Reimagining Public Safety

The City of Austin has made numerous reforms to public safety over the years, including conducting an investigation of systemic discrimination and bias within APD and establishing the Office of Police Oversight.

The April 24, 2020 death of Mr. Michael Ramos during an interaction with APD officers amplified calls to end disparities in how communities of color are treated when they interact with officers. Those calls became part of a moment of national racial reckoning with the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

In August 2020, after hours of community testimony, the City Council passed a historic budget to redefine public safety. Also, the City Manager charged his Executive Leadership Team with creating a City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to consider new ways to help and support the community in times of crisis.

The City of Austin is committed to implementing policy and cultural changes to address the disproportionate impact of police violence on people of color and other affected communities.

Reforms

Subtext

In this historic moment, the City Manager and City Council have acted on a series of public safety changes.

Reform	Status
Police department budget	Budget Approved
Use of force policies, equipment & technology	In Progress
End racial disparities in policing	In Progress
Investigate racism within APD	In Progress
Sexual assault case investigation process	In Progress

Reimagining Public Safety Timeline 2020-2021

Description

What's New

Quattrone Report Outlines Recommendations for Improving Future DNA Lab Operations

The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, University of Pennsylvania has completed a look back/look forward review of Austin Police Department DNA lab. The review’s findings identifies 57 contributing factors to the DNA Lab’s failures and outlines 87 recommendations to address those issues and ensure the high quality operation of any future DNA lab facility with an emphasis on independence, accuracy, reliability, transparency, efficiency. Read the report and learn more about the background of the APD DNA lab.

The Reimagining Public Safety September 2020 progress report is now available

Updates include:

9-1-1 Call Data Analysis results released
Development of short and long-term strategies for Austin Police Department (APD) to address institutional racism and racial inequities
City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force convenes
New Community Police Review Commission members chosen
Status of actions for each of the five major reforms

Read the updates