Austin Police Department
Austin Police Department | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | APD |
Agency overview | |
Employees | 2646 |
Annual budget | $402 million |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Austin, Texas, USA |
Map of Austin Police Department's jurisdiction | |
Size | 296.2 square miles (767 km2) |
Population | 947,890 (2016) |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
Officers | 1,900 [1] |
Agency executive |
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Website | |
Austin Police |
Austin Police Department (APD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Austin, Texas. As of Fiscal Year 2018, the agency had an annual budget of more than $442 million and employed around 2,646 personnel, including approximately 1,900 officers.[2] Brian Manley was named Chief of Police[3] effective June 14th, 2018.[4]
Specialized units
- Air Support Unit-
The Air Support Unit currently has two helicopter pilots and three tactical flight officers. Patrol missions are flown with one pilot and one tactical flight officer. All unit helicopter pilots are dual rated in both airplanes and helicopters, with at least a commercial rating in each area. The unit is in the process of training several pilots for their fixed wing ratings.
- Alarm Administration Unit-
The Alarm Administration Unit is committed to improving public safety through advocating for the reduction of false alarms by administering the Alarm Ordinance, providing educational resources and community outreach initiatives and facilitating the establishment of partnerships between law enforcement, the alarm industry and the citizens of Austin.
- Animal Cruelty Unit-
The Austin Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Unit has both an enforcement and investigative branch. The Animal Cruelty Unit is composed of (1) Sergeant, (2) Detectives, and (1) Civilian Specialist. The Animal Cruelty Unit is housed at the Animal Services Center and works closely with the staff of the Animal Services Office.
- APD 911 Emergency Communications-
The Austin Police Department Emergency Communications Division encourages all qualified men and women to apply with one of the top law enforcement agencies in the nation. As an Austin Police Communications employee, you will have the opportunity to assist the citizens of our diverse community. The Austin Police Department is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American's with Disabilities Act.
- APD District Representatives-
The District Representative Program was established in 1998 for the purpose of creating a liaison between neighborhood communities and the police department’s regional commands.
- APD Sex Crimes Unit-
When tragedy strikes, friends and loved ones gather for support. It should be the same with sexual violence. But all too often, survivors who have the courage to tell someone what happened are blamed instead of comforted. This needs to change. If you are a victim of Sexual Assault call 9-1-1 so the police may respond to your location and make a report.
- APD Special Events Unit-
The Special Events Unit should be contacted to assist in the planning and execution of a Closure Permit as defined by City of Austin Ordinance 14-8. This would include closures for Moving Events and Stationary Events as defined by City of Austin Right-of-Way Closure Rules.
- Austin Regional Intelligence Center-
The Austin Regional Intelligence Center (ARIC) is a collaborative effort of 17 Public Safety Agencies in Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties. ARIC partner agencies will work together to provide resources, expertise and/or information to the center. ARIC focuses on regional public safety data analysis.
- Auto Theft Unit
APD's Auto Theft Unit has specialized programs designed to reduce vehicle crimes. The Auto Theft Interdiction Project programs (ATIP) are partly funded by the Texas Auto Burglary & Theft Prevention Authority. There are two auto theft detectives per Austin Region.
- Burglary Unit-
The Austin Police Department’s Burglary Unit is one of the Divisions that investigates crimes against property. The Burglary Unit is specifically tasked with the investigation of residential and non-residential/commercial burglaries inside the jurisdiction of the City of Austin.
- Child Abuse Unit-
The unit is responsible for investigating all criminal cases of physical abuse and neglect of children 14 years of age or younger and sexual abuse of children younger than 17 years of age, occurring in the City of Austin. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to arranging forensic interviews for child victims, interviewing and taking statements of witnesses or suspects, scene preservation, evidence collection and the execution of search and/or arrests warrants.
- Bulleted list item
Commercial Burglary and Metal Theft Unit- The primary purpose of the Commercial Burglary and Metal Theft Unit is to investigate Burglary of Non Residence (commercial) and facilitate the identification and recovery of stolen property that has been taken to local pawnshops, scrap metal dealers and secondhand stores.
- Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit-
With the recent rapid growth of the City of Austin area, there has been a substantial increase in commercial motor vehicle traffic. The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement team was created to enforce local, state, and federal laws as they apply to the operation of commercial motor vehicles as well as traffic enforcement and collisions on all the high-speed roadways within the city limits of Austin.
- Court Services Unit-
The Court Services Unit is responsible for providing building security to the Austin Municipal Court and other City Judicial Buildings. In addition to providing security service to the Courts, personnel conduct warrant services on outstanding municipal Class “C” and Traffic violators.
- DWI Enforcement Unit-
This unit works to increase enforcement of DWI laws and send a message to motorists who drink and drive.
- Family Violence Protection Unit-
The Family Violence Protection Team (FVPT) is a collaborative, community response to family and dating violence that provides multiple services. We improve access to law enforcement, counseling, crisis management and legal services for survivors of family violence and their children. We hope to increase batterer accountability, empower survivors to lead violence-free lives and lead the community's zero tolerance policy toward family and dating violence.
- Financial Crime Unit-
The Financial Crimes Unit is responsible for investigating crimes in which a financial instrument is used by the criminal element. The Financial Crimes Unit works offenses of credit card abuse, identity theft, counterfeit or forged checks, false statement to obtain credit and counterfeit U.S. Currency cases (in conjunction with the U.S. Secret Service).
- Firearms Review Unit-
The Firearms Review Unit was formally created in March 2005 in response to the growing concerns about gun crime in Austin. The unit is under the Investigations Bureau, Organized Crime Division and is responsible for investigating firearm violations in the Austin, Texas area. The unit is also responsible for the filing of State and Federal firearms related offenses. The unit assists other law enforcement agencies on firearm related matters when needed.
- Forensic Science Unit-
The Forensic Science Unit investigates crimes using forensic evidence.
- Fugitive Unit-
The Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU) was created in August 1998 during a departmental reorganization. It was established with the purpose of executing warrants not served by uniformed patrol officers or departmental detectives. The unit, by executing departmental warrants, will allow uniformed patrol officers to remain in their assigned sectors available for calls while also allowing detectives additional time to conduct their criminal investigations.
- Gang Suppression Unit-
In 2005 the Joint Juvenile Gang Unit was formed to address youth gang activity in and around the Austin area.
- Highway Response Unit-
The unit is responsible for clearing traffic hazards, investigating crashes and enforcing traffic laws and City Ordinances on all the high-speed roadways within the city limits of Austin. Enforcement operations and unit deployments are based upon statistical analysis of collision and other data. The primary purpose of the HRT is to reduce accidents, save lives, and facilitate the safe and efficient movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic throughout the City.
- Homicide Unit-
The Austin Police Department Homicide Unit is tasked with the investigation of all homicides, accidental deaths (non-traffic related), suicides, deaths of a suspicious or undetermined nature inside the jurisdiction of the City of Austin.
Citizens of Austin can be assured that Homicide personnel are selfless in their sacrifice and commitment to bringing closure to the victims of these tragic crimes. They work tirelessly to bring to light the facts of the cases and work with the District Attorney’s Office for successful prosecution of these violent offenders.
- Homicide/Cold Case unit-
Within our legal system, the crime of murder has no statute of limitations. Homicide investigators see the job of bringing these killers to justice as a solemn duty. They realize that justice is owed not only to the deceased victim, but to the family and friends left behind.
- Human Trafficking and Vice Unit-
Human Trafficking is modern day slavery, widespread throughout the United States today. Trafficking in humans is the second largest criminal industry in the world. Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor.
- Internal Affairs Unit- (IA)
The mission of Internal Affairs is to review officer involved critical incidents and investigate complaints received on sworn and non-sworn employees of the Austin Police Department. Critical incidents include officer involved shootings, pursuits resulting in serious injury, or any incident resulting in serious injury or death of a person, regardless of any allegations of misconduct.
- K-9 Unit-
The Austin Police Department Canine Unit was established in 1979 and its mission is to provide trained police canine teams to assist in the prevention and detection of crime, to locate persons sought by the police, to promote a favorable public image of the Department and to carry out other duties as may be directed by the Canine Sergeant or the Department.
- Lake Patrol-
The Austin Police Department Lake Patrol Unit patrols the three public lakes in the City of Austin; Walter E. Long, Lady Bird, and Lake Austin.
Lakes The City of Austin is blessed with an abundance of water recreation opportunities. Austin Parks and Recreation Department operates and maintains parkland surrounding several lakes, Lady Bird Lake, Lake Austin and Lake Walter E. Long. The lakes have a variety of recreation opportunities.
- Missing Persons Unit-
The Missing Persons Unit is responsible for investigating the following: Harboring a Runaway, Request to Locate, Out of County Missing Person believed to be in Austin, Runaway, Found Child, Missing Child, Missing Adult, Recovered Runaway, Found Adult, Missing Person Endangered, Missing due to catastrophic events such as floods.
- Motors Unit-
The Austin Police Department has the largest Motorcycle Unit in the State of Texas. The Motorcycle Unit consists of 1 Lieutenant, 6 Sergeants and 45 Senior Police Officers. The Motorcycle Fleet currently consists of 70 BMW Motorcycles.
- Mounted Patrol Unit-
The Austin Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit is currently made up of 10 officers, 2 Corporals and 1 Sergeant. This number can increase during special events when the unit brings in auxiliary riders, to field more horses. The unit currently has 14 horses.
- Narcotics Unit-
The APD Narcotics Unit Investigates all types of narcotics violations, processes patrol narcotic administrative cases, and assists other APD investigative details, including Metro Response, District Representatives, as well as assisting local, state and federal agencies. In addition, the unit works with confidential informants, does surveillance, conducts search warrants and acts in an undercover capacity.
- Nuisance Abatement Unit-
The Nuisance Abatement Unit is composed of one Detective and one Sergeant. The Nuisance Abatement Unit works “behind the scenes” with property owners and other city departments in an attempt to first gain voluntary compliance with properties that have been deemed a “nuisance”. If voluntary compliance is not met then detectives utilize various statutes to remedy the nuisance.
- Office of Community Liaison Unit-
The Office of Community Liaison (OCL) works in each of APD's 4 regions as dictated by the needs of the department and the community. Outreach objectives include, but are not limited to:
- Park Police Unit-
The Park Patrol Unit is responsible for patrolling more than 16,000 acres of land containing 251 parks, 15 preserves, 40 greenbelts, 47 pools, and over 74 miles of trails in the City of Austin. Park officers utilize a wide range of tools to preserve the peace within City of Austin parks and are often seen patrolling on foot or bikes along park trails. Many of the areas patrolled by the Park Unit are not accessible by vehicle.
- Public Information Office-
The Public Information Office (PIO) is the connection between the public and the Austin Police. They are responsible for the social media of the department, the Citizens Police Academy CAP) and Public Information Requests. They are the publics first point of contact for any questions about Police incidents/activity
- Robbery Unit-
The Robbery Unit is responsible for investigating robberies of individuals, businesses, and banks within the City of Austin. The unit conducts and documents robbery and robbery related investigations to include going to crime scenes, conducting interviews and interrogations, issuing and executing warrants and making referrals to courts and other agencies.
- Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit-
The Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration (SOAR) Unit was created in February of 1999 to register and monitor persons residing within the city limits who have been declared as sex offenders (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 62) and have a duty to register. Currently, the unit is incorporated into the Investigations Bureau.
- Special Investigations Unit
The Unit's motto is "Leave No Stone Unturned in Seeking the Truth". While this unit was initially created to investigate only APD officer involved incidents, it quickly grew to include criminal investigations involving all sworn peace officers alleged to have committed a criminal offense within the jurisdiction of the Austin Police Department.
- Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team-
The primary mission of the Austin Police SWAT team is to professionally resolve life threatening critical incidents, while striving to minimize negative impact on Austin’s residents and visitors. In addition, SWAT is to provide tactical, administrative and training support to all members of the Department.
- Towing Unit-
Rush Hour Rapid Response is a program offered by the City of Austin to promote citizen safety and reduce congestion on the major thoroughfares during peak traffic times.
- Traffic Fatalities Unit-
The Austin Police Department, as part of the City of Austin Vision Zero Task Force created this page to prevent traffic fatality, serious injury and overall traffic crashes and to better inform the public, educators and the media about information related to these events. We will continue to push towards the goal of zero deaths on Austin roadways with the help of everyone. Users should check regularly for updates.
- Vehicle Abatement Unit-
The Vehicle Abatement Unit will now handle abandoned vehicles.To report an abandoned vehicle, call 311 or submit a service request electronically to Austin 3-1-1 (Ten digit phone number- 512-974-2000)
- Vehicular Homicide Unit-
The Vehicular Homicide Unit’s job is to investigate the scenes of crashes that have fatal or life threatening injuries, in order to determine if something criminal occurred. The Unit uses extensive training in crash reconstruction, computerized mapping and animation, and on-board data recorders in order to accomplish this.
- Vice Unit-
The Vice unit enforces organized gambling, organized prostitution, and pornography-related state laws and city ordinances.
- Victim Services Unit-
Created in 1981, the long held mission of the Victim Services Division of the Austin Police Department is to respond to crime victim’s psychological and emotional needs.
- Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Unit-
We are committed to finding quality volunteers who will enhance the work of the Police Department. We believe that a volunteer workforce will strengthen community relations and build strong partnerships.
- Wrecker Enforcement Unit-
Patrol divisions
- Downtown Area Command (DTAC)
- Northeast Area Command
- Northwest Area Command
- North Central Area Command
- Central East Area Command
- Central West Area Command
- Southeast Area Command
- Southwest Area Command
- South Central Area Command
- Highway Enforcement Command (Motors, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, DWI Enforcement)
Ranks
Rank | Insignia [1] |
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Chief of Police | |
Chief of Staff | |
Assistant Chief | |
Commander | |
Lieutenant | |
Sergeant (10+ years in rank)
Sergeant (less than 10 years in rank) |
|
Corporal/Detective | |
Senior Police Officer | N/A |
Fallen Officers
Since the establishment of the Austin Police Department, 23 officers have died in the line of duty.[5] The following list also contains one officer from the Austin Park Police Department, which was merged into APD.[citation needed]
Officer[5] | Date of death | Details |
---|---|---|
Officer Cornelius L. Fahey | Gunfire | |
Officer John Gaines | Gunfire | |
Officer Tom Allen | Gunfire | |
Chief of Police James N. Littlepage | Gunfire | |
Sergeant William Murray Stuart | Vehicle pursuit | |
Officer James R. Cummings | Motorcycle accident | |
Officer Elkins P. Morrison | Struck by vehicle | |
Sergeant Walter Lee Tucker | Motorcycle accident | |
Officer Donald Eugene Carpenter | Gunfire | |
Officer Billy Paul Speed | Gunfire | |
Officer Thomas Wayne Birtrong | Automobile accident | |
Officer Leland Dale Anderson | Gunfire | |
Officer Ralph Allen Ablanedo | Gunfire | |
Officer Lee Craig Smith | Motorcycle accident | |
Officer Robert Townes Martinez Jr. | Automobile accident | |
Officer Drew A. Bolin | Vehicular assault | |
Officer William DeWayne Jones Sr. | Gunfire | |
Office Clinton Hunter | Vehicular assault | |
Sergeant Earl Alison Hall | Heart attack | |
Officer Amy Lynn Donovan | Struck by vehicle | |
Senior Officer Jaime D. Padron | Gunfire | |
Lieutenant Clay D. Crabb | Automobile crash | |
Senior Officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq | Motorcycle crash |
Patrol Sectors=
Airport Adam Baker Charlie David Edward Frank George Henry Ida |}
Facilities
-
Austin Police Headquarters -
North Austin Police Substation -
Clinton Warren Hunter Austin Police South Substation -
Loyola Neighborhood Center
See also
Notes
- ^ "APD Administration". City of Austin. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Chief Manley's Biography". City of Austin. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ "One Austin, Safer Together". City of Austin. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ Cunningham, Chelsea; Norwood, Kalyn (June 14, 2018). "Austin City Council approves Brian Manley as permanent police chief". KVUE. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ a b "Officers Killed in the Line of Duty". Retrieved April 25, 2019.
References
- Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Approved Budget, Executive Summary. City of Austin Budget Office. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/budget/09-10/downloads/Exe%20Final%20Draft.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
- City of Austin – Austin Police Department, Administration. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/chiefs.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-26.