Central Texas in 2017 . . . There’s a new Sheriff in town . . .  and a new Police Chief, and a new District Attorney, and a new Police Monitor, and a new City Manager  – and that’s just in Austin, but there are new faces in many locations around Austin – both elected and appointed --  in the public safety realm.

So far, most of the problems we face are continuations from the previous year, but new ones started popping up in January.  Our CLASP focus will remain on our role as a non-partisan group dedicated to encouraging and sustaining a county wide network of Neighborhood Watch leaders who share best practices, provide opportunities for skill building, and foster collaborative relationships with law enforcement and criminal justice professionals in an effort to develop a model of citizen led community policing initiatives.

Since the inception of CLASP in early 2010, we have presented more than a dozen Informational Forums dealing with many aspects of public safety, neighborhood watch, crime analysis, the criminal justice process, and funding for police services.  We instituted the Watch Signs matching grant program to help neighborhoods purchase ‘big blue eye’ watch signs.  In addition, we have conducted countless Neighborhood Watch Training sessions throughout Austin, communicated with APD on problematic issues and discussed the need for a defined community policing program including establishing an advisory group on community policing, and disseminated information to neighborhoods to keep them informed of how they can protect their homes, property, and families by participating in neighborhood safety activities, working collaboratively with law enforcement, and by urging elected representatives to adequately fund police services.

Board members began this New Year with a discussion of neighborhood safety and community policing with Interim Chief Manley and his staff and we look forward to continuing our conversations.   We are in the process of developing Informational Forum agendas to offer topics on crime prevention, police budget needs, collaborative relationships with law enforcement and stakeholder groups, criminal justice process, and community policing, among other issues. 

​Watch your email for the dates and locations of the CLASP Forums beginning this Spring.  If you are interested in setting up Neighborhood Watch Training for your area, please contact either CLASP at claspatx@gmail.com  or your APD District Representative at www.austintexas.gov/police. 

​It's Crucial to Fund Public Safety NOW

Austin is a very big city with a full variety of big city problems.  It's time we faced the fact that we can no longer function with a police force the size of cities MUCH smaller than we are.  One measure brought out recently is that we are the 11th largest city in the country with the 33rd largest police force.

In the past few years the city council has paid $150,000++ each for two studies by professional groups which both recommended sizeable increases in the number of new positions, both sworn and civilian, for the Austin Police Department.  And during those years we are told that about 100 people per DAY moved to our metropolitan area - do the math.  But, it's not just the number of residents that impact public safety, it's the commuters and the thousands of visitors and tourists who are here every day and night.  And just look at our sprawl -- subdivisions, apartment complexes, adjacent towns, and of course, the new hotels, shopping malls, office complexes, and schools -- all over town.  Austin is about 271 square miles in land area now, but expanding quickly.

For FY 2016-17, APD's staffing request was 71 sworn and 48 civilian positions (total 119).  The number recommended by this year's study from Matrix Consulting Group was 78 sworn and 12 civilians this year (total 90) and an average of 17 sworn officers each year over the next four years.  The number recommended in the 2011 study was 257 new sworn positions by 2017.  Over the last four years the number of sworn positions approved by the council each year was far fewer than either this year's APD request or the Matrix recommendation.  The city manager's proposed budget requested 12 sworn and 21 civilian positions (total 33) for FY 2016-17.

The request by Marc Ott must be rejected and instead a reasonable number of sworn and civilian positions added to the APD staff in this fiscal year's budget and approved by the City Council.  This council paid a large sum of money (our taxes) for a reliable recommendation of police staffing.  There is now a serious need for the full 48 civilian positions requested, making the approval of 78 sworn and 48 civilian positions the best option for Austin at this time.

Please contact Mayor Adler and every city council member ASAP to urge their budget approval of these police staffing increases to handle the policing requirements of our city. Their email addresses are in this pattern: steve.adler@austintexas.gov.  The council will be voting on the budget over the dates of September 12-14 so take action NOW! 

It appears that Community Policing by District Representatives is on the chopping block at APD.  In an effort to put more officers on the street, several position/staffing changes are being considered. The city council for the past several years has not provided funding for the full number of positions in the APD budget request, therefore this year, APD budget considerations include cycling “inside” sworn officers through patrol duties several times per year; for now we are told detectives, with other positions to be determined. During the budget discussions last year, APD requested additional positions in order to build up the community policing program in Austin; about half of the requested number was approved.  The recruiting, hiring, and training process to get new officers on the street can take 18-24 months.
 
The latest discussion we have heard about is converting approximately 48 sworn officer positions to civilian jobs – the District Representatives’ positions would be filled by civilians.  There is talk about retaining one sworn DR in each region, but as with many of these changes, no final decisions have been made.  The DRs would be transferred to patrol or other positions within the Department – we would loose the most important and knowledgeable individuals who provide specialized services to our neighborhoods and our schools, who are liaisons to our communities, and serve our residents with the level of response which requires a sworn peace officer.  Even if some of the duties can be handled by civilians, the sworn officers are our connection we need in difficult situations.
 
The City Council hired Matrix Consulting Group to conduct a Community Policing Study to determine what APD’s community policing plan will be and what measures are required to implement a comprehensive, effective program to serve the people of Austin.  The study includes input from law enforcement personnel, elected officials, and community members. Please take the survey to give your thoughts and opinions – it’s on the APD website: www.austintexas.gov/department/police. Deadline is May 9 - it is possible that the deadline could be extended, but go ahead and do it now.   The survey results will be produced in early June.
 
In addition, City Council members are having town hall meetings in their districts to gather feedback.  D1, D4, and D6 have already had their meetings. D2 is on May 10, D5 is on May 11, D7 is on May 21.  CM Gallo and Troxclaire indicate they will not be having a meeting; you can check with your CM if a meeting for your district is not shown here.  Participate if you can.
 
If you believe that keeping the sworn officers as District Representatives that we now have is vital to our city, contact the Mayor, City Manager, all of the City Council Members, and APD.  If you believe that public safety in Austin is important enough to be staffed at the needed levels, do the same.  Tell them how DRs are important to your neighborhood and what the effect will be if these officers are taken away.  Yes, patrol officers are absolutely needed, but taking our DRs cannot be the only option.
 
The schedule for upcoming Council budget action is: projected budget provided to the Council on July 27.  The new fiscal year begins October 1, so the vote will be taken prior to that date.  City Council meeting dates and agendas are on the city’s website.
 
This is the contact information for your use:
 
marc.ott@austintexas.gov
steve@adlerforaustin.com
ora.houston@austintexas.gov
delia.garza@austintexas.gov
sabino.renteria@austintexas.gov
greg.casar@austintexas.gov
ann.kitchen@austintexas.gov
don@donzimmerman.org
leslie@lesliepoolforaustin.com
info@ekkenforaustin.com
kathie.tovo@austintexas.gov
sheri.gallo@austintexas.gov
art.acevedo@austintexas.gov
brian.manley@austintexas.gov
 
Our efforts:  in late March, representatives of CLASP met with Chief Art Acevedo to talk about neighborhood and public safety matters, express our concerns about the DR changes, and to make recommendations we feel would be helpful as Austin increases its Community Policing Program.  Our discussions included APD’s efforts to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the face of budget issues and population growth, our belief that the education and direct services provided and the good will generated by District Reps is as valuable and important as what patrol and other units provide, the benefits of improving and expanding Neighborhood Watch training, coordinating the DRs and community engagement, and establishing an Advisory Board on Community Policing composed of experienced community members, APD staff, and other stakeholders. We look forward to a continuing dialogue as the process continues.

Well, Folks, it’s happened again . . .

An added job duty has been dumped onto the workload of our District Representatives. The Vehicle Abatement Unit was disbanded and their workload has been assigned to District Reps throughout the City. This is a recent development so the Regions are in the process of getting necessary training, figuring out how to allot the duties among their DRs, and working on efficiently handling this new task. It is true that not every neighborhood has a large problem with vehicle abatement, but many do, and in those areas, it is a significant issue which must be handled. Vehicle Abatement is time consuming, complex, and is a long process to monitor to completion. In two of the Regions, the DRs are spending about 25% of their time doing this one task!

In the APD budget request for this fiscal year, the basis of asking for additional officer positions was that they were needed for increased community policing; the city council approved approximately half of their request. District Reps are the only officer positions which are fully dedicated and responsible for community policing by developing positive relationships with citizens and building community engagement. Why pull them off their vital community policing activities within our neighborhoods and give them a different – property related -- task? This can be described as shooting yourself in the foot.

The reason for disbanding the Vehicle Abatement Unit was that the Recruiting Unit was increased by five sworn officers – the positions were taken from other areas and transferred there – two from Vehicle Abatement. New recruits to fill our 100+ vacancies are badly needed and additional staff can help bring in qualified applicants, so there is no doubt about the need. However, there must be some other way to assist Recruiting instead of putting more duties on our DRs – the only officers whose entire job is community engagement – thus taking them away from the work they do for us in our neighborhoods. While vehicle abatement is necessary, the result can be taking away a person’s property – that’s hardly a good way for DRs to build good relationships with citizens.

If this is an issue in your neighborhood, to make your voice heard, contact Chief Acevedo (Art.Acevedo@austintexas.gov) and explain that we do not want our DRs to be responsible for this additional job that prevents them from having their full time available to handle the actual community engagement and relationship building that is so needed in Austin. Urge that APD find other positions to transfer to Recruiting, OR assign those duties to some positions other than our DRs, OR increase the Recruiting staff by three instead of five and reinstate the Vehicle Abatement Unit, OR reinstate the VA Unit for a specified time (six months?) to work in conjunction with the DRs in clearing the backlog and reducing the remaining problem vehicles and then reconsider where to assign the VA duties, OR move the VA duties to the Code Compliance Department, OR some other solution – just don’t give this additional work to our DRs.

Vision Zero Report Reviewed by Public Safety Commission

At their February 1 meeting the PSC discussed the City’s draft report regarding the high number of traffic deaths in Austin and plans to eliminate the deaths. The work on this initiative had been handled by the Planning and Zoning Department until a recent change was made to move it to the Transportation Department. Commissioner Levy, who serves on the Vision Zero Task Force, explained that the Task Force did not receive the draft, which contained 100 actions to take, for their review before it was posted on the city’s website, and he offered five recommendations to be included in the report, for consideration by the Commission. After making two changes to the wording, the Commission approved them as a draft resolution which they will vote on at their next meeting. It was pointed out by city staff that the current document is to be used for the upcoming process of taking public comment, prioritizing action items, estimating costs, and developing recommendations, prior to preparing the final report for the council in May.

Everyone is urged to track this process, participate in public comment meetings, consider the costs and recommendations, and contact your city council member to give them your input on this major initiative. The next PSC meeting is on March 7 – check the city website for time and location.

Commander’s Forums

Please take the time to attend the APD Forum in your Region – the information on dates, times, and locations is on the APD website. These Forums are your best chance to talk face to face with the District Reps who work in your neighborhood.

Fees for Special Events

Waiving of fees, collection of fees, setting fees, the impact of large scale events on Austin and it’s neighborhoods, the costs to taxpayers in Austin of paying necessary costs for events, what can/should be done about these issues -- these and more items were discussed at the community meeting held by the City on February 10. Participants gave their input on ideas received during a survey and developed additional ideas and suggestions which will be compiled by the staff into a report to be presented for community input at the next meeting on February 24 at 6:30 pm at the Asian American Resource Center – check the city’s website for specific updated information. Plan to participate in this meeting to give your thoughts.

Citizen Police Academy Fills Up

The current session of the CPA, which began in the second week of February, once again drew almost 100 applicants, making it necessary to hold two classes per week in order to accommodate the people in Austin who want to attend. The motto of Austin’s CPA is ‘Understanding through Education’ and the goal is to provide information to citizens about the many aspects of police work in order for them to know what officers deal with and how they do their jobs. The class is free, the meal is provided, and parking is free. Check the APD website for full information about the program content and application process. The next class will begin in September.

__ __ __ __ __ __
PLEASE be careful when you are outdoors jogging or walking – the current wave of assaults is alarming. Take all the safety precautions set out by law enforcement and be aware of your surroundings.

March 9th, 7pm - Watch Training for South Austin

Flyer:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qy61q3xoumwsnat/NW%20Poster-3.pdf?dl=0


Keye's 3 Part Series on Burglars - Part 1 here:

http://keyetv.com/news/local/serial-burglars-part-1-fingerprint-backlog-contributing-to-austins-1-crime

 The Austin Police Department Regions are resuming their public meetings in 2016 to provide information on their activities and get feedback from people in their areas.  The Forum information is shown below and you can check the web for updates at www.austintexas.gov/department/police; click on Divisions, scroll down to APD District Representatives (maps available also).
 
Region 1 – Baker: date not set; phone number 974-5340
Region 1 – Ida: date not set; phone number 974-5722
Region 1 – Downtown: date not set
Region 2 – Edward: February 2, at 6:30 pm, Holy Word Lutheran Church
                 phone 974-5598
Region 2 – Adam: February 9, at 6:30 pm, Spicewood Springs Library
                  phone 974-5743
Region 3 – 1st Monday of each month, at 6:30 pm, 812 Springdale Road
                  Charlie – phone 974-8106; Henry – phone 974-5902
Region 4 – January 21, April 21, July 21, October 20, at 6:30 pm
                404 Ralph Ablanedo Sub
                 David and Frank – phone 974-8100
 
Please note that Region 4 conducts Neighborhood Watch training on the 1st Tuesday of each month beginning in February; contact the District Rep in your sector for Neighborhood Watch training in your area.  CLASP also can provide assistance in setting up Neighborhood Watch programs.
 
Open Carry Comes to Texas
 
People licensed to carry can now legally have holstered handguns unconcealed in locations where guns are permitted.  Private businesses can ban guns on their premises.  Training for new license to carry permits will include using restraint holsters and methods to secure carrying of handguns.  The current law does not require restraint holsters.  It should be noted that law enforcement agencies were not in favor of this law.