AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin and Austin Independent School District were awarded federal grants totaling $448,245 to encourage and improve community policing efforts, according to the office of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
The City will receive $200,000 of that as "de-escalation law enforcement agency grants," while Austin ISD will get the remaining $248,245 for "crisis intervention teams."
"Making sure our communities are safe is of critical importance, and one of the best ways we can do that is by ensuring our law enforcement officers are working hand-in-glove with community policing efforts," said Sen. Cornyn. "I applaud this announcement and will continue to do everything I can to keep Austinites safe."
As part of the ongoing series "Reforming the Force," the KVUE Defenders sought answers to community questions as part of a town hall.
Panelists were newly appointed Austin Police Chief Joe Chacon, former Travis County Sheriff and Austin Police Monitor Margo Frasier, and Paniel Joseph, director of the Center for Race and Democracy at the University of Texas.
In a wide-ranging conversation, each acknowledged that Austin likely hasn't yet become a national model for police reform – a goal that city officials set last summer – but said that it could help design new types of policing in the future.
Watch the town hall here:
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