BY BRITTANY ANDERSON
Did you know?
Looking ahead
Police trailer uses
Gri n said plans are in the works for a police substation to be built behind the new Canyon Creek re and emergency medical service station. The re and EMS station, which is expected to be complete in early 2025, will be located on the edge of districts 6 and 10 and serve Northwest Austin communities such as Canyon Creek, River Place and Anderson Mill. While there is no timeline for the police substation yet, Gri n said o cer responses and the types of calls received are “always being evaluated.” District 6 response times have lowered since June, when it took an average of 12.67 minutes for o cers to respond to Priority 0 calls and 20.1 minutes for Priority 1 calls.
The city and APD opened a public safety trailer in far Northwest Austin in July. O cials say the trailer is not sta ed 24/7, and residents should still call 911 in an emergency, but it is meant to be a “stopgap” until a future police substation is built in the area. “It’s really important for us as a community and as a city to support community policing initiatives so that we can have more positive outcomes with the o cers when something bad does happen,” Kelly said. Another use for the trailer many people don’t consider, Kelly said, is for o cers to be able to take their duty belt o when using the bathroom. “On that duty belt is a Taser, handcu s, a gun,” Kelly said. “If they’re going into a public bathroom, it’s a lot more dangerous for them to remove their belts.” Laine, however, said the trailer may take time to get used and “into people’s routine,” and is looking instead to shift the focus from distance to
Make police reports
Fill out paperwork or work on investigations
Community engagement
Have a police presence in an underserved area
SOURCE: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
resolving response issues within police dispatch. “I didn’t see any signs that it signi cantly impacted police coming by that area, which I know was the goal,” Laine said. “I know that area was hopeful to get something that would bring a little bit more presence, but it doesn’t look like that was it. We at [the] City Council need to make sure that the actions that are being taken will actually be impactful.”
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