BY KATY MCAFEE
The breakdown
What’s next
While APD remains short-staffed, a key player in Austin’s character— the Downtown Austin Alliance—is ramping up its efforts to keep downtown safe. The DAA members don’t want to be seen as first responders, Brice said, but the group is doing daily cleanups downtown and advocating for ordinance enforcement. “When you have an environment that looks like it’s well cared for, looked after [and] provided for, people behave differently in that type of environment than they do in areas that don’t appear to be looked after,” he said. “It did not take long at all for [cleanups and increased patrols] to have a visible impact on improving conditions downtown and the perception of safety improving as well.”
said Bill Brice, senior vice president of investor relations at the Downtown Austin Alliance—an advocacy group for downtown businesses and property owners. “And it doesn’t take too many repeated attempts experiencing that for somebody to just say, ‘I’m not even going to waste my time anymore.’”
While some business owners reported a rise in petty crime, APD data shows vandalism, shoplift- ing, burglary and robberies have slightly decreased. Henderson said APD data might be skewed, as victims do not always call 911 or self report. “There are times when people call 911 and they’re on hold for an inordinate long period of time,”
Reported shoplifting citywide
-60%
3,500
“I’m constantly trying to have to ask [my staff] to call the police even though we know we won’t necessarily get a response in a timely manner. At least then there’s a report issued and [APD] know that they need to continue their efforts on our block.” TEGHAN HAHN, WILD ABOUT MUSIC CEO
2,625
1,750
875
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023*
*DATA IS THROUGH OCTOBER 2023
W Braker Ln
33
19
US-183
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3
3
7
8
9
11 12 10
21
20
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25 26
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27
22
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29
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30
3 1
28
Your guide to Austin art.
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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