Dear Neighbor,
The Austin Police Department’s 144th Cadet Class graduates today. The ceremony will be broadcast and livestreamed on ATXN beginning at 2:00 p.m. Admiral Bob Inman (USN, Ret), a former Crime Commission president, is the featured speaker, and I will present the Honor Cadet award.
Media coverage of the Austin Police Department patrol staffing model funded by the Central Texas Public Safety Commission has focused on the machine learning recommendations for response times and additional patrol positions. The research also included a community survey of community expectations about police services. Residents want more patrol capacity for responding to emergency calls, detecting and deterring crime, and community engagement. Read the complete research report here.
Earlier this week, the Austin City Council was briefed on the second of three reports by Kroll Inc. about the police department. The latest report evaluated how race, ethnicity, and gender impact police operations and procedures. A final review of the updated training academy is expected next month.
The year-end Chief’s Monthly Report shows a slight decrease in overall crime across the city from 2020 to 2021. Some crime categories, including murder (77 percent), auto theft (13 percent), and aggravated assault (6 percent), increased in 2021. Other categories, such as robbery (-9 percent) and burglary (-4 percent), decreased.
Best,
Corby
P.S. The Central Texas Public Safety Commission celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Since 1997, the nonprofit organization has supported Central Texas first responders and promoted public safety planning. Join the Neighborhood Network to support this work.