Austin police chief releases results from 100-day plan

APD chief releases 100-day plan results

Austin police chief Lisa Davis has released the results of her 100 day plan, which includes recent APD initiatives and the results of a public safety survey.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis has released results from her 100-day plan.

She said she listened to community members and launched new initiatives from their feedback.

"I am proud to present the outcomes of the 100-day action plan—including summaries of engagement activities, survey results, and future directions—reflecting the beginning of a sustained journey toward excellence in public safety and community partnership," Chief Davis states in her report.

By the numbers:

Chief Davis said she participated in more than 240 meetings, briefings, and community events with APD employees, neighborhood associations, business owners, faith leaders, youth groups, and advocacy organizations.

Chief Davis said in order to better understand the needs of the community and staff, they asked people to complete surveys. She said almost 1,000 were submitted between November 2024 and January 2025.

The percent of respondents stated they wanted APD to focus on:

58% improving response times
56% addressing homeless issues
50% increasing police presence
43% increasing traffic enforcement

The average feeling of safety in Austin from those who filled out the survey was a 6 out of 10, 10 being "extremely safe."

Some of the reasons stated for why they felt that way were:

Fear for safety in traffic and on roadways
Wanting faster police response times and more officer visibility
Abuse of power by police of the City
Prosecution and suspect bond concerns

APD staff stated the number one challenge for the department was staffing shortages, followed by backfill or the need to use detectives and other specialized personnel to fill patrol shifts, then resources which includes vehicles, equipment, and technology, then leadership and communication, and legal support.

"Officers fear prosecution by the Travis County District Attorney (DA) for actions taken while doing their jobs, despite following policy and training. This discourages self-initiated proactive police work and creates feelings that Department leadership cannot adequately support them in this environment, further negatively impacting morale and new officer recruitment and retention efforts," the report stated.

What they're saying:

"These efforts were not symbolic—they were substantive and essential to identifying the Department’s operational strengths, uncovering areas for improvement, and better understanding our community’s needs," Chief Davis stated in her report.

"As your Chief of Police, I am committed to building the leadership, knowledge, and capacity needed to deliver excellence at every level of our organization," Chief Davis stated.

Recent APD initiatives

Dig deeper:

The report said APD has recently launched initiatives to ‘better serve our personnel and city’ which includes:

New Executive Leadership
Broadened Outreach and Recruitment Efforts by offering a mentoring program for young adults, strengthening internet and social media presence, and signing a five-year contract.
Partnering with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office to develop focused strategies for holding repeat offenders accountable
Proactive problem-solving in hotspots across the City
Deploying directed patrols in high-crime areas
Partnering with Austin Downtown Alliance, bar owners, businesses and all City Departments to ‘disrupt downtown’s Dirty Sixth culture’
Realigning resources and personnel to improve response times, reduce crime, and strengthen community engagement
Working to establish new police districts
Mandating report-taking for all crimes
New training courses
Piloted a safety camera system, which uses automated license plate reader technology to capture vehicle details
Launched a new Investigative Task Force to improve the process and increase case outcomes
Established an Evidence-Based Policing Bureau to strengthen data-driven decision-making
Assembled a Use of Force Task Force to review and align APD’s practices with national best practices in de-escalation and force mitigation