Chief Chacon says there are more than 300 vacant officer positions and that number grows every day. He says this partnership between APD and DPS is proving to be extremely valuable when it comes to keeping Austin safe during the staffing shortage.
A partnership between the Austin Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety began on March 30. "DPS is here to help. They're not here to take over," said Chief Joseph Chacon with APD.Since the joint operation began two weeks ago, here was a 25 percent reduction overall in violent crime and a 58 percent reduction in high-crime areas where DPS were specifically deployed to.
"The first is to assist us with our traffic enforcement. The second part of the objective is reducing violence and particularly gun related violence," said Chief Chacon. Compared to the same week last year, data shows violent crime decreased by 25% citywide for the first week of the dps partnership and decreased by 31% in the second week. Response times for emergency calls for assistance also decreased.Some Austin residents are concerned about the Texas Department of Public Safety’s increased presence in Austin. Others said the help is needed.
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