Austin voters to decide on police staffing minimums

(The Center Square) – Law and order is on the ballot Tuesday in Austin, Texas, where voters will decide on Proposition A, which would require a minimum number of police officers based on the city’s population.

The ballot initiative would require there to be at least two police officers for every 1,000 residents of the city. FBI Uniform Crime Reports showed that in 2019, Austin, had 1,802 total police officers, or 1.90 officers per 1,000 residents.

The measure also would require an additional 40 hours of officer training each year on topics such as critical thinking, defensive tactics, and active shooter situations.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott supports Proposition A, telling voters in a tweet that “Defunding police has been a disaster in cities across the country. Austinites – vote FOR Prop A to support law enforcement & keep your community safe.”

Police department data show that, through September, Austin has experienced an 88% increase in murders, a 25% increase in sexual assaults, and a 112% increase in vehicle burglaries.

Save Austin Now, an advocacy group that gathered more than 30,000 signatures to get Proposition A on the ballot, said efforts by the city council to defund the police have put residents’ lives in danger.

“Despite a skyrocketing population,” Austin now has the lowest police staffing levels it has ever had,” the group said on its website. “Prop A fixes this by requiring the city to hire and maintain more officers and to rapidly catch up to the number of officers we have lost or fired when city council defunded the police in 2019. We’re 320 officers short of where we were then, and we’re already seeing the impact on investigations (Gangs Unit disbanded) and thwarting crime (911 can no longer be used for burglary or suspicious persons).”

Democratic Austin Mayor Steve Adler opposes the measure, writing in the Austin American-Statesman, “Prop A is recklessly simplistic – and a threat to Austin’s public safety and fiscal health.”

According to Ballotpedia, Amendment A would cost taxpayers between $54.3 million and $119.8 million a year if it passes.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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