE THERE ARE WAYS OF HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY THE FINES AND FEES THAT ARE IMPOSED THAT CAN MAKE YOUR COMMUNITY SAFER AND STRONGER.
FIRST, WHEN THE MUNICIPAL COURT ISSUES A WARRANT, THERE ARE TWO SIGNIFICANT AND DIRECT COSTS TO THE CITY.
FIRST IS A POLICE OFFICER'S TIME.
WHEN AN OFFICER STOPS SOMEONE OR THAT PERSON IS, APPEARS IN THE COURTHOUSE AND THEY HAVE TO BE ARRESTED, THEY HAVE TO BE TRANSPORTED TO JAIL.
THAT COSTS THE CITY WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFICER'S SALARY.
BUT IT ALSO COSTS WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFICER'S TIME, SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE OFFICER ISN'T DOING WHEN THEY'RE ARRESTING, TRANSPORTING AND BOOKING SOMEONE FOR AN OUTSTANDING WARRANT.
WHAT THEY AREN'T DOING IS SOLVING MORE SERIOUS CRIME.
THE SECOND COST IS JAIL ITSELF.
THAT'S NOT INCONSEQUENTIAL, BUT HERE'S WHAT MAKES THIS A GENUINE LOSE LOSE PROPOSITION FOR THE CITY.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, AND THE CLERK MENTIONED, TEXAS LAW REQUIRES THAT EVERY DAY A PERSON SPENDS IN JAIL IS CREDITED AGAINST THEIR FINES AND FEES AT NO LESS THAN $150 A DAY.
SO THE CITY PAYS TO KEEP SOMEONE IN JAIL, AND THEN THE PERSON WHO'S IN JAIL OWES THE CITY LESS MONEY.
THERE ARE ALSO REAL COST TO THE COURT WARRANTS REQUIRE CLERICAL WORK.
THE CLERK JUST WALKED YOU THROUGH ALL THE STEPS THE COURT HAS TO TAKE BEFORE A WARRANT IS ISSUED.
IT TAKES STAFF TIME TO TRACK AND PROCESS WARRANTS, AND THEN THE JUDGE HAS TO HOLD A HEARING ONCE AN ARRESTED PERSON IS BROUGHT IN.
AND FINALLY, THERE ARE COSTS TO THE COMMUNITY RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN.
WHEN A PERSON IS ARRESTED ON A WARRANT, THEY MAY LOSE THEIR JOB, THEY MAY LOSE THEIR CHILDREN.
IF THERE'S NO ONE AVAILABLE TO CARE FOR THEM, THEY MAY LOSE THEIR HOUSING.
WE KNOW THE CASCADING EFFECTS OF EVEN ONE DAY IN JAIL CAN BE COMPLETELY DESTABILIZING TO A FAMILY FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
IF AN EMPLOYEE DOESN'T SHOW UP FOR WORK BECAUSE THEY'RE ARRESTED ON AN OUTSTANDING WARRANT, YOU HAVE AN IMMEDIATE COST, A MISSING WORKER, AND YOU HAVE LONG-TERM COSTS.
IF YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THAT WORKER, YOU HAVE TO RECRUIT SOMEONE ELSE AND TRAIN THAT PERSON.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS WARRANTS DON'T MAKE A LOT OF FINANCIAL SENSE FOR ANYONE.
SO LET'S TURN OUT A WHY PEOPLE GET WARRANTS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
WHY DON'T THEY COME TO COURT? AND THE ANSWER IS NOT USUALLY DEFIANCE.
THEY'RE NOT SUMMING THEIR NOSE AT THE COURT.
IT'S TYPICALLY ONE OF FOUR THINGS.
FIRST, THEY LOST THE CITATION OR THEY FORGOT ABOUT THE COURT DATE AND THEY WEREN'T REMINDED ABOUT IT.
AND I KNOW THE CLERK TALKED ABOUT TEXT REMINDERS.
IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME THAT THOSE TEXTS ARE USED BEFORE SOMEONE MISSES A COURT APPEARANCE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT THOSE KINDS OF REMINDERS WORK.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE THAT IN A ROBUST PROGRAM TO TRY TO ADDRESS WARRANTS.
SECOND, PEOPLE DON'T COME TO COURT ON THEIR ASSIGNED COURT DATE BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T TAKE OFF TIME FROM WORK.
MAYBE THEY COULDN'T AFFORD CHILDCARE OR THEY COULDN'T AFFORD TRANSPORTATION.
FOR PEOPLE LIVING ON THE FINANCIAL EDGE, A MISSED SHIFT IS A SERIOUS HARDSHIP.
AND COMING TO COURT ISN'T ALWAYS EASY.
THE THIRD REASON PEOPLE DON'T COME IS BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID.
THEY BELIEVE THEY'LL BE ARRESTED IF THEY WALK THROUGH THE COURTHOUSE DOORS.
AND THE FINAL REASON, AND I WANNA FOCUS ON THIS IN PARTICULAR, IN LIGHT OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC
[00:25:01]
DATA THAT YOU JUST HEARD FROM THE COURT, PEOPLE DON'T COME BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY THE FINES AND FEES AND COSTS IMPOSED.SO THEY DON'T SEE THE POINT IN COMING AT ALL.
NOW, I HAVE LOOKED AT THE AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT'S WEBSITE, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR EVERY ONE OF THESE FOUR PROBLEMS, THE WEBSITE DOES NOT OFFER SOLUTIONS.
THERE IS NO INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE THAT I COULD FIND THAT WOULD TELL A PERSON WHAT TO DO IF THEY CAN'T MAKE THEIR ASSIGNED COURT DATE.
THE SELF-HELP SECTION ON THE WEBSITE HAS NO ACTUAL SELF-HELP.
THAT IS, IT DOESN'T TELL A PERSON WHAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY DO.
IT SIMPLY REFERS PEOPLE TO ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CIVIL LEGAL AID.
YOU CAN FIND SOME INFORMATION ABOUT ALTERNATIVES TO FINDS IN FEES, BUT FRANKLY, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE VERY TECH SAVVY TO FIND IT.
YOU'D HAVE TO CLICK ON HANDLE A CITATION ONLINE, THEN FIND THE FOURTH OPTION ON THE NEXT PAGE UNDER A HEADING THAT SAYS, RESOLVE YOUR CASE ONLINE TO DISCOVER A LINK TO ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS.
AND NOWHERE ON THE SITE DOES IT TELL PEOPLE THAT A JUDGE CAN WAIVE OR REDUCE THEIR FINES BASED ON INABILITY TO PAY, WHICH AS COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL POINTED OUT, IS TEXAS LAW.
AND PERHAPS MOST CONSEQUENTIALLY WHEN DESCRIBING WALK-IN MITIGATION, THAT'S WHAT THE WEBSITE CALLS AND I THINK THE COURT REFERS TO AS THE MECHANISM FOR CLEARING WARRANTS.
BUT I ASSURE YOU, MITIGATION IS NOT A TERM REGULAR PEOPLE WOULD SO WOULD APPRECIATE MEANS WHAT THE COURT KNOWS IT MEANS.
THE WEBSITE SAYS UNDER WALK-IN MITIGATION, DISCUSS WARRANTS, COMMITMENTS, AND PENDING CASES WITH A JUDGE.
WHAT IT DOESN'T SAY IS YOU WILL NOT GO TO JAIL IF YOU COME IN TO SEE US.
THAT'S INFORMATION PEOPLE NEED AND IT'S NOT THERE.
THE GOOD NEWS IS IT'S ALSO NOT HARD TO FIX.
SO LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT OTHER COURTS WITH LARGE WARRANT BACKLOGS HAVE DONE, BECAUSE AS I SAID, YOUR SITUATION IS NOT UNIQUE.
FIRST, MANY COURTS HAVE SIMPLY VACATED WARRANTS AND PARTICULARLY OLD WARRANTS.
I APPRECIATE, AND I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT THE CITY IS CLOSING OUT OLD WARRANTS WHERE THE PERSON HAS FAILED TO APPEAR THAT ARE EIGHT YEARS OLD.
SO YOU ALL KNOW OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE THAT AS WELL, IN PARTICULAR IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA AND IN LAS VEGAS WHERE THEY JUST VACATED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF WARRANTS.
I OFTEN USE THE ANALOGY OF A CELL PHONE.
COURTS TAKE SELFIES, THEY LOOK AT THEIR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES AND PUT THOSE UP ON A WEBSITE.
THE CAMERA NEEDS TO BE TURNED THE OTHER WAY SO THAT WE'RE TAKING A PICTURE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO USE THE WEBSITE, WHO ARE THE COURT'S CUSTOMERS, AND TRY TO CRAFT OUR WEBSITE AND OUR INFORMATION IN WAYS THAT THOSE PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO AND HOW TO DO.
IT SIMPLY MEANS TELLING PEOPLE THAT THERE'S A REMEDY.
IF THEY CAN'T MAKE THEIR COURT DATE, IT MEANS PUTTING ALL ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT OPTIONS FRONT AND CENTER.
IT MEANS SAYING EXPLICITLY THAT A JUDGE CAN WAIVE OR REDUCE YOUR FINES AND FEES IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY.
AND IT MEANS MAKING PLAIN THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ARRESTED IF YOU COME IN AND TALK TO US.
A THIRD RECOMMENDATION IS TO GET THE WORD OUT THROUGH TRUSTED COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY MESSENGERS.
YOU COULD SEND NOTICES, FOR EXAMPLE, HOME WITH SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN SAYING IF YOU'RE ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY GOT A TICKET AND DIDN'T COME TO COURT, THEY CAN COME INTO COURT NOW, ANYTIME, ANY DAY, THEY WILL NOT BE ARRESTED.
AND WE'LL WORK WITH YOU TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION TO THE TICKET CHURCHES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, THESE ARE ALL TRUSTED VOICES IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY SHOULD THINK ABOUT HOW TO UTILIZE THOSE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
FOURTH, AGAIN, AS THE COUNCIL MEMBER MENTIONED, I THINK YOU NEED TO LOOK AT YOUR CITATIONS THEMSELVES.
THAT'S THE FIRST COMMUNICATION A PERSON RECEIVES FROM THE COURT.
AND IT NEEDS TO TELL PEOPLE, AGAIN, IN PLAIN LANGUAGE WHAT TO DO IF THEY CAN'T MAKE THEIR COURT DATES, WHAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE IF THEY CAN'T PAY, AND THAT THEY'RE WELCOME TO COME IN AND TALK TO THE JUDGE WITHOUT FEAR OF ARREST.
FIFTH, AS I MENTIONED, TEXT REMINDERS BEFORE THAT FIRST COURT APPEARANCE ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AND THEY'RE RELATIVELY EASY TO DO SIX.
[00:30:01]
GIVEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE NOT APPEARING, THE COURT JUDGES NEED TO STANDARDIZE AND SIMPLIFY THE WAY THEY DO.ABILITY TO PAY ASSESSMENTS AND EXPAND PAYMENT PLAN OPTIONS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE OPTIONS.
I KNOW YOUR JUDGES ARE TRYING TO HELP LOW INCOME PEOPLE, BUT THEY NEED TO DO IT MORE CONSISTENTLY, MORE EFFICIENTLY, AND MORE FAIRLY WITH STRAIGHTFORWARD FORMS THAT GUIDE THE PROCESS.
AND LEMME JUST GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE.
YOU ALL HAVE A FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT, WHICH AS I SAID, YOU CAN GET TO IF YOU GO THROUGH MULTIPLE STEPS ON THE WEBSITE.
IT HAS, IT SAYS ON IT LIST REFERENCES.
IT DOESN'T SAY REFERENCES FOR WHAT, RIGHT? AND WHY WOULD YOU NEED A REFERENCE FOR YOUR FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT? THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE, MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE.
THE COURT ALSO NEEDS TO OFFER MORE REALISTIC PAYMENT PLANS.
ON, AGAIN, ON THE WEBSITE, IT TALKS ABOUT A PAYMENT PLAN BEING STAND.
THE STANDARD PAYMENT IS $75 A MONTH, OR THE AMOUNT YOU OWE DIVIDED BY 12, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
NOW, $75 A MONTH MAY WORK FOR SOME PEOPLE, BUT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT'S TOO MUCH.
THE GOLD STANDARD ON PAYMENT PLANS IS 2% OF A PERSON'S MONTHLY INCOME.
SO $75 WORKS IF YOU'RE EARNING ABOUT $45,000 A YEAR.
IT DOESN'T WORK IF YOU'RE ON SSI.
FINALLY, TEXAS LAW ALLOWS ALMOST ANYTHING TO COUNT AS COMMUNITY SERVICE.
MOST PEOPLE, WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT COMMUNITY SERVICE, THEY THINK IT MEANS PICKING UP GARBAGE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE OFFERING OTHER THINGS BESIDES THAT, BUT PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT.
AND SO YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT PUBLICIZING THAT THERE ARE OPTIONS AND THE COURT EXPANDING SOME OF ITS OPTIONS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE NOW A LIST, IT'S AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE OF FREE ONLINE COURSES THAT COURTS CAN ORDER PEOPLE TO TAKE.
THEY OFTEN COME WITH A CERTIFICATE THAT TELLS THE COURT THAT YOU'VE COMPLETED THE COURSE.
AND THEY'RE THINGS LIKE FINANCIAL LITERACY, HOW TO WRITE A RESUME, HOW TO DO BETTER IN A JOB INTERVIEW.
THERE ARE EVEN SOME ON ANGER MANAGEMENT AND SOME ON JUST BASIC COUNSELING.
EIGHTH HOLD AMNESTY DAYS IN THE COMMUNITY, BRING THE COURT TO PEOPLE, TO THE COMMUNITY, AND CREATE A SAFE, ACCESSIBLE WAY FOR PEOPLE TO CLEAR CASES WITHOUT THE FEAR AND LOGISTICS OF A COURTROOM VISIT.
AND FINALLY, TAKE US UP ON AN OFFER I'M NOW MAKING, WHICH IS TO HELP YOU.
WE OURSELVES, AND WE HAVE COLLEAGUES IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE WORKED WITH COURTS ON CITATION LANGUAGE, ON WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT, ON FORMS THAT ARE USED.
AND WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU TO TRY TO IMPROVE YOURS.
THE WARRANT BACKLOG PROBLEM IS A PROBLEM THAT'S COST THE CITY, IT COSTS MONEY, IT COSTS RESOURCES, AND IT COSTS YOUR RESIDENTS.
AND IT'S MOST OFTEN YOUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS.
THE SOLUTIONS ARE NOT TERRIBLY COMPLICATED, THEY'RE NOT THAT EXPENSIVE, AND THEY'VE BEEN PROVEN IN OTHER CITIES AND COUNTIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AND AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
UM, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ASK MY QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL SEE IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS RELATED TO OUR GUEST SPEAKER.
UM, MS. GRAB, I, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED ON THE TYPES OF REMINDERS AND SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, EFFORTS THAT THE CITY GOES TO AND THAT OUR COURTS GO TO, TO, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE, UM, CONSIDERATIONS.
ARE YOU OPEN TO PERHAPS AS IN FOLLOW UP, WORKING ON SOME CHANGES TO THE WEBSITE OR CITATION LANGUAGE, THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? ABSOLUTELY.
WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
I WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS SOME OF YES MS. FOSTER'S POINTS.
SO I DO WANNA CLARIFY THAT OUR NOTICES ARE ACTUALLY, ARE AUTOMATED PHONE CALLS AND TAX GO OUT BOTH PRECO DATE AND POST COURT DATE MULTIPLE TIMES.
UM, ALTERNATIVES TO A PAY AND NON-RES IN COURT ARE ON OUR NOTICES THAT ARE ON THE CITATION AND ON THE WEBSITE.
I WILL ABSOLUTELY SAY ALL YOUR POINTS ARE EXTREMELY VALID.
IT IS, IT, IT IS NOT EASY TO USE.
WE'VE GONE BACK AND FORTH THROUGH MULTIPLE PLATFORMS AND WE ARE CONSTRAINED BY SOME FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS OF THE CITY.
BUT IT HAS A LOT OF WORK TO DO AND LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT.
IT IS, IT IS HARD TO FIND THINGS THERE.
[00:35:01]
AWARE OF IT AND WORKING ON IT.THE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORM JUDGE STATMAN JUST APPROVED LAST WEEK.
IT'S GOING DOWN TO ONE FORM, ONE PAGE.
SO THE REFERENCES, UM, THE ITEMIZED EXPENSES, MANY OF THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND THAT SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
STANDARD PAYMENT PLANS, IF INDIVIDUAL CAN'T MEET THE TERMS, IF INDIVIDUALS CAN'T MEET THE TERMS OF THE STANDARD PAYMENT PLANS, THEY CAN REQUEST LOWER, UH, OR DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO COME IN IN PERSON.
THEY CAN DO THAT BY MAIL OR EMAIL.
OUR WALK-IN DOCKETS, WHICH YOU'VE, I THINK WE, YOU ARE CORRECT ON THE WEBSITE IT SAYS MITIGATION DOCKETS, BUT IT SAYS WALK-IN DOCKETS AND THE TABLE, THOSE, WE HAVE THOSE TWICE A DAY MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AND ACTUALLY HAVE IT THREE TIMES A DAY ON THURSDAY.
UM, WE ARE EXPLORING THE OPPORTUNITY TO HOLD THOSE REMOTELY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY LIVE OUT OF AUSTIN.
AS I SAID, THERE'S 40% OF FOLKS WITH A WARRANTS WHO DON'T LIVE IN THE AREA OR INDIVIDUALS THAT JUST HAVE A FEAR OF ARREST OR CAN'T COME IN FOR ANY OTHER REASON.
WE ARE LOOKING, UM, HAVE HAVING A VIRTUAL WALK-IN DOCKET.
THERE ARE SOME CONSTRAINTS WITH TEXAS LAW ON WHO CAN APPEAR REMOTELY.
SO WE'RE JUST WORKING THROUGH THOSE DETAILS.
AND THEN FINALLY, YOU HAD MENTIONED MOBILE COURT TAKING THE COURT TO COMMUNITY AND COMMUNITY COURT HAS BEEN DOING THAT FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND ROBERT AND OR JUDGE COFFEY WOULD BE BETTER TO GIVE YOU ALL THE DETAILS ON THAT, BUT THAT IS ANOTHER GREAT INITIATIVE AND THEY SEE BOTH COMMUNITY COURT CASES AND AUSTIN MUNICIPAL COURT CASES AT THOSE EVENTS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JUST REAL TIME RESPONSE TO, TO THOSE POINTS.
UM, IT SEEMS THAT YOU WERE READING FROM YOUR REMARKS, I WOULD JUST REQUEST THAT YOU GO AHEAD AND EMAIL THOSE IN.
AND YOU SOUND VERY WILLING TO WORK ON THE UPDATES THAT ARE EASILY IMPLEMENTABLE.
AND I HAVE A, SOME QUESTIONS THAT GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND, AND ASK THOSE QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
SO ON PAGE SEVEN OF THE PRESENTATION, WHICH OUTLINES THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF OUTSTANDING WARRANTS, UM, I'M INTERESTED IN TRENDS OVER TIME BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW WHAT, WELL, ACTUALLY BEFORE I EVEN ASK ABOUT THAT, WHAT ALL IS INCLUDED IN FAILED TO MAINTAIN FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? IT'S DRIVING WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, SO NO INSURANCE AND SOMETIMES THAT'S THE FIRST OFFENSE, SECOND OFFENSE, OR THIRD.
ON PAGE TWO AT THE BEGINNING WE HAD EXAMPLES THAT INCLUDED THINGS LIKE HIGH GRASS AND WEEDS, ILLEGAL DUMPING.
UM, AND I HAVE SEEN SOME INFORMATION IN THE PAST THAT SUGGEST THAT CODE VIOLATIONS ARE AN AREA OF SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF CITATIONS.
UM, BUT THEY'RE NOT IN THIS TABLE.
CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY FOR ME WHY THEY'RE INCLUDED IN THAT? UH, I'M SORRY.
UH, YOU'RE LOOKING AT PAGE TWO, TWO COMPARED WITH SEVEN.
SO THEY'RE INCLUDED ON PAGE TWO IN THE ZONING AND BUILD MM-HMM
AND PAGE SEVEN THERE, THIS IS JUST THE TOP 10 OFFENSES THAT ARE IN WARRANT STATUS.
SO THEY'RE JUST NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOP 10.
THERE'S NOT THAT MANY WARRANTS FOR 'EM.
UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET PERHAPS AS SOME FOLLOW UP TRENDS OVER TIME FOR THESE, UH, OFFENSES LISTED ON PAGE SEVEN, BUT MAYBE GOING TO THE TOP 20? HOW, WHAT TIMEFRAME ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, UM, THE END OF THE MONTH TWIN TRENDS OVER TIME? HOW FAR BACK DO YOU WANT ME TO LOOK? OH, I'M SORRY.
AND I ASK THIS BECAUSE IN OTHER PRESENTATIONS, WE'VE HEARD ABOUT A DECLINE IN MANY OF THE MOTORS RELATED ENFORCEMENT SINCE THAT UNIT WAS ELIMINATED IN COVID AND AN INCREASE IN CODE TYPE OF VIOLATIONS.
AND I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING BOTH ASPECTS OF THAT TREND.
AND I'LL JUST RAISE THE POSSIBILITY THAT, UM, FOR OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THAT ANOTHER POSSIBLE DRIVER OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC DISPARITIES IS WHERE THESE MOTOR ENFORCEMENT TICKETS ARE BEING WRITTEN.
UM, AND WHEN WE DISBANDED THE MOTORS ENFORCEMENT UNIT, THEN IT BECAME A SITUATION WHERE OFFICERS ARE WRITING TICKETS WHERE THEY ARE.
AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY ALL OF THE CITY.
UM, AND I OF COURSE ALSO DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT ANY DISPARITIES OF GEOGRAPHY THAT
[00:40:01]
HAVE TO DO WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT ISSUES.UM, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT'S HARDER TO, HARDER DATA TO PULL TOGETHER.
AM I RIGHT ON THAT? WE HAVE DATA ON WHERE THE OFFENSES OCCURRED.
THAT'S THE SECOND PIECE I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEE.
UM, DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON WHERE THE MONEY GOES? WELL, FINES ARE A HUNDRED PERCENT CITY MM-HMM
AND THEN COURT COSTS, IT'S VERY MISLEADING, THE TERMINOLOGY.
THOSE ARE STATE MANDATED COURT COSTS, MOST OF THEM.
SOME OF THEM APPORTION STAYS WITH THE CITY AND THE MAJORITY OF THAT GOES TO THE STATE.
AND THEN THERE ARE FEES SUCH AS TIME PAYMENT FEES AND WARRANT FEES.
AND THOSE STAY WITH THE CITY UNLESS THE ACTIONS ARE, UM, PERFORMED BY A STATE PEACE OFFICER.
SO IF WE, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A RECENT AUDIT THAT MENTIONED THAT SPEEDING CITATIONS WERE DOWN 90% SINCE 2015.
THAT'S ALL MONEY THAT WOULD GO TO THE CITY.
WELL, THERE'S FINE COURT COSTS AND FEES ATTACHED TO EVERY CITATION.
SO NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THAT GOES TO THE CITY.
JUST THE FINE PORTION AND THEN A PORTION OF THE COURT COST.
UM, I'M DEFINITELY VERY INTERESTED IN THE, THOSE TRENDS OVER TIME AND THE GEOGRAPHY DISTRIBUTION.
UM, DOES, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL? THANK YOU CHAIR.
AND, UH, JUST WANTED TO ASK, UH, UH, JUDGE FOSTER, IF SHE'S STILL ON MINE AND CAN HEAR ME, JUST ADD ONE QUESTION.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GREAT PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, MS. FOSTER, YOUR WEBSITE MENTIONS DESIGN AND LANGUAGE, THE NOTICES, AND I'VE SEEN SOME OF THE NOTICES THAT HAVE BEEN REDESIGNED BY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS WITH BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE IN MIND.
UH, COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT WORK PLEASE? SURE.
WE WORKED WITH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED IDEAS 42.
THEY ARE, THEY WORK WITH ON PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES THAT INVOLVE COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE, AND THEY DO IT BASED ON BOTH BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS TO TRY TO CREATE, FOR EXAMPLE, FORMS THAT PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND AND USE AND THAT ARE EASY FOR THE COURT TO USE.
AND SO WE, FOR EXAMPLE, WORKED WITH THEM ON A MODEL FORM THAT IS BEING USED IN, UH, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN A JUSTICE COURT TODAY, UM, WHERE EVERYBODY WHO WALKS INTO COURT GETS THE FORM, IT'S EASY TO FILL OUT.
IT WORKS ON THE BASIS OF PRESUMPTIONS.
THINGS LIKE, DO YOU RECEIVE SSI DO YOU RECEIVE MEDICAID MEANS TESTED PROGRAMS THAT WHERE SOMEONE ELSE HAS ALREADY DETERMINED A PERSON IS UNABLE TO AFFORD TO PAY MOST THINGS, THEY'RE INDIGENT.
UM, BUT THE FORMS THEMSELVES ARE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND THEY'RE EASY TO USE.
THEY ALSO HAVE A PROGRAM THEY CALL UNWARRANTED.
AND IT IS ABOUT HELPING JURISDICTIONS LIKE YOURS ON THINGS LIKE THE LANGUAGE USED IN TEXT REMINDERS, THE LANGUAGE USED ON CITATIONS SO THAT THEY ARE IN PLAIN ENGLISH, THEY'RE WRITTEN AT A GRADE LEVEL THAT MOST PEOPLE, MOST ADULTS CAN UNDERSTAND.
WE HAVE THEM TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH.
UM, YOU ALL HAVE A ROBUST, THAT WAS ONE THING I NOTED ON YOUR WEBSITE, THE ROBUST TRANSLATION THAT'S TERRIFIC INTO MANY LANGUAGES.
UM, BUT THERE, THAT'S THEIR GOAL IS TO MAKE FORMS AND MATERIALS THAT PEOPLE CAN USE IN LANGUAGE THEY UNDERSTAND.
AND THAT FRANKLY, SIMPLIFIES THINGS, TAKES IT OUT OF LEGALESE, WHICH ALL OF US WHO ARE IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM TEND TO USE A LITTLE MORE THAN, UM, IS PROBABLY NECESSARY AND USEFUL FOR THE PEOPLE WE'RE SERVING.
AND IF YOU COULD JUST ADD A LITTLE BIT, UM, HAVE YOU SEEN IMPROVEMENTS TO FAILURE TO APPEAR RATES AS A RESULT OF THESE KINDS OF REDESIGNS? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT FOOLPROOF.
THEY DON'T GET RID OF EVERYTHING, BUT THEY GET RID OF, UM, THEY, THEY HAVE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS ON THE ORDER OF ABOUT 30 TO 40%.
I WILL SAY IN, IN YOUR CASE IN PARTICULAR, AND I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH, THE OFFENSE OF, UH, DRIVING WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS A POVERTY OFFENSE.
PEOPLE DON'T HAVE CAR INSURANCE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT.
AND SO THEY MAY NOT COME TO COURT BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY'RE JUST GONNA GET FINES AND FEES IMPOSED ON TOP OF THE INSURANCE THEY ALREADY CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY.
AND THERE'S NOT, THAT'S NOT A REAL SOLUTION.
SO THERE MAY BE OTHER THINGS WE CAN DO TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE WILL, YOU HAVE TO HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE.
WE ALL WANT PEOPLE TO BE INSURED, BUT THERE MAY BE BETTER WAYS TO HELP PEOPLE GET INSURANCE THEN ADDING AN ADDITIONAL FINANCE FEE.
UM, AND THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE COURT ADDRESSES HAS SENT ON THE WEBSITE STRAIGHT OUT.
[00:45:01]
ON.WELL, THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THIS WONDERFUL INFORMATION AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN WORK TOGETHER IN THE FUTURE TO IMPROVE SOME OF THESE ISSUES.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR BRIEFING AND, AND FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION SHARED TODAY.
[3. Briefing on staffing forecasts for Austin Police, Austin Fire, and Austin- Travis County Emergency Medical Services. [Lisa Davis, Chief of Police - Austin Police; Robert Luckritz, Chief of ATCEMS- Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services; Joel Baker, Fire Chief - Austin Fire]]
TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE BRIEFING ON STAFFING FORECASTS FOR AUSTIN POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. ALL RIGHT.UM, AS CHIEF SAID, LADIES FIRST, SO I GUESS I GET TO GO FIRST.
I'LL BE PRESENTING FOR CHIEF DAVIS, UH, SINCE SHE IS OUT CURRENTLY, UM, HANDLING SOMETHING.
SO I APOLOGIZE SHE COULDN'T BE HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
UH, BUT I DO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALLOWING US TO DO THIS PRESENTATION.
AS I THINK MOST OF US KNOW, ONE OF CHIEF DAVIS'S PRIORITIES IS RECRUITING AND RETENTION.
SO THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PRESENTATION FOR US AND WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
SO TO START OFF WITH APDS VACANCY TRENDS BY FISCAL YEAR.
SO THESE ARE OUR VACANCIES DIVIDED BY AUTHORIZED STAFFING AS A PERCENTAGE.
UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT IN FY 21 WE ARE AT 10.89% VACANCY FY 23, IT CLIMBED UP TO 19.21% VACANCY.
AND THEN YOU SEE THAT DIP IN FY 24, UH, WHICH COINCIDES WITH OUR MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT, WHICH WAS PASSED.
SO THANK YOU COUNSEL FOR THAT.
UH, HELPING US WITH OUR VACANCY TRENDS.
AND CURRENTLY, THIS IS JUST YEAR TO DATE, UH, BUT CURRENTLY WE'RE AT 18.97% FOR FY 26, AND THIS GOES TO APRIL.
ON THIS SLIDE ON THE LEFT SHOWS OUR TURNOVER.
SO TURNOVER IS ESSENTIALLY RETENTION.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS IS, UM, SIGNIFICANT FOR US.
THE TURNOVER IS THE NUMBER OF SWORN SEPARATIONS PER FISCAL YEAR DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF FILLED SWORN POSITIONS.
SO TURNOVER ISN'T JUST CONSIDERING TOTAL VACANCIES.
IT IS INSTEAD SHOWING WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE CURRENT SWORN WORKFORCE IS SEPARATING ANY GIVEN YEAR.
UH, SO WE SEE THAT SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN SWORN EMPLOYEE TURNOVER INDICATE EFFECTIVENESS OF RETENTION STRATEGIES, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO SAY THAT CURRENTLY WE'RE AT A 4% TURNOVER RATE.
UH, THE CHART ON THE RIGHT IS OUR TOTAL AUTHORIZED SWORN STAFFING GOING BACK TO FY 19 UNTIL CURRENT DAY OF FY 26.
UH, SO A PD TRAINING ACADEMY, JUST FOR SOME HISTORICAL, UM, WE DID HAVE A ORDINANCE THAT PROHIBITED CADET CLASSES FROM BEING HELD UNTIL AN AUDIT WAS COMPLETED.
UH, SO FY 21, UH, WE DID NOT HAVE WILL SHOW HERE IN A FEW SLIDES.
UM, OUR HIRING FOR FY 21, WHICH WAS ZERO, ESSENTIALLY BECAUSE OF THE AUDIT WAS BEING HELD.
AND ALSO A PREVIOUS COUNSEL IN FY 21 HAD A REDUCTION OF 150 POSITIONS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE WENT FROM AN FY 20 19 59 TO FY 21 IN 1809.
THE POSITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED SINCE THEN WERE FOR OUR AIRPORT POSITIONS.
THIS NEXT SLIDE IS VACANCY NUMBERS BY A MONTH THROUGHOUT EACH FISCAL YEAR.
THAT GREEN LINE THERE IS FY 23.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THAT MARCH OF 23, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN OUR, UH, SEPARATIONS.
AND WE'LL GO THROUGH SOME OF THAT IN THESE NEXT SLIDES.
THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, HOWEVER, IT SHOWS OUR VACANCIES BY MONTH FOR THE WHOLE TIMEFRAME FROM FY 23 UNTIL APRIL OF 26.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE I NOTATED ABOUT MARCH OF 23.
SO THESE ARE THE SWORN SEPARATIONS, NOT TOTAL VACANCIES.
UH, THESE ARE JUST EMPLOYEES THAT ARE RETIRING, RESIGNING, TERMINATED, OR INCLUDING OUR DEATHS AS WELL.
UH, AND IN FY 23, YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT INCREASE IN MARCH AND APRIL OF 23.
AND THIS CHART SHOWS SWORN SEPARATION DATA BY MONTH, BUT COMPARES FY 23 TO FY 26 ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
AND AGAIN, MARCH OF 23 IS STANDING OUT.
THIS CHART IS ONLY RETIREMENTS.
[00:50:01]
UM, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS HERE, WE ARE ONLY RECORDING THE RETIRES PEOPLE THAT HAVE RETIRED.UM, SO IN 23, AGAIN, WE HAVE THAT SIGNIFICANT SPIKE IN MARCH AND FY 23 TOTAL RETIREMENTS WE'RE 65.7%.
IN FY 24 TOTAL RETIREMENT'S, 53.1%, FY 25, 59 0.3%, AND FY 26 SO FAR WE'RE ALSO AT 59.3% FOR RETIREMENTS.
OUR CADET ATTRITION SHOWS ON THIS SLIDE.
UH, YOU'LL NOTE THAT IN THE ONE 53RD AND ONE 54TH, OUR ATTRITION RATES WERE OVER 50%.
BOTH OF THOSE CLASSES WERE HIRED WHEN WE WERE OUTSIDE OF THE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT.
UH, SO THESE WERE HIRED UNDER CIVIL SERVICE 1 43, WHICH REQUIRES THAT RECRUITING CAN ONLY HOLD ONE WRITTEN EXAM PER HIRING CYCLE.
THERE'S NO OUTTA STATE EXAMS. IT'S LIMITS OUR FLEXIBILITY IN THE HIRING PROCESS.
UM, THERE WAS ALSO CHANGES TO THE PT STANDARD INSTEAD OF OUR SIT UP PUSHUPS IN A RUN, THEY WERE DOING ROW, UM, THE ROW TEST.
UH, SO WE DID HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT ATTRITION RATES DURING THOSE CADET CLASSES.
AND THE REASON THAT OUR CADETS LEAVE, NUMBER ONE REASON IS PERSONAL REASONS.
THAT'S ABOUT 58% OF CADETS LEAVE FOR PERSONAL REASONS, AND THAT VARIES FROM FINANCIAL SITUATIONS.
SOMETIMES THEY NEED TO CARE FOR A LOVED ONE AT HOME.
UM, ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS GET LUMPED INTO THAT CATEGORY OF PERSONAL REASONS.
OUR NUMBER TWO REASON IS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, AND THAT'S ABOUT 14%.
AND THEN INJURY, WHICH IS ABOUT 9%.
UH, JUST TO NOTE ON HERE THAT WE DO RECYCLE CADETS, THAT AS LONG AS THERE'S NO INTEGRITY ISSUES, IF IT'S AN INJURY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE WANT TO BRING THEM BACK.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GRATEFUL THEY MADE IT THROUGH THE HIRING PROCESS THE FIRST TIME.
SO WE WANT TO HELP THEM SUCCEED ON CADET RETRENCH EFFORTS.
UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVISING A THREE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR RECRUITING AND TRAINING.
UH, RECENTLY CHIEF DAVIS HAD MADE SOME REALIGNMENT WITHIN OUR BUREAUS AND RECRUITING AND TRAINING ARE NOW UNDER ONE COMMANDER.
SO THAT HELPS ALIGN THE VISION IN THAT, IN THAT BUREAU.
AND WE'RE DOING SEVERAL EFFORTS SO THAT WE CAN GET BELOW 20% IS OUR GOAL FOR CADET ATTRITION.
AND WE'RE DOING THAT THROUGH INTEGRATING STUDY SKILLS AND WRITING COURSES AND OUR ACADEMIC FOUNDATIONS COURSEWORK, CONNECTING CADETS WITH OUR IN-HOUSE VICTIM SERVICES STAFF TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AS THEY TRANSITION INTO THE ACADEMY, YOU KNOW, CAN BE A CULTURE SHOCK FOR SOME.
UM, SO WE'RE HELPING THEM IN THAT WAY OF HAVING COUNSELORS ON HAND MEETING INDIVIDUALLY WITH EACH CADET AT LEAST ONCE EARLY IN THE PROGRAM TO ESTABLISH THAT RELATIONSHIP.
AND BEFORE THEY EVEN GET INTO THE ACADEMY, WE PROVIDE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PHYSI PHYSICAL FITNESS COACHING, GIVE THEM SOME TEST, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO DO SOME, UM, PRE-TEST TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE ON THE ACADEMIC SIDE AND WORK OUT SESSIONS, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN MAINTAIN THE STANDARDS AND GET UP TO THE STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR CADETS.
WE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PHYSICAL FITNESS OR TRAINING, COACHING BEFORE AND AFTER SCHEDULED CLASSES FOR OUR CURRENT CADETS.
AND, UH, PROVIDING OFFICE HOURS OR STUDY SESSIONS BEFORE OR AFTER SCHEDULED CLASSES AND DURING LUNCH BREAKS FOR THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING, STRUGGLING ON THE ACADEMIC SIDE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO HAVE A PERSONALIZED GUIDANCE THROUGH OUR CADET MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
TO NOTE ON THIS SLIDE, HIRES IS HOW WE CAL CALCULATE THAT ARE PEOPLE WHO GRADUATE THE ACADEMY.
AND SEPARATIONS INCLUDE ALL CATEGORIES.
SO SEP AGAIN, THE, UM, RETIREMENTS, RESIGNATIONS, UM, DEATHS AND TERMINATIONS ARE ALL INCLUDED.
SO IN FY 21, THAT'S WHERE WE SEE THAT ZERO HIRES, BUT THEN WE HAD 170 SEPARATIONS.
AND JUST TO NOTE, THOSE WERE TRUE SEPARATIONS.
THE 150 POSITIONS IN THAT I, ME MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY WERE VACANT POSITIONS.
UM, SO THESE WERE TRUE SEPARATIONS OF EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN IN JUNE OF 21 IS WHEN WE STARTED A CADET CLASS, BUT THEY DIDN'T GRADUATE UNTIL FISCAL YEAR OF 2022.
UH, BUT YOU'LL NOTE ON THIS SLIDE THAT IN FY 26, WE ARE FORECASTING TO HAVE MORE HIRES THAN SEPARATIONS FOR THIS YEAR.
PART OF THAT IS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND ALIGNING OUR CADET CLASSES TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, ENOUGH CADETS THAT ARE GRADUATING AND IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH RETENTION.
AND THEN ALL OF THE EFFORTS THAT CHIEF DAVIS HAS BEEN DOING ON THE BACK END SO THAT WE RETAIN THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE ON OUR CURRENT STRENGTH AND RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION, AS WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WE'RE 18.97%
[00:55:01]
SWORN VACANCY RATE.UH, SO THAT EQUATES DOWN TO WE HAVE 1474 CURRENT SWORN AND 345 VACANCIES.
SO ALL OF THOSE VACANCIES ARE HELD AT THE OFFICER RANK.
HOWEVER, 174 OF THEM ARE CURRENTLY HELD ON PATROL OFFICER VACANCIES.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT, AS UM, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE MENTIONED EARLIER, WE USED TO HAVE A MOTORS UNIT THAT WAS ALL STAFFED WITH OFFICERS.
WE HAD A DWI UNIT THAT WAS STAFFED WITH OFFICERS ACADEMY, HAD OFFICERS RECRUITING, HAD OFFICERS.
SO ALL OF THESE UNITS THAT NO LONGER HAVE A OFFICER RANK, UM, ARE HELD.
THAT'S WHERE THOSE ADDITIONAL VACANCIES ARE HELD IN THOSE POSITIONS.
AND, UM, WE ALSO IN AUGUST OF 25, REALLOCATED 70 OFFICERS BACK TO PATROL.
AND SOME OF THOSE WERE THE RECRUITING OFFICERS AND THE ACADEMY OFFICERS.
WE REPLACED THOSE WITH, UH, DETECTIVES IN CORPORALS IN RECRUITING AND SERGEANTS OUT AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
WE ALSO REWORKED PATROL SECTORS TO INCLUDE DISTRICT LEVEL ING, AND WE'RE SEEING IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR RESPONSE TIMES.
AND I THINK AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE LAST TIME THAT I WAS HERE PRESENTING AND CURRENTLY, UH, THIS STAFFING PROJECTION, THIS IS A FORECAST THAT WE RECEIVED FROM A COMPANY CALLED PERFORMANCE PROTOCOL.
SO WE REACHED OUT TO THEM AND, UH, CONTRACTED THEM WITH THEM TO DO TRAINING FOR OUR RECRUITING UNIT.
UM, RECRUITING WAS ESSENTIALLY WE WERE STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN AND TO BRING IN ENOUGH QUALIFIED CANDIDATES.
UH, SO WE REACHED OUT TO THIS COMPANY AND THEY HAVE DONE SOME EXTENSIVE TRAINING WITH US.
WE HAVE MORE TRAINING THIS WEEK SCHEDULED WITH THEM.
AND WHAT THEY DID IS A VERY CONSERVATIVE LOOK OF THE FORECAST.
UM, THEIR HIRES ON THIS SLIDE ARE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO START THE ACADEMY, NOT GRADUATES.
THEY ALSO DIDN'T INCORPORATE ANY THOUGHT INTO OUR A LATERAL PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON DOING.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN A MOMENT.
AND THEY DIDN'T CALCULATE THE THINGS.
UM, THAT ATTRITION RATE IN THE ACADEMY AT 20%, THEY WERE CALCULATING IT AT 27%.
SO ALTHOUGH WE APPRECIATE, UM, THE DATA THAT WE GOT FROM THEM, WE DO ANTICIPATE WE WOULD HAVE STRONGER FORECASTING THAN WHAT WE SEE HERE.
UM, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR IT BECAUSE IT'S HELPING US STRATEGIZE A PLAN MOVING FORWARD TO TRY TO GET AS MANY OFFICERS HIRED AND TRAINED AS SOON AS WE CAN.
AND THIS IS OUR FIVE YEAR PLAN AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES.
SO WE'RE DEVELOPING A LATERAL ACADEMY FOR EXPERIENCED POLICE OFFICERS.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT PLAN NOW.
UH, STRENGTHENING OUR RECRUITING PIPELINE WITH INCREASED YOUTH ENGAGEMENT.
WE HAVE A COPS GRANT, WHICH WE ARE UTILIZING, UH, TO ENGAGE WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS THAT BUILT OUT A WONDERFUL PROGRAM LAST SUMMER.
THEY WORKED ON THIS ALL SUMMER LONG, UH, BRIDGE ACADEMY THAT WILL HELP WITH THAT GAP FROM HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION UNTIL THEIR 20 AND A HALF YEARS OLD.
AND ELIGIBLE TO BE HIRED BY A PD FOR POLICE ACADEMY AND LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY SOLU SOLUTIONS FOR CANDIDATE SCHEDULING AND ONLINE ASSESSMENTS.
ON OUR RETENTION SIDE OF THE HOUSE, WE'VE CONTINUED INVESTMENTS IN EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAMS AND DEPARTMENTAL RESOURCES.
A STRONG FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRAINING FOR ALL OF OUR SUPERVISORS.
WE HAVE AN AUXILIARY PROGRAM FOR OUR RECRUITING, UH, WHICH KEEPS EMPLOYEES AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION ENGAGED WITH RECRUITING.
SO OUR, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S RECRUITER MODEL.
SO INSTEAD OF JUST HAVING ONE UNIT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, THIS IS THE ENTIRE AGENCY RESPONSIBLE FOR RECRUITING AND STREAMLINING OUR HIRING PROCESS WITH INCREASED CANDIDATE ENGAGEMENT, UM, IN INCREASED INTEREST FROM OUT-OF-STATE CANDIDATES AND LOCAL YOUTH AND STABILIZING PATROL STAFFING AND DEPLOYMENT OF SPECIALIZED TEAMS. AND THEN I AM NOT VERY GOOD AT THIS, SO SOMEONE MIGHT SEE IF THERE'S A CLICKER TO GET THIS WORKING.
OH, CAN I GO BACK? OH, ANOTHER THIS ONE? YEAH, LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET THAT TO WORK.
OH, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THAT WORK.
THIS IS A RECRUITING VIDEO THAT CHIEF DAVIS IS PRETTY PROUD OF, SO I WAS HOPING WE COULD GET IT.
ARE ONE OF YOU ABLE TO MAKE IT WORK? THAT'S OKAY.
DON'T, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE VIDEO.
WE'RE ALSO GLAD TO RECLAIM THE TIME.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS JOEL BAKER, AUSTIN, FIRE CHIEF.
I DO BRING YOU GREETINGS FROM ALL THE, UH, HEROIC, BRAVE WOMEN AND MEN OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHO I WOULD LIKE TO SAY WHO COME TO WORK EVERY DAY AND PUT THEMSELF IN HARM'S WAY AND GIVE YOU, AND ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT ON OUR STAFF AND RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
[01:00:01]
THE LAST 10 YEARS THAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, EACH YEAR IT APPEARS THAT WE ARE INCREASING IN OUR AUTHORIZED STRENGTH.ALTHOUGH WITH OUR AUTHORIZED STRENGTH, UH, IN THE GREEN BAR, YOU SEE WE STILL FALL JUST A LITTLE BIT BELOW OUR STAFFING REQUIREMENT DUE TO SOME OF THE VACANCIES.
HOWEVER, UH, OUR VACANCIES RATE HAS BEEN AS HIGH AS 12.8% IN YEAR 2017, BUT AS LOW AS 4% IN 2024.
CURRENTLY OUR VACANCY RATE IS ABOUT 4.4%, WHICH AVERAGE ABOUT 58 VACANCIES.
WE HAVE HERE CURRENTLY FOR RECRUITMENT.
WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROGRAMS HOW WE TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO JOIN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT FAMILY.
THE ONE OF THEM ARE THE PASS THE TORCH PROGRAM.
RECENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT 41 UM, MEMBERS PASSED THE TORCH.
STUDENTS WHO GRADUATE IN, UH, NOVEMBER 15TH, 2025.
THE AGE REQUIREMENT FOR JOINING THE PASTOR TORCH IS AT BETWEEN THE AGE OF 18 TO 35, IS WHERE THEY COME AND LEARN ABOUT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT IN VARIOUS ROLES WITHIN THE FIRE SERVICES.
RECENTLY WE HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING A MENTORING SESSION FOR THOSE MEMBERS WHO HAVE PASSED THE PASTOR CHOICE PROGRAM.
AND SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE PASTOR CHOICE PROGRAM STARTED IN 2017, WE HAVE HAD APPROXIMATELY 46 MEMBERS, UH, WHO HAVE JOINED THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHO HAVE GRADUATED PASTOR CHOICE PROGRAM.
WE ALSO HAVE AN EXPLORER PROGRAM THAT WE PARTNER WITH, WITH, UH, THE CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF SCOUTING AMERICA POST NUMBER THREE, UH, 70, WHO WE USE TO TRY TO RECRUIT AS WELL.
AND THESE MEMBER AGED BETWEEN AGE OF 14 AND 19, UH, THEY JUST COMPLETED A, UH, FLIGHT EXPLORER GAME MAY 2ND HERE, WHERE WE HOSTED ABOUT THREE OR FOUR OF THE DEPARTMENT WHERE WE COMPETED IN DIFFERENT FRY GAMES.
AND WE ALSO USE THE ONLINE, UH, METHOD OF TARGETING, UH, MEMBERS TO, UH, JOIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, ET CETERA.
BUT OUR BEST METHOD IS THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH.
OUR MEMBERS THEMSELF, UH, GO OUT AND HELP US RECRUIT MEMBERS, UH, TO JOIN THE OFFICER AND FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AS FAR AS HIRINGS IS, IS CONCERNED, UM, USUALLY WE HAVE HAD ANYWHERE BETWEEN THREE TO 3,500 APPLICANTS WHO HAVE APPLIED LATELY, NOT JUST HERE IN AUSTIN, FIVE, BUT ALL ACROSS AMERICA.
AS I'VE TALKED TO MY COLLEAGUES IN VARIOUS STATES, VARIOUS STATES AND CITIES, UH, THE RECRUITMENT OF APPLICANT POOL HAS DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE FIVE SERVICES.
UH, BUT WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO TRY TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO JOIN, UH, TO APPLY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE IS, AS YOU CAN SEE IN 2025, WE HAVE THE WRITTEN EXAM.
WE ALSO GIVE THEM THE ORAL EXAM AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE THEM CAPTURE HERE.
UH, TAKING THE WRITTEN EXAM, WE FOUND THAT, UM, DURING TWO EVENTS AT ONE TIME, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE APPLICANTS WHO ARE COMING FROM OUT OF TOWN, UH, WOULD GIVE 'EM AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE OUR APPLICANT POOL.
AND THAT SEEMED TO WORK WELL IN 2025 AS WELL AS IN 2026.
AND WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 1700 APPLICANTS THAT APPLIED.
AND 765, THEY TOOK BOTH THE WRITTEN AND THE OR EXAM.
AGAIN, IT SHOWED A GREAT EXAMPLE OF, UM, HAVING, UH, TWO OR MORE EVENTS, A HIRING ACTIVITIES AT THE SAME TIME.
THAT'S WHY I WAS TRADITIONAL HIRING FOR OUR LATERAL CLASS.
WE JUST COMPLETED, UH, I THINK WE HAD 235 APPLICANTS THAT SUBMITTED IN MARCH 26TH.
OF THOSE 2 35 APPLICANTS ONLY 131 MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT, UH, AND MEMBER REQUIREMENT IS THREE YEARS PRIOR EXPERIENCE ALREADY HAVE YOUR TEST COMMISSION FIBER TEST CERTIFICATION.
YOU ALSO MUST HAVE A EMT CERTIFICATION.
NOW, TRADITIONAL HIRING PROCESS, A TRADITIONAL CLASS TAKES APPROXIMATELY, UH, I THINK FIVE TO SIX MONTHS TO COMPLETE, BUT THIS LATERAL CLASS ONLY TAKE WILL TAKE ON THE 14, UH, WEEKS TO COMPLETE OUR SEPARATION.
AS WE LOOK HERE, UH, THROUGH MAY 16TH, 2026, UH, WE HAVE HAD LOOK AT YEAR 2020, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE HAD 38 THAT RETIRED AND, AND FOUR THAT IN YEAR 2025 WE HAVE HAD 66 THAT RETIRED AND 13 TO RESIGN.
THE NUMBERS ARE GOING UP EACH YEAR AS FAR AS RETIREMENT BECAUSE THE MEMBERS ON THE DEPARTMENT ARE GETTING YEARS IN AGE AS FAR AS THEIR TIME AND SERVED WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, I HAVE, WE HAVE THE AUSTIN FIRE HAVE 60 MEMBERS ON THE DEPARTMENT WITH 20 YEARS OF SERVICE, 49 WITH 22 YEARS OF SERVICE AND
[01:05:01]
25 WITH 42 YEARS OF SERVICE.IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT YEAR 25, NUMBER OF 25 YEARS IN SERVICE, UP TO YEAR, 30 YEARS IN SERVICE.
IT'S MY ASSUMPTION THAT, UM, MOST FIREFIGHTERS RETIRE BETWEEN THE EIGHT, BETWEEN THE YEARS OF 25 TO 30 YEARS OF SERVICE.
WHAT THIS DATA POINT OUT IS THAT WE WOULD NEED AT LEAST TWO TO THREE MORE CADET CLASS PER YEAR TO KEEP UP WITH THE PROJECTED VACANCIES THAT WE'LL HAVE DUE TO INCREASED PROJECTION OF RETIREMENT.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, ROB LUCR, CHIEF OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, COME AND SPEAK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE WORK, UH, THAT WE'VE DONE AT AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS FROM A STAFFING PERSPECTIVE, UM, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AND, UM, HEADWINDS THAT WE STILL CONTINUE TO FACE.
UM, SOME OF THE, THE INFORMATION I'LL SHARE HERE, I KNOW I JUST CAME A FEW MONTHS AGO AND SHARED SOME INFORMATION WITH YOU ALL.
SO SOME OF IT IS HERE FOR CONTEXT.
IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A REPEAT AS WE KIND OF START OFF, UM, BUT IT FEEDS INTO THE, THE FURTHER DATA AS WELL.
SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS A, A GRAPH OF OUR OVERALL VACANCY RATE DATE, GOING BACK TO PRIOR TO COVID-19, UH, WHERE WE HAD AN 8.88% VACANCY RATE.
UM, AS WE MOVED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, AS I'LL SHARE IN A SECOND.
UM, WE SAW A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN OUR, IN OUR VACANCY RATES, BOTH, UM, DUE TO DEPARTURES AS WELL AS THE INCREASE, UH, SIZE OF THE DEPARTMENT DUE TO, UM, THE, THE, THE GRACIOUS CITIZENS OF THE COUNCIL AND, AND THE INVESTMENTS THAT WERE MADE INTO EMS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UM, WE PEAKED IN, UH, DECEMBER OF 2022 AT 25.4%.
UM, AND SINCE THEN WE HAVE SEEN A PROGRESSIVE, UH, DECREASE IN OUR VACANCY RATE.
UM, AS OF THIS WEEK, WE HOVER RIGHT AROUND THE SAME AMOUNT.
I THINK IT'S ABOUT IN THE HIGH 14.8, 14.9% VACANCY RATE.
WE, WE LOOK AT TURNOVER AS, UH, MY COLLEAGUES MENTIONED EARLIER.
UH, THAT'S A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE DEPARTMENT, UM, AND OUR ABILITY TO RETAIN PEOPLE.
WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS, UH, WE HAVE SEEN A SLIGHT UPTICK OVER THE YEARS.
UM, BUT OVERALL WE'VE BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT BETWEEN SEVEN AND A HALF AND EIGHT POINT HALF PERCENT.
UM, ALTHOUGH WE DID SEE A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN FISCAL YEAR 21, 22, WHICH CORRELATES WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND A NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT CHOSE TO LEFT LEAVE THE DEPARTMENT AT THAT PERIOD.
WE DO CONTINUE TO BE WELL BELOW THE NATIONAL EMS AVERAGE OF 30%.
UM, AND A LARGE NUMBER OF THOSE DRIVERS OR FOLKS LEAVING ARE RELATED TO RETIREMENTS AND LIFE EVENTS.
UM, AS WE GET FURTHER ON, I'LL SHARE WITH YOU SOME MORE RECENT INFORMATION, UH, RELATED TO, UH, TURNOVER AS WELL, UM, THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING IN THE COMING MONTHS.
UH, THE OTHER PIECE I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT HERE AS WELL IS THE INCREASE IN OUR AUTHORIZED SWORN STAFFING.
AND SO, ALTHOUGH OUR TURNOVER HAS BEEN RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, UM, THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF OUR DEPARTMENT AND THE NUMBER OF SWORN POSITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED, UM, HAVE PUT A STRAIN ON THE DEPARTMENT AND OUR ABILITY TO KEEP UP WITH THAT GROWTH.
UM, FISCAL YEAR 20 ALONE, IT WAS NEARLY 70 POSITIONS, AND YOU CAN SEE WE'VE BEEN OVER 20 NEW POSITIONS PER YEAR SINCE THEN.
AND SO THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN THIS NEXT SLIDE WHERE WE LOOK AT HIRINGS VERSUS SEPARATIONS.
UM, AND SO TRADITIONALLY AS A DEPARTMENT, WE'VE BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL ABOUT STAYING, UH, HIRING MORE FOLKS THAN DEPART THE ORGANIZATION.
UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION, AS I MENTIONED, OF FISCAL YEAR 22, WHERE WE DID SEE A LARGE NUMBER OF DEPARTURES AS WE CAME OUT, CAME OUT OF COVID-19.
UM, WE WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL IN 20, IN FISCAL YEAR 23, WHERE WE HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NUMBER OF FOLKS JOINING THE DEPARTMENT THAN SEPARATING.
UM, AND THEN IN THE, THE YEARS SINCE IT'S CLOSED, AND, UH, THAT GAP HAS NARROWED A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE HAVE STILL HIRED MORE THAN HAVE DEPARTED.
UM, BUT THE CHALLENGING WE'RE FACING RELATED TO THAT IS THAT WE'RE, ALTHOUGH WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP OURSELVES FLAT FROM A STAFFING PERSPECTIVE IN TERMS OF TOTAL NUMBER OF SWORN INDIVIDUALS, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY, UH, KEEP UP WITH THE GROWTH OF THE DEPARTMENT IN INCREASING THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE DEPARTMENT.
ONE ITEM I KNOW THAT WAS REQUESTED WAS A LOOK AT OUR RETIREMENTS.
UM, AND SO WHAT THIS GRAPH HERE SHOWS YOU, UM, IS THAT, UH, THE YEAR OVER YEAR WITH EACH COLOR REPRESENTING A DIFFERENT YEAR, UH, AND THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT, THAT RETIRED FROM THE DEPARTMENT, WE DID SEE AN INCREASE IN RETIREMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2025.
UM, AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE 46 INDIVIDUALS WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT THAT ARE TECHNICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR DE FOR RETIREMENT, UM, WHEN THEY CHOOSE TO LEAVE.
UM, I'LL ALSO HIGHLIGHT, UH, HAS BEEN POINTED OUT TO ME, UM, THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM THAT WE HAD, THAT OUR GROUP, A RETIREMENT SYSTEM AT 23 YEARS, UM, WITH THE LARGE CHANGES THAT WE SAW IN THE, THE TRANSITION FROM AUSTIN EMS TO AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, BACK IN, UH, THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.
IT WAS, I BELIEVE THE FALL OF 2001, UM, THAT LARGE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE HIRED IN THAT PERIOD ARE NOW ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT.
AND SO AS WE LOOK AT WHAT OUR FIVE YEAR PLANS ARE, UM, REALLY CONTINUING TO, UH, FOCUS ON, AS I'VE MENTIONED TO THIS, UH, BODY BEFORE, A NATIONWIDE RETIREMENT APPROACH TO TRY TO DRAW MORE INDIVIDUALS
[01:10:01]
IN FROM OUT OF STATE, UM, UH, TO, UM, EMPHASIZE THE INEQUALITIES OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS IN COMPARISON TO OTHER, OTHER EMS AGENCIES, PARTICULARLY IN STATES THAT ARE MORE RELIANT ON A FIRE BASED OR A PRIVATE, UH, FOR-PROFIT MODEL, UM, AND BRINGING SOME OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS DOWN.WE'RE LOOKING TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF ACADEMIES, UM, AND BUILD A, A THOROUGH PIPELINE, MAKING SOME CHANGES TO OUR WEBSITE AND OUR MARKETING AND HOW IT IS, HOW EASY IT IS TO, TO RECRUIT AND TO, TO, UM, APPLY TO WORK FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, REALLY LOOKING AT A BLENDED MODEL ACADEMY MODEL TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CATCH PEOPLE EARLIER ON IF THEY'RE HAVING CHALLENGES.
AND I'LL SHARE WITH YOU IN A SECOND WHAT THAT EXACTLY THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF HANDS-ON EARLY IN THE ACADEMY PHASE SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE, WHAT THEY'RE WALKING INTO.
UM, WE TRANSITIONING AWAY FROM HAVING THE FIRST TIME THEY ENCOUNTER A REAL PATIENT TO BEING AFTER THE ACADEMY.
SO KIND OF BLENDING FROM A CLASSROOM TO A FIELD MODEL TO A HYBRID MODEL, UM, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF FIELD TRAINING OFFICERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT DOING ALL OF THOSE THINGS OVER THE FIVE YEARS IS GONNA INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO HAVE SOME SUCCESSFUL THROUGHPUT, UM, AND TO IMPROVE THE RETENTION THAT WE HAVE ON THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT DO JOIN THE, UH, DEPARTMENT.
NOW WITH THOSE, I THINK I SHARED MANY OF THOSE WITH YOU LAST TIME WE SPOKE, JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ALREADY.
SO WE NOW ARE BACK TO FOUR ACADEMIES PER YEAR.
UH, WE HAVE REOPENED OUR ACADEMY PROCESS SO THAT, UH, YEAR ROUND ANYONE CAN APPLY TO OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, AS OPPOSED TO A CLOSED WINDOW, WHICH WE SEE IN A TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY MODEL.
AS I MENTIONED, WE TRANSITION FROM A 10 WEEK CLASSROOM TO AN EIGHT WEEK BLENDED MODEL, FOLLOWED BY ADDITIONAL FIELD TRAINING PROCESSES.
AND EXPANDED FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM, UH, GIVES US HANDS-ON PRACTICE.
IT HELPS WITH THE, THE, THE CLEARANCE TIMES IDENTIFIES FOLKS THAT NEED ADDITIONAL TRAINING, UM, AND ADDITIONAL HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, UH, EARLY ON.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ACADEMY THROUGHPUT, UH, THE GREEN BAR REPRESENTING THE TOTAL NUMBER AND THE BLUE BARS REPRESENTING A PERCENTAGE, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT SINCE I JOINED THE DEPARTMENT IN MARCH OF 2022, WE'VE HAD 276 INDIVIDUALS, UH, THAT WE'VE TRAINED THROUGH THE CADET VARIOUS CADET ACADEMIES.
UH, 87.68 OF THOSE HAVE BEEN CLEARED TO INDEPENDENT DUTY, UH, OR 242 OF THEM.
UH, 34 OF THOSE HAVE SEPARATED.
UM, AND OF THOSE, AND I CAN HAVE TO LOOK AT MY, SO 12.32% OF THOSE SEPARATED, UH, OF THOSE 3.25% FAILED OUT THROUGH THE ACADEMY PROCESS.
UH, AND 9.06% FAILED, UH, IN THE FIELD TRAINING PROCESS.
AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A HIGHER NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE FAILING POST ACADEMY.
AND SO IF WE CAN GET THAT HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE DONE EARLIER, UM, THE GOAL BEING THAT THAT WOULD HELP WITH THE OVERALL, UH, CLEARANCE RATE.
BUT WE ARE STILL PRETTY PROUD OF AN 86.68%, UH, CLEARANCE RATE, UH, REALLY DIVING INTO RECRUITING AS WELL AS LIKE HAD MENTIONED, KIND OF EXPANDING THE PIPELINE, REINFORCING OUR NEW MARKETING PROCESSES, UH, SOME ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS, UH, WORKING WITH LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, AND PARAMEDIC PROGRAMS. UH, TO PIGGYBACK OFF CHIEF BAKER'S COMMENT EARLIER, WE DO HAVE A ROBUST EXPLORER PROGRAM AS WELL.
WE HAVE A WAITING LIST FOR THAT PROGRAM.
UH, WE HAVE OVER 60 INDIVIDUALS IN HIGH SCHOOL, UM, AND THROUGH EARLY COLLEGE YEARS THAT ARE IN THOSE PROGRAMS. AND IT, IT DOES BECOME A FEEDER FOR US AS MANY OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS DO, UH, MOVE ON TO JOIN THE DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE INCREASED IN AND MADE IT EASIER TO APPLY FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, RATHER THAN HAVING TWO WEEK OR ONE MONTH WINDOWS WHERE YOU NEED TO GET YOUR APPLICATION AND YOU CAN SUBMIT AN APPLICATION AT ANY TIME, AND WE WILL PICK THAT UP FOR THE FOLLOWING ACADEMY, REALLY LOOKING IN AT OUR, SOME OF OUR PROCESSES AROUND, UM, HOW WE MOVE PEOPLE THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
UM, THE, YOU KNOW, AS A LOOKING AT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, TRANSITIONING RECRUITING FROM BEING A PROCESS, WHICH USED TO BE MORE ABOUT PROCESSING APPLICATIONS, UM, THAN REALLY GETTING OUT AND TRYING TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO APPLY.
SO REALLY LOOKING AT OUR STRUCTURED OIL INTERVIEWS, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE RELEVANT, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT UNNECESSARILY WEEDING OUT INDIVIDUALS, UH, THAT MAY BE GOOD EMPLOYEES, UH, DOING A LOT MORE TRACKING, UH, OF LEADS AND TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE HIGH, UH, RETURN ON INVESTMENT, UH, AREAS FOR RECRUITING.
NOW, JUST AS I CLOSE OUT TALKING ABOUT STAFFING PROJECTIONS, UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE THIS IS THE PAST, UH, FEW ACADEMIES, 30, UH, THE TOTAL OF, UH, 40 INDIVIDUALS IN JANUARY, 2025.
WE DID SEE A DECREASE AS WE WENT INTO JULY OF 2025 AS WE REDUCED OUR CAPACITY DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS.
BUT WE HAVE, UH, COME BACK STRONG, UH, GOING INTO THE FIRST ACADEMY CLASS OF 20, UH, OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 2026, WITH 2020 INDIVIDUALS, 32 INDIVIDUALS IN MARCH OF 2026.
AND VERY EXCITED TO SAY THAT, UH, WE HAVE MADE, UH, 53 OFFERS FOR THE JULY, 2026 ACADEMY.
AND SO FAR, 50 OF THOSE HAVE ACCEPTED.
SO THAT WILL BE OUR LARGEST ACADEMY EVER, UM, AS WE LOOK INTO OCTOBER 47 APPLICANTS.
AND SO, UM, WE DO IT, AND I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED HERE, 32 CADETS RECENTLY GRADUATED.
AND SO, UM, WE DO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE ON A VERY GOOD TRAJECTORY IN TERMS OF MOVING FORWARD WITH, UH, EXPANDING OUR ACADEMIES AND HAVING AN INCREASED
[01:15:01]
NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE GONNA JOIN THE DEPARTMENT WITH THAT.I GIVE ONE CAVEAT HERE, UM, THAT THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, IS NOT JUST IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT'S FOR ALL OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND SO, UH, WE'VE SEEN THREE NEW EMS AGENCIES THAT HAVE GONE FROM AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL, UH, TO A PUBLIC BASED EMS SYSTEM, UH, WHERE THEY'RE LOOKING TO GROW THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WITHIN, UM, PRO, UH, THE NUMBER OF AMBULANCES AND WHATNOT ON THE ROAD.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN BASTROP COUNTY, THEY RECENTLY APPROVED A COUNTYWIDE, UM, ESD OVERLAY.
UH, AND SO THEY WERE, THEY WILL BE TRANSITIONING FROM STAFFING FOUR AMBULANCES PER DAY TO STAFFING 11 AMBULANCES PER DAY.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING TO HIRE 90 INDIVIDUALS FOR BASTROP COUNTY.
UM, HAYES COUNTY AS WELL HAS GOTTEN SEVERAL NEW ESDS AS WELL AS THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, WHICH JUST RECENTLY, UH, STARTED THEIR OWN MUNICIPAL EMS SERVICE.
AND SO WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WILL INCREASE OUR STAFFING CHALLENGES, UM, BOTH FROM A COMPETITIVE NATURE, UM, AS WELL AS POTENTIAL INDIVIDUALS THAT CHOOSE TO GO TO THESE, UH, SERVICES, WHICH MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT BUSIER A OR CLOSER TO HOME OR OR WHATNOT.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, WE HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH ALL OF THESE AGENCIES.
WE ARE MONITORING IT VERY CLOSELY.
WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE THAT WOULD BE.
UM, AND WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT THE INCREASED NUMBER OF ACADEMIES, ALL OF THIS MAY DELAY US IN THE LONG TERM OF BEING ABLE TO, OR I'M SORRY, IN THE SHORT TERM, OF BEING ABLE TO RAPIDLY GET OURSELVES TO WHEREVER YOU NEED TO BE.
ONCE THESE POSITIONS ARE FILLED, IT MAY SET US BACK IN ACADEMY OR OR TWO IN TERMS OF OVERALL STAFFING NUMBERS, BUT IF WE CONTINUE ON OUR SAME TRAJECTORY, UH, WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT, UH, OUR RECRUITING METHODS WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, TO IMPROVE OUR, OUR VACANCIES AND, UH, MEET UP WITH THE DEMAND FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE, UM, FOR COMPREHENSIVE, UM, BRIEFINGS AND PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO A PD.
I HAD QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS AND BY THE TIME WE GOT THROUGH, MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN ANSWERED IN THE INTEREST OF TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS TO GET TO.
I'M ABLE TO HOLD MY QUESTIONS FOR OFFLINE.
UM, I THANK YOU FOR THE STRONG FOUNDATION FOR BUILDING MY BUDGET RELATED QUESTIONS.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I'LL ASK, UH, FOR COLLEAGUES, QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND YEAH, THANKS Y ALL REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, JUST HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR, UM, CHIEF JONES, UH, ABOUT SLIDE 10.
UM, IN TERMS OF CADET ATTRITION, IT WAS REALLY NICE TO SEE, UM, THE MOST RECENT COMPLETED CLASS HAVE A MUCH LOWER ATTRITION PERCENTAGE.
AND I WAS WONDERING, IS THERE LIKE A, A METRIC FOR PEER CITIES, YOU KNOW, WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER DEPARTMENTS EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF CADET ATTRITION? MM-HMM
YES, ACTUALLY RECENTLY I ASKED SEVERAL MAJOR CITIES, UH, FOR THEIR CADET ATTRITIONS, AND IT VARIES WIDELY.
UM, SO THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE HIGHER THAN OURS, BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, AND I WOULD NEED TO DO, CRUNCH THE NUMBERS A LITTLE 'CAUSE I'M STILL GATHERING THE INFORMATION, I'M STILL RECEIVING THEM EMAILS, BUT ANYWHERE AROUND 15 TO 20%, WHICH PRE 2020 WAS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT APD ATTRITION RATE WAS IN THE CADET CLASS.
SO, AS WE KNOW, THINGS WENT A LITTLE DIFFERENT OVER THOSE YEARS, AND NOW WE'RE GETTING BACK ON OUR FEET.
BUT THOSE ARE WHY WE'RE SO FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT THREE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN SO THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THAT RETENTION RATE.
SO THAT MIGHT BE THE GOAL FOR US TO GET TO THE 15 TO 20 RANGE.
UM, I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ.
SO MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS
[4. Briefing to follow-up on Austin Police Oversight’s 2024 Annual Report and a preliminary update on the 2025 Annual Report. [Gail McCant, Director; Kevin Masters, Deputy Director - Austin Police Oversight]]
THE BRIEFING TO FOLLOW UP ON THE AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHTS 2024 ANNUAL REPORT AND UPDATE ON THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT.AND YOU MAY JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AND BEGIN WHEN YOU'RE READY.
WAITING ON THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION,
I'M GAIL MCCANN, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT.
UH, JOINING ME IS DEPUTY DIRECTOR KEVIN MASTERS.
TODAY, KEVIN AND I WILL RESPOND TO SEVERAL OF YOUR QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT 2024 AND REPORT, AS WELL AS A PREVIEW OF THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT.
UM, A PO IS IN THE PROCESS OF COMPILING AND VALIDATING THE DATA FOR THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT.
UM, WHAT WE ARE SHARING TODAY IS A PRELIMINARY PREVIEW TO PROVIDE THE COMMITTEE WITH AN EARLY LOOK AT, UM, SOME KEY INFORMATION.
THE DATA IS NOT YET COMPLETE, AND IT MAY CHANGE AS WE FINALIZE THE REPORT AND COMPLETE OUR
[01:20:01]
QUALITY INSURANCE LATER.AS YOU KNOW, THE MISSION OF THE, UM, AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT IS TO PROVIDE IMPARTIAL OVERSIGHT OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S CONDUCT PRACTICES AND POLICIES, POLICIES WITH THE GOAL OF STRENGTHENING TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRUST WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE APOS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, WHICH INCLUDES, UM, COMPLAINTS DIVISION, THE POLICY AND RESEARCH DIVISION, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
TOGETHER, THESE THREE DIVISION SUPPORT APOS BROADER RESPONSIBILITIES TO PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND PARTNERSHIP THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
REGARDING THE QUESTION RELATED TO THE 12 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS MADE TO A-P-D-A-P-O HAS INCLUDED A LINK TO APDS RESPONSE TO THE 2024 ANNUAL REPORT.
THAT RESPONSE IDENTIFIES THE RECOMMENDATIONS A PD DECLINED TO IMPLEMENT AND PROVIDES APDS EXPLANATIONS FOR THOSE DECISIONS.
HERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE BOTH APOS RECOMMENDATION AND APDS, UM, STATED RATIONALE, UH, FOR ITS DECISION.
HERE ARE THE THREE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE FULLY IMPLEMENTED BY A PD, UH, POLICY REC 2 0 8, WHICH WAS THE TASER DEVICE GUIDELINE POLICY HERE, A PO ACTS THAT A PD REMOVED THE TASER X 26.
UM, THIS TASER IS NO LONGER BEING USED BY A PD, AND SO WE THOUGHT IT WAS RELEVANT TO REMOVE IT FROM THE POLICY.
UM, WE ALSO RECOMMENDED TRAINING WHEN AN OFFICER UPGRADES FROM A TASER SEVEN TO A TASER 10.
AND BOTH OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE FULLY IMPLEMENTED.
POLICY REC 3 3 42 0.35 FAILED TO MAINTAIN FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
UH, THERE IS AN ERROR ON THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT NOTES THAT THIS WAS PARTIALLY, UH, IMPLEMENTED, BUT THIS RECOMMENDATION WAS FULLY IMPLEMENTED BY, UM, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN POLICY 9 24 FULLY IMPLEMENTED HERE.
A PO RECOMMENDED THAT A PD REMOVE THE RESTRICTIONS.
THIS WAS THE HAIR POLICY ON RACE-BASED HAIRSTYLES FROM AD'S HAIR POLICY FOR BOTH MALE AND FEMALE SWORN OFFICERS.
WE ALSO ASKED THAT THEY REMOVE SOME PHOTOS THAT WERE IN POLICY DEPICTING HAIRSTYLES FOR FEMALE SWORN OFF OFFICERS.
AND THIS POLICY WAS ALSO FULLY IMPLEMENTED HERE.
THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO, UH, A DECEMBER, BACK IN DECEMBER, A PRIOR REFERENCE, UH, I MADE REGARDING A COMMUNITY SURVEY DOING APOS PRESENTATION TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL IN DECEMBER.
UH, THIS WAS NOT A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY RELATED TO COMPLAINTS PROCESS OR COMPLAINTS, OUTCOMES, RATHER, IT WAS A CUT, UH, CONNECTED TO AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHTS KNOW YOUR RIGHTS CAMPAIGN.
AND YES, THERE WERE SOME KEY COMMUNITY INSIGHTS FROM THAT SURVEY.
AND THE PROJECT LEAD IS WORKING ON THE NEXT STEPS AS, UM, AS SHE'S LOOKING AT THE RESULTS OF THAT FEEDBACK, WE DO NOT ON YET.
WE HAVE NOT YET IMPLEMENTED A FORMAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY FOR COMPLAINANTS.
IT IS SOMETHING WE ARE EXPLORING IN THE FUTURE AS PART OF OUR BROADER EFFORTS, UH, TO EVALUATE THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ENGAGE WITH OUR OFFICE.
UH, MUL, MULTIPLE COUNSEL MEMBERS HAVE ASKED IF COMPLAINANTS UNDERSTAND THEIR OPTIONS WHEN FILING THEIR COMPLAINTS.
THE COMPLAINT PROCESS IS A COMPLAINT DRIVEN PROCESS.
I WANTED COUNSEL TO HEAR DIRECTLY, UH, HOW A PO HANDLE COMPLAINT, INTAKES AND PRACTICE.
AND FOR THAT REASON, WE HAVE INCLUDED A RECORDING OF AN INTAKE CALL FROM JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.
UH, THE CALL IS HANDED BY ONE OF OUR COMPLAINTS SPECIALIST, ERICA, WHO JOINED OUR TEAM IN OCTOBER OF 2025.
SO WHY DON'T YOU TO TO HEAR THAT CALL.
[01:25:04]
THIS IS ERICA WITH AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT.IS IT A GOOD TIME TO SPEAK RIGHT NOW? UH, YEAH, LET'S GO AHEAD.
LET'S KNOCK THIS OUT REAL QUICK.
I'LL TRY TO BE AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
I FORGOT TO CALL YOU BACK THE OTHER DAY.
UM, SO JUST A COUPLE DISCLOSURES BEFORE I GET STARTED WITH THE CALL.
THIS CALL IS BEING RECORDED, AND THEN ALSO, UM, YOUR COMPLAINT IS SUBJECT TO PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS AND REDACTED INFORMATION CAN BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.
SO NOT NOT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, BUT JUST THE CONTENTS OF YOUR COMPLAINT.
UM, SO THE PURPOSE OF MY CALL IS JUST TO DISCUSS THE OPTIONS ON HOW YOU'D LIKE TO PROCESS YOUR COMPLAINT.
SO I CAN GO OVER THOSE THREE OPTIONS, UM, AND THEN YOU CAN TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO THE FIRST OPTION IS A COMMUNITY CONCERN.
UM, IN THIS CASE, THE COMPLAINT WOULD BE FORWARDED TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS WITH A PD, AND IT WOULD BE MORE OF MAKING, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AWARE BECAUSE IT WOULD BE ALSO FORWARDED TO THE CHAIN OF COMMAND, SO YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY GET ANYONE CONTACTING YOU BACK.
UM, AS FAR AS, UH, THE NEXT OPTION, IT WOULD BE A SUPERVISOR REFERRAL, WHICH SAME THING YOUR COMPLAINTS FORWARDED TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
UM, AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS NOTIFIES THE SUPERVISOR OF THE OFFICERS INVOLVED, AND YOU WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH THE SUPERVISOR INVOLVED, UM, OF THE OFFICERS.
THEY'D REACH OUT TO YOU, UM, AND YOU'D BE ABLE TO EXPRESS CONCERNS AND MAYBE GET SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
UM, THE LAST IS A FORMAL COMPLAINT, AND THAT WOULD BE WHERE, UM, AND JUST AS FAR AS THE FORMAL INVESTIGATIONS GO, THEY'RE ADMINISTRATIVE IN NATURE.
SO IT'S JUST LOOKING AT GENERAL ORDERS, POLICY VIOLATIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE MATTER.
BUT AN, AN INVESTIGATOR FROM OUR OFFICE AT AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT WOULD REACH OUT TO YOU, GET A DETAILED STATEMENT, UM, AFTER THEY GET A DETAILED STATEMENT, IT'S SUMMARIZED INTO AN AFFIDAVIT AND YOU'D COME INTO OUR OFFICE AND SIGN THE AFFIDAVIT AND WE'D GET IT NOTARIZED FOR YOU, UM, FROM THERE.
THE AFFIDAVIT IS SENT TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS AT A, AS A NOTICE OF FORMAL COMPLAINT.
UM, AND THEN INTERNAL AFFAIRS WOULD INVESTIGATE THE COMPLAINT.
SO WE ARE A CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OFFICE SEPARATE FROM A PD MM-HMM
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY DETAILS INTO THE COMPLAINT OR WE'RE, WE CAN'T DISCLOSE DETAILS AS WELL, SO WE'RE SEPARATE.
UM, BUT THE, THE INVESTIGATOR WITH OUR OFFICE WOULD PROVIDE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE INVESTIGATION, UM, AND WOULD BE ABLE TO, TO DISCUSS THE DISPOSITION, UH, ONCE THE CASE IS CLOSED, AND PROVIDE INFORMATION ON LIKE PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR DETAILS INTO, UH, AN INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATION.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THOSE OPTIONS? UH, PROBABLY JUST THE FIRST OPTION'S FINE.
AND I DID WANNA JUST CHECK, UM, A NUMBER.
SO YOU, DID, YOU, YOU CONTACTED 3 1 1 TO FOLLOW UP ON THE MATTER? YES, SEVERAL TIMES.
AND DID YOU HAVE, UH, 'CAUSE I FOUND A PHONE NUMBER, UM, IF YOU WANTED TO CONTINUE WITH THAT COMPLAINT, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A PEN AND PAPER, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF I SAW THAT.
YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN AN ADDITIONAL NUMBER, BUT I HAVE 5 1 2 9 7 4 5 3 2 0.
IF THERE WERE ANY NEW DEPOSITS, I CALLED THAT NUMBER AS WELL SEVERAL TIMES.
AND NEVER RECEIVED A PHONE CALL BACK FROM THEM EITHER.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAD THAT INFORMATION AND THAT WAS THE SAME NUMBER, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU HAD GOT THE SAME NUMBER THAT I WAS SEEING.
SO, UM, YEAH, I WILL FORWARD THE COMPLAINT AS A COMMUNITY CONCERN, UM, AND WE'LL CLOSE THE CASE ON OUR END, UH, AND IT'LL BE FORWARDED TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
YOU'LL GET A NOTIFICATION VIA EMAIL OF THIS.
ALRIGHT, WELL, I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY.
SO THIS CALL IS INDICATIVE OF EVERY INTAKE CALL THAT WE TAKE AT OUR OFFICE.
SO THE COMPLAINANTS WILL CALL OUR OFFICE WITH A NUMBER OF CONCERNS.
OUR GOAL IS REALLY TO LISTEN AND LET THEM DETERMINE THE PATHWAY, UH, OF THEIR, THEIR COMPLAINT.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE TRAINED STAFF WHO CAN IDENTIFY ALLEGATIONS THAT MAY REQUIRE A HIGHER LEVEL OF REVIEW, INCLUDING ALLEGATIONS THAT MAY WARRANT A FORMAL, A FORMAL INTERNAL AFFAIRS, UH, INVESTIGATION.
WHEN A COMPLAINANT ALLEGES, UM, SOMETHING THAT IS SERIOUS OR EGREGIOUS OR APPEAR TO BE A POLICY VIOLATION,
[01:30:01]
WE DO HAVE A PROCESS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THOSE ALLEGATIONS ARE APPROPRIATELY ELEVATED AND ADDRESSED THROUGH A FORMAL INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS.COMPLAINANT, OUR COMPLAINT SPECIALISTS ARE TRAINED, UM, TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE WITHOUT, UM, ACTUALLY STIRRING THE COMPLAINANT TOWARDS A PARTICULAR OUTCOME.
BUT WE DO RESPECT THE COMPLAINANT'S ROLE IN SHAPING THE DIRECTION FOR THEIR COMPLAINT.
AND WHILE ALSO WE WANNA EXERCISE OUR OVERSIGHT RESPONSIBILITY TO RECOGNIZE, UH, WHEN THE FACTS WARRANT, UH, A FORMAL INVESTIGATION SO THAT THOSE SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS OF OFFICER MISCONDUCT IS NOT OVERLOOKED.
SO THERE WAS A QUESTION REGARDING THE PRIVATE SPACE.
I THINK I MENTIONED THIS IN THE DECEMBER, UH, UPDATE.
UH, THE IN THE PRIVATE SPACE WAS BUILT OUT IN 2024.
THE INTAKE SPACE IS USED FOR ALL WALK-IN COMPLAINANTS AND FOR SIGNING A, UH, AFFIDAVITS.
UH, THE USES VARIES, JUST, IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS, UH, WE RECEIVE.
UM, THE SPACE PROVIDES A LEVEL OF CONFIDENTIALITY FOR COMPLAINANT AS WELL, COMPLAINANTS AS WELL AS PRIVACY.
UH, WE MAINTAIN, UM, A, UH, THE ABILITY TO HAVE FLEXIBLE APPOINTMENTS IF THAT IS NEEDED FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WE ARE ALSO OPEN TO STAYING AFTER HOURS FOR THOSE COMPLAINANTS WHO CAN'T MAKE IT TO OUR OFFICE DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS IF THAT IS NEEDED.
AND ALL COMPLAINTS STAFF ARE NOTARIZED.
I THINK EVEN SOME OF OUR NON-COMPLAINT STAFF ARE, ARE NOTARIES AS WELL.
AND THEN WE ENSURE A DA COMPLIANCE.
SO IF A COMMUNITY MEMBER NEEDED, UM, INTERPRETIVE SERVICES OR SIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES WITH SOME NOTICE, WE WOULD PROVIDE THAT AS WELL.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL ASKED FOR A BREAKDOWN OF FORMAL, UM, COMPLAINTS.
UM, FORMAL COMPLAINTS ARE THOSE COMPLAINTS IN WHICH THE COMPLAINANT AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT OR A PD REQUEST OF FULL INVESTIGATION AND ARE CATEGORIZED AS NOTICE.
SO HERE IN 2024, THERE WERE 35 USE OF FORCE, UM, FORMAL INVESTIGATIONS, 28 IMPARTIAL ATTITUDE AND DISCORDANCY, UH, 26 THAT WERE CATEGORIZED AS OTHER 10 C SEARCH, SEIZURE AND FALSE ARREST.
EIGHT, POOR, UH, NO INVESTIGATION, UH, RACIAL PROFILING.
THERE WERE 11 AND FOR NO ASSISTANCE, THERE WERE EIGHT FORMAL INVESTIGATIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS ASKED IF NO ASSISTANCE FROM AUSTIN POLICE COULD BE BROKEN DOWN.
IT'S A BROAD ALLEGATION CATEGORY, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.
IT COULD INCLUDE OFFICERS NOT RESPONDING OR DELAY RESPONSE TIMES, REFUSAL TO, OR FAILURE TO TAKE A REPORT.
LACK OF FOLLOW UP, NO RETURNING OF CALLS OR EMAILS.
AND SO IN 2024, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, UH, AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT RECEIVED 304 ALLEGATIONS, UH, ACROSS THESE CATEGORIES.
WE WILL NOW SHARE A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT.
AGAIN, JUST WANT TO REITERATE THAT SOME OF THE DATA, MAINLY THE COMPLAINTS DATA, IS STILL BEING COMPILED AND VALIDATED.
IT IS NOT YET COMPLETE AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
I ALSO WANTED TO NOTE HERE THAT I DID NOT MENTION DURING THE DECEMBER COUNCIL PRESENTATION, PARTICULARLY IN RESPONSE TO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT EXPLORING WAYS TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH THE COMMUNITY SOONER THAN THE TIMEFRAME IN WHICH WE RELEASE THE 2025 REPORT.
UM, WE DO CONDUCT QUARTERLY RESOLUTION 99 WORKING GROUP MEETINGS WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND OH, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS ABOUT A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS.
AND SO THE FORMAT HAS CHANGED A BIT, BUT WHAT'S CONSISTENT IS THAT WE ALIGN IT WITH THE RESOLUTION 99, UH, MANDATE, AND THEREFORE WE ARE PROVIDING, UH, COMPLAINTS DATA WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, PROVIDING THEM THAT EARLY ACCESS TO PORTIONS OF THE COMPLAINT RELATED INFORMATION BEFORE THE END REPORT IS PUBLISHED.
SO WE WERE ALREADY, UH, TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHEN WE ARE ENGAGED IN THOSE COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP MEETINGS.
SO I WANNA SHARE THE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FOR 2025, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS MADE
[01:35:01]
ON THE FOLLOWING A PD GEN GENERAL ORDERS.WE MADE SIX RECOMMENDATIONS IN 2025, UM, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE ONLY, UM, ONE OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED.
THE OTHER FIVE HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY OR PARTIALLY, UH, IMPLEMENTED.
THE COMPLAINTS RECOMMENDATION WE MADE WAS REALLY JUST RELATED TO UPDATING THE NAME IN THE GENERAL ORDERS.
THE, THE, THEY STILL HAD, UH, POLICE MONITOR IN THE GENERAL ORDERS.
AND SO WE'VE GONE FROM POLICE MONITOR TO OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT AND NOW AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT.
AND SO WE JUST WERE REQUESTING THAT THEY UPDATE THE NAME AND THEY FULLY IMPLEMENTED, UM, THAT RECOMMENDATION HERE.
WE WANTED TO NOTE THE CURRICULUM REVIEW THAT, THAT WERE, THESE WERE COMPLETED FOR 2025.
APOS POLICY MANAGER SERVES ON THE PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH REVIEWS THE AUSTIN POLICE ACADEMY CURRICULUM AND PROVIDES INPUT FROM THE, UH, POLICE OVERSIGHT PERSPECTIVE.
AND AS PART OF A APOS 2025 ANNUAL REPORT, WE WILL INCLUDE INFORMATION ON THE CURRICULUM REVIEWED, UH, BY THE COMMITTEE AND ANY AVAILABLE, UH, OUTCOMES RELATED TO THAT.
SO IN 2025, THE COMMITTEE REVIEWED THE FOLLOWING, UM, CURRICULUM THAT'S NOTED HERE, CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, VERBAL COMMUNICATION, ARREST, AND SEARCH AND SEIZURE, HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, AND PROFESSIONALISM IN ETHICS.
SO I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, THE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING DASHBOARD.
WE WILL HIGHLIGHT THIS IN OUR 2025 ANNUAL REPORT.
THE OIS DASHBOARD WAS A YEAR LONG PROJECT.
IT STARTED IN 2025, AND THEN WE RECENTLY, UH, RELEASED IT LAST MONTH.
SO I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY SINCERE GRATITUDE TO THE TEAM FOR ITS DEDICATION EFFORTS THROUGHOUT 2025 AND BRINGING THIS, UH, INITIATIVE TO FRUITION NUMEROUS BRIEFS HAPPEN AND DEVELOPMENT ALONG WITH DETAILED TIMELINES AND DESIGN CHANGES AND NECESSARY REVISIONS.
AND I JUST REALLY WANNA TAKE THE TIME TO THANK THE TEAM.
I TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THE, UH, COLLECTIVE WORK WE'VE DONE TO ACCOMPLISH TO AND DELIVER THIS, UH, OIS DASHBOARD TO THE PUBLIC.
THERE ARE SEVERAL INSIGHTS IN TERMS OF THE DASHBOARD.
THERE IS DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON BOTH SUBJECTS AND OFFICERS INVOLVED.
THERE IS USE OF FORCE DATA, INCLUDING THE WEAPON TYPE INCIDENT SUMMARIES, DETAILING THE DATE, LOCATION, AND SEQUENCE OF EVENTS, VISUALIZATIONS, MAPPING TRENDS AND PATTERNS OVER TIME, AND THEN CUSTOMIZABLE, UH, FILTERS BY YEAR, DISTRICT ZIP CODE, AND OTHER CRITERIA.
AND HERE WE HIGHLIGHT THE, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS FOR 2025.
UM, THIS IN 2025, THERE WERE 57 COMMUNITY EVENTS.
UM, THE OFFICE, UM, PARTICIPATED IN, WE EITHER HOSTED IT, PRESENTED IT AT OUR TABLED, UH, THESE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS IN 2025.
UM, WE DID HOST OUR VERY FIRST EVER AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT, UH, OPEN HOUSE EVENT, WHICH WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
SO THIS IS JUST OUR CONTINUED EFFORTS TO INCREASE COMMUNITY AWARENESS ABOUT OUR OFFICE AND CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO I'LL NOW TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR, UH, KEVIN MASTERS, WHO WILL DISCUSS APOS 2025, UH, COMPLAINTS DATA, AND PROVIDE FOR YOU A PREVIEW OF THE PREVIEW OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'LL BE RELEASING IN THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS, KEVIN MASTERS.
UH, AS THE DIRECTOR STATED EARLIER, THESE ARE UNVERIFIED NUMBERS.
WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE COMPLETED DATA AND GETTING IT VERIFIED, AS YOU ALL KNOW.
UM, OUR PROCESS IS A PROCESS THAT'S DESIGNED FOR PROCEDURAL JUSTICE.
WE HAVE MULTIPLE PRONGS IN WHICH WE TAKE COMPLAINTS.
THEY GO THROUGH A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OR PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION.
THEN WE DO INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT OF THE INVESTIGATION ALONG WITH THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS, UH, INVESTIGATORS IN, UH, OUR OFFICE PROVIDES A RECOMMENDATION SEPARATE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE TAKE COMPLAINTS AS WELL AS CONCERNS OVER THE PHONE VIA THE WEB.
PEOPLE CAN ALSO WALK INTO OUR OFFICE AND DO A WALK-IN REPORT LOOKING AT THE PRELIMINARY DATA FOR 2025.
THUS, FOR IT SHOWS WE'VE GOT ABOUT 912 TOTAL CONTACTS COMPARED TO 1052 TOTAL
[01:40:01]
CONTACTS LAST YEAR.OF THOSE TOTAL CONTACTS THIS YEAR, 71 ARE COMPLIMENTS.
SO YOU SEE THERE'S A DECREASE IN TOTAL COMPLE TOTAL CONTACTS, AS WELL AS TOTAL COMPLIMENTS.
LOOKING AT THE BUCKET LIST DATA, ARE THE COMPLAINTS BY ALLEGATIONS SIMILAR TO LAST YEAR, NO ASSISTANCE FROM A PD AND COURTESY.
IMPARTIAL ATTITUDES CONTINUE TO BE THE LEADING, UH, ALLEGATIONS THAT ARE MADE AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS.
26% NO ASSISTANCE, 22% COURTESY AND IMPARTIAL.
UH, FALSE ARREST AND DETENTION, 11%, 9.62% FOR 2025 AND USE OF FORCE.
AND THESE ARE FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH LAST YEAR.
LAST YEAR, USE OF FORCE WAS ALSO THE NUMBER FOUR ON THE LIST.
TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS OF THE NUMBERS.
FOR 2025, THAT 26 POINT 13% REPRESENT 271 COMPLAINTS.
THE 22.96% REPRESENTS 239 ALLEGATIONS.
THE FALSE ARREST DETENTION REPRESENT 115 ALLEGATIONS.
THE USE OF FORCE REPRESENTS 96 ALLEGATIONS IN 2025 COMPARED TO 90 IN 2024.
OFFICER DRIVING DANGEROUSLY, THE RAW DATE IS 79.
FALSE INCORRECT REPORT WRITING 83, LOSS DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY 53.
THE RAW DATA IS 40, SEARCH AND SEIZURE, THE NUMBER IS 13 AND OTHER.
THE NUMBER IS 68 EXTERNAL COMPLAINTS CLASSIFICATION.
ONCE AGAIN, UH, COMPLAINTS ARE CLASSIFIED A THROUGH D WITH A BEING.
THE MOST EGREGIOUS OFFENSES THAT CAN OCCUR.
TYPE A COMPLAINTS ARE PUNISHABLE BY DEMOTION, REDUCTION OF RANK, UH, SUSPENSION OF 15 OR MORE SUSPENSION, UH, INDEFINITE SUSPENSION, ET CETERA.
CLASS B TYPE CATEGORIES ARE PUNISHABLE BY WRITTEN REPRIMAND, SUSPENSION OF ONE TO 15 SUSPENSION DAYS.
CLASS C TYPE COMPLAINTS ARE GENERALLY THOSE COMPLAINTS WHERE, UH, TRAINING, SOME LEVEL OF TRAINING AND OUR ORAL REPRIMANDS ARE WRITTEN.
CLASS D REPRESENTS NO POLICY VIOLATION.
LOOKING AT THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COMPLAINTS BY YEAR, AS YOU CAN SEE, 2025, THERE WERE FEWER COMPLAINTS THAT WERE FORWARDED TO A PD 6 24 AND 2025 COMPARED TO 8 41 AND 2024 A PD.
FORMAL INVESTIGATIONS THERE WERE 108 AND 2025 COMPARED TO 159 AND 2024.
SUSTAINED COMPLAINTS ALSO DECREASED 24 IN 25 COMPARED TO 69.
INTERNAL COMPLAINTS HELD PRETTY STEADY.
UH, I MEAN, THE NUMBERS REALLY ARE NEGLIGIBLE.
2 39 COMPLAINTS WERE INITIATED BY A PD IN 25 COMPARED TO 2, 2 41 AND 24.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE ANCILLARY NUMBERS, UH, WITH RESPECT TO INVESTIGATIONS AND SUSTAINED COMPLAINTS AS WELL.
LOOKING AT THE DISCIPLINE, UH, TOTAL DISCIPLINE SEEMED TO INCREASE IN 2025 COMPARED TO 2024.
EDUCATIONAL BASED DISCIPLINE, THERE WAS ONE IN 25, UH, COMPARED TO NONE IN 24.
EIGHT LETTERS OF REPRIMAND OR ORAL REPRIMANDS COMPARED TO THREE THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
TWO WRITTEN REPRIMANDS, 25 COMPARED TO FIVE IN 24.
TWO TEMPORARY SUSPENSIONS COMPARED TO ONE IN TOTAL SUSTAINED COMPLAINTS.
EXTERNAL FORMAL COMPLAINTS, 24 IN 2025 COMPARED TO NINE IN 2024.
THE BOTTOM PART ARE THE INTERNAL, UH, COMPLAINTS AND TO DIFFERENTIATE THE EXTERNAL COMPLAINTS OR COMPLAINTS THAT ARE FORWARDED TO OUR OFFICE BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
INTERNAL COMPLAINTS OR COMPLAINTS THAT ARE GENERATED WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, 2025, THERE WERE 192 TOTAL SUSTAINED INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMPARED TO 116 AND 2024.
SO OUR PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM 2024 TO 25, UH, INDICATES THAT CONTACTS DECLINE, COMPLIMENTS DECLINE, EXTERNAL COMPLAINTS DECLINE.
WHILE INTERNAL COMPLAINTS REMAIN THE SAME.
AND MORE OFFICERS FACE DISCIPLINE SUSTAINED COMMUNITY COMPLAINTS HAD A DECREASE FROM 20 24 69 AND 2024 COMPARED TO 24 AND 2025.
THAT COMPLETES THE PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE DATA.
UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AT THE BACK OF THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
WERE ALSO SOME, UH, SOME APPENDIX TO HELP GUIDE YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE POLICY RELATED DATA, BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY
[01:45:01]
HAVE AT THIS TIME.UM, FIRST, I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU, UH, FOR BRINGING A PREVIEW OF THE 2025 REPORT, WHICH REFLECTS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GAVE DURING YOUR PRESENTATION IN DECEMBER.
IT'S REALLY USEFUL TO US TO BE ABLE TO SEE THIS EARLIER THAN, THAN WE OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE, AND I HOPE THAT COMPLETING SOME OF THIS WORK AND BRINGING IT TO US WILL ALSO IN THE END, GIVE YOU BREATHING ROOM BEFORE YOU ISSUE YOUR FINAL REPORT.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I, I WAS DEFINITELY STRUCK BY THE INCREASE IN DISCIPLINARY DISCIPLINARY ACTION BETWEEN 2024 AND 2025.
SPECIFICALLY, I'M SEEING THAT THERE WERE 24, WELL, ACTUALLY, LET'S SEE.
IN 2024, WE HAD 69 SUSTAINED EXTERNAL COMPLAINTS, NINE, UH, TYPES OF DIS INSTANCES OF DISCIPLINE ISSUED.
AND THEN IN 2025, IT WENT 24 SUSTAINED CASES AND 13 INCIDENTS OF DISCIPLINE ISSUED TO SIGNIFICANTLY MORE.
UM, WAS THERE A CHANGE IN APPROACH TO DISCIPLINE? WAS THERE A CHANGE IN HOW THE DATA IS RECORDED OR ARE THERE ANY OTHER FACTORS THAT YOU COULD ILLUMINATE FOR US? I I DON'T THINK THERE ARE ANY FACTORS THAT WE CAN DESCRIBE THAT WOULD JUSTIFY IT.
I THINK, UH, I MEAN THE ALLEGATIONS JUST THEY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES AND THE APPROPRIATE DISCIPLINE WAS ADMINISTERED.
SO SEEING A MEANINGFUL INCREASE IN DISCIPLINE RELATIVE TO THE COMPLAINTS THAT ARE BEING SUSTAINED.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, IS THERE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE TYPE OF ALLEGATION FOR COMPLAINTS LODGED INTERNALLY VERSUS EXTERNALLY? I, I WOULD SAY NO.
I MEAN, MOST OF OUR EXTERNAL COMPLAINTS ARE STILL ALONG THE NO ASSISTANCE FROM A PD, THE COURTESY AND IMPARTIAL ATTITUDE, MOST OF THE INTERNAL COMPLAINTS ARE PROBABLY GONNA BE CRASH IN NATURE.
THAT'S PROBABLY CONSISTENT WITH PASS.
I'LL, I'LL PASS TO COUNCIL MEMBER S UH, THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANKS Y'ALL FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE FOLLOW UP ITEMS. UM, JUST HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, I GUESS.
UH, GOING TO SLIDE NINE, WHICH I GUESS IS, UH, MY SLIDE.
UM, JUST WANTED TO ASK, UM, FOR THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, FORMAL COMPLAINTS THAT YOU'VE DOCUMENTED HERE, UM, HOW MANY ARE COMPLAINTS WHERE THE COMPLAINANT CHOSE TO BE ON THAT PATH VERSUS ONES THAT, UH, WERE ELEVATED TO THE LEVEL OF FORMAL COMPLAINTS? OR DO WE KNOW THAT WE GO AHEAD.
YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE THAT DATA AT HAND.
WE DO, WE CAN GET YOU THE ANSWER TO THAT.
HOW MANY WERE, I GUESS, ELEVATED BY OUR STAFF TO A NOTICE OF COMPLAINT? YES, SIR.
YEAH, WE DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE, WE DON'T HAVE THE DATE OF US AT THIS TIME, BUT WE CAN GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE FORMAL COMPLAINTS THAT WERE ELEVATED TO DISCIPLINARY ACTION, DO WE KNOW HOW MANY THERE WERE? UM, FOR THESE, YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT ARE DOCUMENTED ON SLIDE NINE, WE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET YOU THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.
WE CAN GIVE YOU THE NUMBER OF NLCS THAT WE SENT TO INTERNAL AFFAIRS AS WELL AS THE DISPOSITION OF THOSE PARTICULAR NLCS.
AND THEN, UM, ONE QUESTION RELATING TO SLIDE, UH, 27, UM, WELL, GEEZ, WONDER IF MY NOTES ARE RIGHT HERE.
UM, SO I GUESS I, MAYBE MY QUESTION REFERS TO A DIFFERENT, UH, PRESENTATION.
SO IN DECEMBER 25, UM, WE NOTED THAT THERE WERE SIX DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS ON THE A PO WEBSITE.
UM, BUT THAT NINE WERE ON A CHART.
UM, BASICALLY NINE, UH, ACTIONS, NINE TOTAL DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS, BUT SIX, WERE ON THE WEBSITE.
DO WE HAVE, UH, INFORMATION SHOW LIKE WE'RE ABOUT THE OTHER THREE? THIS IS A QUESTION I THINK I ASKED THE LAST TIME THIS CAME UP.
UH, SO IT'S NOT ABOUT THIS SLIDE 27, BUT, UM, DO WE KNOW IF THOSE OTHER THREE WERE ORAL DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS? AND IF, IF SO, WHY THEY'RE NOT ON THE WEBSITE? AND THIS MIGHT BE ONE IF, IF IF Y'ALL AREN'T FOLLOWING, I COULD.
YEAH, WE CAN DEFINITELY FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER REGARDING IT.
DO YOU KNOW DIRECTOR, IS IT KIND OF A, A POLICY TO NOT PUT THE DISCIPLINARY OR THE ORAL DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS ON THE WEBSITE? AND SO IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE ORAL AND WRITTEN DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS.
I THINK DATING BACK FROM TO 20 18, 20 20 AND 2021 THIS YEAR, I MADE A DETERMINATION THAT WE WOULD NOT PUBLISH THOSE ORAL AND WRITTEN DEFINITIONS AND REALLY SAVE THE ONLINE REPOSITORY FOR THOSE THINGS THAT WE BELIEVE TO BE OF GREATEST INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC.
[01:50:01]
AND WRITTEN, UH, REPRIMANDS OR RELATED TO, UH, CRASHES, UH, INTERACTIONS, UH, WITH POLICE INTERNALLY, SOME OF THOSE ARE JUST PROFANITY, THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.AND SO JUST MADE THE DECISION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE MAKING THE PUBLIC AWARE OF MORE OF THOSE SERIOUS AND MORE EGREGIOUS, UH, INTERACTIONS AS OPPOSED TO POSTING ALL THE ORAL AND WRITTEN REPRIMANDS.
WELL, UM, I ALSO DON'T HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR REPORT.
AND I BELIEVE THAT OUR NEXT ITEM WAS THE BRIEFING ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO THE UNION PACIFIC TRAIN CAR DERAILMENT.
BUT I BELIEVE THAT, UM, THAT MR. REDDICK HAD, HAS LEFT, IS THAT CORRECT? AND SO, WE'LL, OKAY.
SO WE'LL NEED TO COME BACK TO THAT IN A, IN A FUTURE, I, IN A FUTURE MEETING, UM, TYPICALLY WE WOULD, UH, WE WOULD THEN MOVE ON TO
[6. Identify items for future meetings.]
ITEM SIX, WHICH IS A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS. BUT I WOULD REQUEST THAT YOU SEND ANY IDEAS TO CHAIR VELAZQUEZ FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE FUTURE.AND WITH THAT, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN AT 3:51 PM THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.