State troopers are going to patrol Austin streets again starting next month

Austin Monitor
BY ANDREW WEBER, KUT
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2023 ​​​​​​​

State troopers will resume patrols on Austin streets July 2, the city said Thursday.

The Austin Police Department partnered with the Department of Public Safety in late March to help out with patrols, but the deal ended after complaints from Austinites and a reassignment to the border.

The police department said it’s changing its deployment strategy to spread patrols across the city, rather than relying on calls for service. City Council members had raised concerns from constituents who felt troopers were overpolicing neighborhoods like East Riverside and Rundberg.

Roughly a month into the patrols, data from the Travis County Attorney’s Office showed state troopers were disproportionately arresting people of color.

Police Chief Joseph Chacon said the revamped patrols will address those concerns.

“The partnership with DPS has already proven valuable to reducing crime and shortening response times,” he said. “This new iteration will ensure we continue that while taking Council direction into account and pivoting the deployment strategy.”

Chacon defended the patrols in April, arguing they provided breathing room for the understaffed department and reduced violent crime.

In a news release Thursday, Austin Police Department said officers will attend Department of Public Safety briefings once a week to “ensure Austin policing values are … reinforced.”

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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