AUSTIN, Texas — In a memo from Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano to the mayor and city council, Arellano laid out a timeline for the proposed reallocation of programs and services currently assigned to the Austin Police Department (APD).
Programs included in the proposed reallocation include APD's forensics lab, the 911 dispatch center, the internal affairs department and the "special investigations unit."
As proposed in the memo, the City of Austin could move six programs from the police department's jurisdiction starting in the first quarter of the 2020-21 budget. Those six programs include:
- Forensics lab
- Administrative and management services
- Technology services
- Officer wellness program
- Municipal/community court security
- Protective services
Furthermore, these remaining six programs have the following timeline for their proposed reallocation:
- Chief medical officer concept (Q1-Q3)
- Strategic support (Q1-Q3)
- Emergency call center and police dispatch (Q1-Q4)
- Internal affairs (Q1-Q4)
- Special investigations unit (Q1-Q4)
- Nuisance abatement (Q2-Q4)
Aside from those 12 programs, the City memo also mentions seven other areas that may be removed with advisement from the community:
- Crisis intervention team and mental health response
- Park patrol, lake patrol and airport police
- Victim services and crisis counselors
- Community partnerships
- Officer training
- Vehicle licensing and highway enforcement
- Governance
These seven programs are labeled under "City/County Reimagining Review," which the City memo states needs community involvement to determine how the service might be best done to meet Austin's public safety needs.
The memo stated that the timeline is evolving, so the timing of the proposed reallocations could change.