APD hailed its 144th cadet class as its most diverse ever, with 59.09% of graduating cadets identifying as non-white, compared to 47.62% for the 143th. THE NEW CLASS
ASIAN BLACK HISPANIC WHITE OTHER
KEY:
*APD BROKE DOWN PREVIOUS CLASSES BY ONLY FOUR CATEGORIES.
140 TH CLASS
141 ST CLASS
142 ND CLASS
143 RD CLASS
144 TH CLASS*
SOURCE: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
through retirement or resignation—a main driver of the shortage—slowed, the additions from this cadet class will still leave the department around 200 o cers short. Chacon said the need to hire is an opportunity to recruit local and diverse o cers. “I feel that it’s very important to recruit locally. We put a lot of e ort into recruiting out of the city of Aus- tin,” said Chacon. Austin has experienced di erent training and sta ng trends than other notable Central Texas departments. Police o cials in Round Rock and San Marcos, the largest cities in Aus- tin’s neighboring counties, said while they also face high attrition and low recruitment, their sta ng concerns have not been as intense. The San Marcos Police Department is poised to hit 100% of its budgeted 113 sworn positions with several mid-February hires, police lead- ers said. However, the department
remains in a “constant state” of hir- ing, said Administration Commander Lee Leonard. “Some problems can be solved. ... This is one of those that has to be managed,” SMPD Chief Stan Stan- ridge said. Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said community support of his department is a top draw for of i- cers. Just two of his 186 spots were open as of late January, but Banks said RRPD has “always been playing catch-up” on the hiring front and is constantly revising its curriculum. Banks said the department did bene it in part because of its repu- tation and training program during Austin’s academy pause. “We have new o cers now as a result of Austin halting their acad- emy,” Banks said. “I think we were already ahead of that game. I think we were doing a lot of what they were asking Austin to do.”
The Austin Police Department budgeted
Evolving education The 144th cadet class emerged fol- lowing external reviews of alleged racism and retaliation among APD leadership, and it proceeded amid con- cerns from the community and coun- cil that requested cultural changes had not yet taken root. From the start, APD academy lead- ers said the new class would pivot away from a paramilitary “warrior mentality” previously embraced at the academy that, for example, pro- moted readiness for violence over community relationships. Additional in scal year 2021-22 for up to three cadet classes. SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER $6.2 MILLION
CONTINUED FROM 1
kind of situation,” Chacon said at a Feb. 1 city commission meeting. Adding o cers The only source of new o cers is the recruitment of cadets as the sta - ing “crisis,” which already has led to the suspension of some specialized units and the shift of some nonemer- gency calls from 911 to 311, continues. “O cers in the department are struggling because they’re going from high-priority call to high-priority call. And it’s nonstop,” Assistant Chief Catherine Johnson said. APD’s vacancies increased through 2021, peaking in late December when 231 of APD’s 1,809 o cer posi- tions were empty. Although attrition
CADET CUTOFF City o cials halted APD training due to culture concerns in 2020, resulting in a gap of over a year between graduating cadet classes.
FUTURE PLANS
2019
2020
2021
2022
December: City Council calls for APD investigations
February: 143rd cadet class kicks o , further classes on hold as department is around 90% sta ed August: Council approves annual budget, cancels funding for cadet classes
January: 144th cadet class graduates
May: Council votes to relaunch cadet training, department is about 93% sta ed June: 144th cadet class begins August: Council approved APD’s largest-ever budget, with funding for three cadet classes December: Department is about 87% sta ed
• 145th cadet class tentatively set to begin March 28, 146th modi ed class could begin in summer, 147th regular class could begin in late 2022 • Council will decide on funding for future cadet training in August SOURCES: AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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