Survey Development
To reach the broadest audience and ensure that the survey was accessible to community members with digital literacy and internet access barriers, OPO provided the survey in both digital and paper forms. The digital form was hosted through a web-based platform called Public Input and made available from February 1 to April 1, 2022. The paper form was distributed throughout Austin between February and March 2022. OPO staff tabled at 14 separate events, visiting nine library branches,[7] one recreation center,[8] and one resource fair for people experiencing homelessness.[9]
OPO collected a total of 525 survey submissions. Most submissions (443) were provided via the digital form; 82 responses were submitted via the paper form.
The survey was split into three different sections.
Section 1 asked survey respondents for demographic information.
Section 2 asked survey respondents about their past interactions with APD officers and their level of knowledge about APD policies on the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras.
Section 3 asked survey respondents to share their sentiments about issues at the center of OPO’s body-worn and dashboard camera recommendations, including the following:
- Using public feedback to make policy;
- Aligning purpose with priorities;
- Making clear policies that align with the law;
- Starting and stopping a recording;[10]
- Keeping written record of camera use;
- Telling people they are being recorded;
- Inspection of camera recordings; and
- Enforcement and discipline.
Rounding Methodology
For ease of review, OPO utilized the following procedure for rounding the percentages discussed in this report:
- Bullet points and other text shows percentages rounded to the nearest whole number.
- Tables show percentage points to the tenth decimal place.