Austin’s Office Of Police Oversight Releases End Of Year Report

The City of Austin’s Office of Police Oversight (OPO) has released its End of Year Report 2018-2019 to update the community on its accomplishments over the past 12 months.

The OPO, an independent, civilian office for the City of Austin, provides impartial oversight of the Austin Police Department.

The City of San Marcos and San Marcos Police Department does not offer these types of transparency reports.

Since being established in November 2018 the OPO has made a number of changes to ensure it meets the expectations of the community.

This includes redefining its mission to focus on three critical areas: providing impartial oversight, increasing transparency, and building partnerships.

The OPO, which enables members of the community to file a complaint against misconduct or send a thank you to an Austin Police officer, also revamped its complaint process to improve the way in which it monitors investigations and communicates with complainants.

Key accomplishments for 2018-2019 include:

• A streamlined complaint/thank-you process, which accepts anonymous complaints
• An equity-based community engagement model to introduce OPO to the community
• A new website and increased presence on social media
• Improved transparency of complaints through discipline notices and reports.

Members of the Austin community contacted the OPO 802 times in the 12 months to December 1, 2019, according to the End of Year Report.

The contacts, which included complaints, questions and requests, were made online, on the phone, via email and mail, and by person. Ninety-nine of the contacts were made anonymously.

The most common complaint allegations related to:

• Responsibility to the community
• Impartial attitude and courtesy
• Property and equipment
• General conduct and responsibility
• Response to resistance.

In addition to the 802 contacts, members of the community also filed 101 “thank-yous” to APD employees. A full data analysis of complaints received between Dec. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2019, will be included in the OPO’s first annual report, due to be published in March 2020.

“The creation of the Office of Police Oversight a little over a year ago was a tremendous moment as Austin came together to expand the scope of police oversight for the purposes of greater transparency and accountability. OPO aims to be a national model for civilian oversight and proof that effective oversight can lead to systemic change and improved public trust,” said OPO Director Farah Muscadin.

For more information about the OPO go to: http://atxpoliceoversight.org.