Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, who was sworn in in October, just released a 100-day action plan, aimed at working on recruitment, and community trust. City Cast Austin sat down with Davis to talk about the changes she’s already making, and what she has planned for the department. Here are some key takeaways:
⏲️ Davis Wants To Release More Information, Faster.
Days into the job, Davis held a news conference in September after Austin police officers fatally shot a man in North Austin. When Davis got to the scene, officers were preparing a statement about the shooting.
“And I'm like, ‘Well, let's just get up there and tell them what happened. Let's give them the facts and we'll follow it up the next day,’” Davis said.
Davis said the practice of getting the information the department has out as fast as possible helps with transparency.
“I do think it’s important to get out the story,” Davis said. “We can’t say we value transparency and that we’re a transparent organization (if) we’re not doing that as fast as we can.”
Earlier this month, the department did provide an initial briefing on an incident where police fatally shot a carjacking suspect, but then took days to provide more information.
🤝 Addressing Complaints, Wait Times Could Repair Community Relationships, Davis Said.
Davis thinks police work is a lot like customer service, and long wait times for police assistance are not helpful in building trust between the department and the public. Neither are officer discourtesy complaints, which Davis is working on addressing, she said.
“When you have an officer with 15 complaints, whether they're sustained or not, there's an issue there. There is something going on there,” Davis said.
🔨 Davis Wants Billboards.
The police department is understaffed, and recruitment is a top priority. One strategy Davis wants to use, among others, she saw while working in Cincinnati, Ohio: Billboards.
“For some reason, New York is a big draw for people to come to Austin, as well as places in California. So, we're going to look at getting billboards in those locations and those work,” she said.
👂 Listen to Davis’ whole interview here.
