North - Northwest Austin Edition | November 2024

Initiatives aim to address North Austin safety needs From the cover

The big picture

APD response times by district P0 calls include in-progress incidents such as shootings, while P1 calls are for incidents like robberies where a suspect may still be near.

D APD south substation E Public safety trailer F Future APD substation

A APD main headquarters B APD north substation C APD east substation

District 6 is one of the furthest districts from the city center, Kelly said. If the Austin Police Department responds to a call in D6 from the nearest substation—located on the southeastern edge of the district—it could take 20 to 30 minutes for them to arrive. D6 neighborhoods such as Anderson Mill and Jollyville also have portions in both Travis and Williamson counties. District 6 council member- elect Krista Laine said 60% of the district falls in Williamson County, with 40% in Travis County and other areas located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction encircled by the city of Austin—all of which can prolong police response times. “I do think that part of the issue in District 6 is how 911 calls are being initially handled, moving through dispatch and getting to the right jurisdiction,” Laine said. On the county side, the Travis County Sheri’s Oce often works with other agencies, such as the Williamson County Sheri’s Oce or APD, if a call ends up crossing into the other’s jurisdiction, said Scott Crowe, TCSO’s east command captain. “We do a really good job of what we call mutual aid,” Crowe said.

Priority 0 calls Priority 1 calls

Average minutes*

45 TOLL

8.58

1

E

35

10.87

6

F

7.48

B

2

130 TOLL

10.42

7

10

620

7.05

3

4

9

7.58

MOPAC

290

4

10.08

8.07

1

5

10.47

A

71

9.48

9

C

6

12.3

3

290

8.85

7

8

71

10.9

5

D

10.02

183

2

8

12.6

6.73

9

8.35

9.8

10

12.02

N

*BETWEEN JAN. 1, 2024OCT. 22, 2024 SOURCE: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Something to note

Diving in deeper

“As long as there’s somebody there that can start and make the scene safe, then the rest can be worked later

Austin City Council approved a $218 million, ve-year contract with the Austin Police Association in a 10-1 vote Oct. 24. APD North Patrol Commander Shauna Grin said stang shortages continue to be the “No. 1 issue” leading to longer response times but hopes the new contract will help with recruiting and stability. Contract opponents have voiced con- cerns about city budget impacts and police accountability issues that were tied to voter-approved oversight measures as part of the contract process.

Some residents have expressed concerns that the multiple jurisdictions in the area could be behind the delays, as APD and TCSO utilize the same dispatch computer system, Crowe said. The city of Austin builds out the dispatch maps that include which jurisdictions are covered by the city or county, he said. When a 911 caller provides an address or their location is pinged from a cellphone tower during a priority call, the address automatically shows up with the responding jurisdiction, indicating which agency to dispatch. However, Crowe said calls that bounce o these towers—such as callers who are driving and report- ing a collision, or need assistance but do not know where they are—can delay the dispatch process. “[The call] could be in the county, but they’re actually in the city,” Crowe said. “Our dispatchers themselves have to determine that.” Laine also said APD receives a wide range of calls, but some get deprioritized, which could be handled dierently. “A lot of that looks appropriate to me in terms of what capacity they have, but the person calling 911

on as needed.” SCOTT CROWE, TRAVIS

COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE’S EAST COMMAND CAPTAIN

is not told, ‘This is a dierent way to handle this,’ or, ‘This has been deprioritized,’” Laine said. Ensuring D6 has adequate access to public safety initiatives like other parts of the city is another piece, Laine said. Laine said the district has had one of the fastest growth rates of people experiencing homelessness in the last two years, which she believes has taken up “a lot of policing time,” but the city’s Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team works in Central Austin and does not reach D6. “We need to have a better resolution on some of those issues because we can’t accept that we’re just going to have long response times,” Laine said.

APD outlook

1,498 sworn ocers

318 ocer vacancies

ocer-to-citizen ratio 1654.12

DATA AS OF OCTOBER SOURCE: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

20

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

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