Kroll Associates, Inc. Releases Its Initial Report on the APD Training Academy
In November of 2020, as directed by Council Resolution No. 20191205-066, the Office of Police Oversight, in consultation with the Office of the City Manager, retained Kroll Associates, Inc. to review and evaluate the Austin Police Department on the extent to which racism and discrimination are present in the protocols, practices, and behaviors of the department.
The initial phase of the review was an assessment of the APD Training Academy and its ability to prepare cadets for policing in a multi-ethnic, diverse, urban population consistent with best practices.
Among the findings of this initial evaluation are the need for APD to:
- Increase racial, gender and ethnic diversity among the ranks of Academy instructors.
- Balance the need for paramilitary training models with best practices of adult learning theories into curriculum and teaching methods and replace collective discipline techniques with Team Building Exercises (TBX).
- Search for appropriate replacement training videos that more effectively depict best practices, as suggested by the Citizen’s Video Review Panel. And establish a formal system to review, with community input, all future video content that has not otherwise been reviewed by the panel.
- Build a long-term system of internal and external review of training methods and Academy effectiveness.
The Kroll team presented their findings to the City Council and APD leadership in a public meeting on March 2nd, 2021. APD has accepted all the Kroll report’s findings and developed a plan to implement both the short and long-term recommendations.
After Kroll presented their findings and City Leadership had an opportunity to ask questions, City Manager Spencer Cronk thanked them for their efforts, along with the community voices that helped shape the recommendations.
The City Manager then indicated that next steps include implementing the short-term recommendations, developing a plan to implement the long-term recommendations, and gathering additional feedback from both the community and Mayor and City Council.
Once these objectives are met, the City Manager will put forth a budget amendment on the City Council’s agenda to restart the Academy.
Stay tuned to this blog and the RPS website for ongoing updates on this process.
For more information on the Kroll findings, click here.
The Austin Police Department response to the Kroll findings can be found here.