Austin has been grappling with a police understaffing problem, making patrolling the downtown area harder. In an effort to fill that gap, the Downtown Austin Alliance created a safety team to hit the streets.
The DAA, a nonprofit that works with businesses and property owners downtown, began the effort in May and has tripled the size of the team since its launch.
What does the safety team do?
First things first. Members of the safety team are not police officers, but they do collaborate with the Austin Police Department. You can identify members of the team by their black and yellow uniforms.
“You'll see them riding throughout the public improvement district on bikes and generally in pairs, one on either side of the street,” Brandon Fahy, director of Public Space Experience for the DAA, said.
The team had 14 members as of July 1. From 6 to 10 p.m., the officers patrol the area from the Texas Capitol to Lady Bird Lake.
Their main focus is low-level violations — specifically Class C misdemeanors, such as public intoxication and lying on a public sidewalk — that Fahy says are on the rise downtown.
If a team member sees someone in violation, their first step is to ask the person to change their behavior and comply with the law. Because they are not law enforcement, team members cannot arrest or physically remove someone from the situation. Fahy said the DAA safety team is successful about 86% of the time when using this tactic.
“Our goal is not to penalize people violating the Class C ordinances, but to help them understand the nature of the ordinance,” Fahy said.
If people continue not to comply with their requests, team members call police. The responding officers are part of APD's overtime patrols and intervene when the DAA safety team needs help. The DAA pays two APD officers overtime to focus solely on downtown, without worrying about being called away to other parts of the city.
APD faces an ongoing staffing shortage
APD Cmdr. Craig Smith said 23% of police positions in the area that DAA patrols are vacant.
This is part of a larger problem for APD. The department has 351 officer vacancies, impacting the types of calls police can respond to, and Class C misdemeanors fall to the bottom of the priority list.
“With the vacancy, we've had to adjust our call volume. ... So if it's not an actual crime in progress or violent crime, we are not really going to those as much," Smith said. "So with DAA, they have built in to help with those Class C’s; those quality-of-life issues."
Smith said Austinites in nonviolent situations can call the DAA first to see if it can help before dialing 911. The number is 512-937-7422.
APD does receive a monthly report from the safety team that includes the number of calls received and which ones they responded to.
The DAA safety team will enter its final roll-out phase in October with 23 safety members.
