AUSTIN, TX - As the U.S.-Mexico border continues to see an influx of illegal migrant crossings, the Texas Department of Public Safety's (DPS) Violent Task Force located in Austin announced it will be shutting down the unit as it deploys more of its troops to the border to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.
According to KVUE, on Thursday, December 21st, DPS confirmed in a statement that the task force will end effective December 23rd. In their statement, the department cited the crisis at the southern border as one of the potential reasons for the decision.
In their statement, DPS wrote, "The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) remains committed to working alongside our partners, and we are proud of the results that the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (AVCTF) was able to produce in such a short time. However, due to the ever-changing situation along our southern border, DPS is deploying additional resources to the area and will be ending the AVCTF as of Dec. 23, 2023."
In March 2023, the AVCTF began as a way for the DPS to assist the Austin Police Department (APD) as it dealt with severe staffing shortages. DPS said that its primary goal was to curb both violent crime and traffic deaths. According to reports, although the unit will be ending, it is believed to be funded through April of 2024.
APD released the following statement, "We appreciate the time and resources DPS contributed to help keep our Austin community safe in partnership with APD. While we understand DPS is no longer able to continue with this endeavor, we look forward to their presence in Austin if/when they are able to join us again in the future."
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also provided a statement, saying, "The safety of our community is a primary function of City government and we continue to take actions to assure that safety. As I took office in January of 2023, we inherited serious problems in the system. We've worked to make corrections and try new approaches."
Watson added, "With our 911 system, it was recently reported that 93.28 percent of calls were being answered within 15 seconds. In July, that was 69.18 percent. We will graduate another cadet class just after Christmas and again in April and will start a new class in February with approximately 80 cadets."
He continued, "The signing bonus program for new cadets that we instituted this year appears to be working. I have committed to bringing back an ordinance by the end of January 2024 similar to the one we passed in March. The purpose is to renew those recruiting incentives and guarantee police pay and retirement benefits. We will continue to support our police officers to assure our public's safety. As I've said, our officers have our back and we'll have theirs."
The partnership with APD and DPS was created in consultation with Watson, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. A few weeks after the start of AVCTF, DPS temporarily halted the partnership as they sent troopers to the southern border to help with the migrant crisis in the wake of the Title 42 Immigration restrictions lifting.
However, by the beginning of July, DPS troopers resumed working alongside APD officers. Shortly after that, the City of Austin suspended the partnership with DPS after there was an incident between troopers and a 10-year-old boy. Watson said that troopers allegedly pulled a gun on the young boy.
At the time Watson said, "This partnership was an innovative approach to address acute staffing shortages that were years in the making. However, any approach must be in sync with Austin values." He also said that the successful partnership helped reduce crime and traffic fatalities as well as getting illegal guns and drugs off the streets.
According to KVUE, on Thursday, December 21st, DPS confirmed in a statement that the task force will end effective December 23rd. In their statement, the department cited the crisis at the southern border as one of the potential reasons for the decision.
In their statement, DPS wrote, "The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) remains committed to working alongside our partners, and we are proud of the results that the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (AVCTF) was able to produce in such a short time. However, due to the ever-changing situation along our southern border, DPS is deploying additional resources to the area and will be ending the AVCTF as of Dec. 23, 2023."
In March 2023, the AVCTF began as a way for the DPS to assist the Austin Police Department (APD) as it dealt with severe staffing shortages. DPS said that its primary goal was to curb both violent crime and traffic deaths. According to reports, although the unit will be ending, it is believed to be funded through April of 2024.
APD released the following statement, "We appreciate the time and resources DPS contributed to help keep our Austin community safe in partnership with APD. While we understand DPS is no longer able to continue with this endeavor, we look forward to their presence in Austin if/when they are able to join us again in the future."
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also provided a statement, saying, "The safety of our community is a primary function of City government and we continue to take actions to assure that safety. As I took office in January of 2023, we inherited serious problems in the system. We've worked to make corrections and try new approaches."
Watson added, "With our 911 system, it was recently reported that 93.28 percent of calls were being answered within 15 seconds. In July, that was 69.18 percent. We will graduate another cadet class just after Christmas and again in April and will start a new class in February with approximately 80 cadets."
He continued, "The signing bonus program for new cadets that we instituted this year appears to be working. I have committed to bringing back an ordinance by the end of January 2024 similar to the one we passed in March. The purpose is to renew those recruiting incentives and guarantee police pay and retirement benefits. We will continue to support our police officers to assure our public's safety. As I've said, our officers have our back and we'll have theirs."
The partnership with APD and DPS was created in consultation with Watson, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. A few weeks after the start of AVCTF, DPS temporarily halted the partnership as they sent troopers to the southern border to help with the migrant crisis in the wake of the Title 42 Immigration restrictions lifting.
However, by the beginning of July, DPS troopers resumed working alongside APD officers. Shortly after that, the City of Austin suspended the partnership with DPS after there was an incident between troopers and a 10-year-old boy. Watson said that troopers allegedly pulled a gun on the young boy.
At the time Watson said, "This partnership was an innovative approach to address acute staffing shortages that were years in the making. However, any approach must be in sync with Austin values." He also said that the successful partnership helped reduce crime and traffic fatalities as well as getting illegal guns and drugs off the streets.
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Comments
2023-12-26T13:59-0600 | Comment by: Robert
B.L.M. = "BLUE LIVES MATTER". Period