The Austin Police Department (APD) has launched the APD Youth Program, a collaborative community effort that will help enhance future local hiring efforts for the organization. Through this program, APD staff will engage with the community by working with 60+ Austin youth to develop a professional recruiting model with multiple tracks leading to employment with APD. Staff will also engage with adult community members to learn what the community needs to have in place to encourage and support area youth who could potentially enter the law enforcement profession in early adulthood.
 
With a focus on community engagement and trust in the policing profession, APD strives to create a better community-wide understanding of an officer’s daily work (their responsibilities, burdens, policies, behaviors, and feelings) and would like to have a better understanding of community perceptions, feelings, desired changes, and immediate needs to support local recruits. 

This multipronged project will address urgent public safety needs tied to sworn staffing, officer recruitment and retention, and workforce diversification. As the department is experiencing an all-time high for officer vacancies, a decrease in the number of applicants, the reorganization of units, mandatory patrol overtime, and increased response times, this youth-led recruiting model will result in a police department that is better staffed and reflects the diversity and rich culture of Austin.

Youth will be paid $21.63 per hour for up to 30 hours of participation and will collaborate with police officers, non-profit groups, school officials, local consultants and marketing specialists to develop the recruiting model. This work will be completed through a series of focus groups, with adults participating in separate sessions. Both youth and adult focus groups will be video and audio recorded, with participant consent, and project footage will be used to highlight the program.
 
Eligible youth must be at least 16 years of age and enrolled in one of the following schools to participate:

• Travis Early College
• LBJ Early College
• Northeast Early College
• Eastside Early College
• Garza Independence
• Akins Early College
• Ann Richards School for Women Leaders
• Any AISD high school

If you are interested in learning more or would like to apply for the APD Youth Program, visit www.austintexas.gov/apdyouthprogram or email APDYouthProgram@austintexas.gov.

To successfully implement the model that our youth will develop over the coming months, we need to engage with the community at large to increase support for Austin police services and to build trust in the policing profession. We are seeking adult members of the Austin community to engage with APD staff – to provide input and to describe their perceptions and feelings about policing services.  We need to learn what the community would like to have in place to encourage and support area youth interested in pursuing law enforcement careers. 

Participating community members will attend three (3) separate one-hour sessions, with the final session focused on providing direct feedback about the youth-led recruiting model developed separately by our youth program participants. Through this collaborative effort, we hope to build a recruiting model that best represents the community's needs and wishes while shaping Austin’s future police force. 

If you are interested in learning more or would like to apply for the Adult Participation Program, visit www.austintexas.gov/adultyouthprogram or email APDYouthProgram@austintexas.gov.