Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

txags92 said:

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cityagboy said:

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Many people over 25 don't want a roommate. Many people are single. And Austin is a very expensive city both for rent and other living expenses. Affordable housing and public transportation are real problems that city leadership has done a poor job on.

This article is from 2022 but does a good job of breaking down the real cost of rent in austin although it has gone up since it was written

https://www.kut.org/austin/2022-10-07/monthly-rent-cost-austin

Another from July of 2023

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/housing-cost-living-austin-texas-expensive-real-estate.amp

Last I saw was that you needed about $120k minimum to BUY a condo or small home in austin and about $160k for a couple with no kids. (Yes, there are people who bought a long time ago who make much less than that)

I believe the number to live comfortably as a solo renter was just under $90k if you don't have significant debt to pay off.

Let's be honest most police officers aren't going to want a tiny apartment or have random roommates

---

I am good friends with an HPD cop that lived in an apartment for about his first 5 years on the force with an HPD buddy that he went through the academy with, and then he bought a house out in Cypress and commuted into work for the next 20 years. No reason the roommate has to be a random stranger or that they have to live in Austin. We have several Travis County Sheriffs, DPS, and APD that live out here in Bastrop County.

It is such a silly argument these days that every job has to be able to pay for a single person to buy an average priced house in the city where their job is. Single people working entry level jobs are not the "average" person and shouldn't be expected to afford an "average priced" small home or condo. They should expect to live in an entry level apartment or condo with a roommate. And you can't just start paying an entry level cop $90k per year without every other cop on the force wanting their pay to be increased accordingly. Realistically, the number of cops joining the force are limited by the ability to train cadet class sizes and the ability to recruit from other departments. Presumably, the recruits you are trying to pull from other agencies are going to have at least a few years of experience, and between educational uplifts, certification pay, shift bonuses, overtime, etc. they are going to make well over $90k their first year, and that $15k hiring bonus will go a long way towards helping with a down payment if they do want to buy instead of renting. It isn't a money problem...it is an "everybody hates you and the DA wants to put you in jail because you are a cop" problem.

---

In regards to living situations you can have your opinion but I do live here and know that it is really expensive. Part of that cost rise is unavoidable just like some of the crime rise is unavoidable when the city is growing as fast as it is. Part of both is also city leadership which I have not defended once on this thread.

And maybe APD should spend more time trying to build relationships with the community instead of simply throwing blame everywhere but themselves

cityagboy said:

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Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

read the thread. If you don't live in austin you are here to troll. APD is ok with a huge budget

Go talk $%&* on the Houston, San Antonio, Lubbock, Beaumont, Dallas and Mesquite boards cause all of those cities are more dangerous than Austin

---

So...you have to live there to be able to comment here. Is that your logic? My office was located on S. Lamar until about four years ago, when the homeless population began to make my clients feel unsafe. That did not happen prior to 2019-2020. Austin used to be just weird, now it is quickly becoming as unsafe as Houston and SA. The addition of the serial killer working here with Austin city council undermining safety at every step points towards Austin becoming a cesspool and unsafe. The council's war against APD and DPS does not help.

We ventured to downtown a few months ago and it seemed like a war zone. That is far different than it did ten years prior. I can only imagine what the next ten years will bring to that once great town.

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

read the thread. If you don't live in austin you are here to troll. APD is ok with a huge budget

Go talk $%&* on the Houston, San Antonio, Lubbock, Beaumont, Dallas and Mesquite boards cause all of those cities are more dangerous than Austin

---

So...you have to live there to be able to comment here. Is that your logic? My office was located on S. Lamar until about four years ago, when the homeless population began to make my clients feel unsafe. That did not happen prior to 2019-2020. Austin used to be just weird, now it is quickly becoming as unsafe as Houston and SA. The addition of the serial killer working here with Austin city council undermining safety at every step points towards Austin becoming a cesspool and unsafe. The council's war against APD and DPS does not help.

We ventured to downtown a few months ago and it seemed like a war zone. That is far different than it did ten years prior. I can only imagine what the next ten years will bring to that once great town.

---

The homeless issue got out of control. Austin voted in May of 2021 to not allow camping on city property and it is WAY better. It has been a slow process but it's getting better and better. Although it will only improve so much because both conservatives and liberals aren't willing to address the real issues causing homelessness. There also is very little homeless on non-homeless crime although, yes, you can find examples of it happening.

And I ask if you live in austin because many just come here from F16 trying to troll and push the agenda that is coming out of the capital building in Austin. Gotta own those libtards…. And it doesn't look like a war zone…. Get out of here with that over dramatization

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

---

So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

---

So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

---

As far as I knew the DPS started back up in July. I don't know if it stopped after that.

You can have your opinion on Austin but I think it's a dramatization. I live in Central Austin, kid goes to school in Central Austin, both my wife and I are frequently DT, on the Eastside and in Central Austin…. There are a lot of really nice and fun areas. I don't ever feel unsafe, nor does my wife and son, but we feel comfortable with people who not like us. Austin is pretty nice compared to other big cities and is clearly safer than other big cities. Maybe big cities just aren't for you. They surely are not as "pretty" as a wealthy suburb and surely more crowded than a rural town.

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

So...you have to live there to be able to comment here. Is that your logic? My office was located on S. Lamar until about four years ago, when the homeless population began to make my clients feel unsafe. That did not happen prior to 2019-2020. Austin used to be just weird, now it is quickly becoming as unsafe as Houston and SA. The addition of the serial killer working here with Austin city council undermining safety at every step points towards Austin becoming a cesspool and unsafe. The council's war against APD and DPS does not help.

We ventured to downtown a few months ago and it seemed like a war zone. That is far different than it did ten years prior. I can only imagine what the next ten years will bring to that once great town.

---

This is a common response on this board, even though the board is entitled "Austin, Georgetown, San Marcos, and surrounding areas"

Martin Cash said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

So...you have to live there to be able to comment here. Is that your logic? My office was located on S. Lamar until about four years ago, when the homeless population began to make my clients feel unsafe. That did not happen prior to 2019-2020. Austin used to be just weird, now it is quickly becoming as unsafe as Houston and SA. The addition of the serial killer working here with Austin city council undermining safety at every step points towards Austin becoming a cesspool and unsafe. The council's war against APD and DPS does not help.

We ventured to downtown a few months ago and it seemed like a war zone. That is far different than it did ten years prior. I can only imagine what the next ten years will bring to that once great town.

---

This is a common response on this board, even though the board is entitled "Austin, Georgetown, San Marcos, and surrounding areas"

---

I replied already to a similar response but the question is asked because so many just come here from F16 to troll or shout about homeless people and crime. They don't know the city so they don't understand the intricacies of the city. They see a narrative they are told to push and see this board as a place to shout.

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

---

So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

---

As far as I knew the DPS started back up in July. I don't know if it stopped after that.

You can have you opinion on Austin but I think it's a dramatization. I live in Central Austin, kid goes to school in Central Austin, both my wife and I are frequently DT, on the Eastside and in Central Austin…. There are a lot of really nice and fun areas. I don't ever feel unsafe, nor does my wife and son, but we feel comfortable with people who not like us. Austin is pretty nice compared to other big cities and is clearly safer than other big cities. Maybe big cities just aren't for you. They surely are not as "pretty" as a wealthy suburb and surely more crowded than a rural town.

---

The program ended August 25th after violent crimes had been reduced by 26% from previous year for the time period. It made a significant impact to the cities short staffing issues. But was ended after the council and other critics believed that it unfairly targeted troubled areas and minority populations. As far as I know, there are not many large cities in TX that have had to have the help of the State agency for this. The short staffing of the APD is criminal.

You can think that my opinion on Austin is a dramatization, just as your opinion is. Neither one holds any more weight than the other. You can be proud of your city's sanitation and safety and graciously claim that it is better than other large cities, but I compare it to the large cities that I frequent and I am not impressed with the direction that Austin is going compared to those large cities.

What other large cities do you frequent?

And I think DPS started back up after they stopped. Dec 23rd was their last day, I believe.

Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Tulsa, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Jose, Costa Rica. I would currently rank Austin below all of those except Las Vegas and San Jose, Costa Rica (and that one is a third world country.)

How about you? What cities make up your basis?

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Tulsa, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Jose, Costa Rica. I would currently rank Austin below all of those except Las Vegas and San Jose, Costa Rica (and that one is a third world country.)

How about you? What cities make up your basis?

---

Ok, I just moved out of Houston last year and I am going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there. Downtown Houston and significant areas around it and up and down Hwy 59 are are sh*tholes that are far more dangerous and violent than anywhere in Austin. Same cause and general source of the problem, but it is worse there and you are being disingenuous to say otherwise. Are there homeless issues and crime issues in Austin? Yes. Worse than Houston? No.

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Tulsa, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Jose, Costa Rica. I would currently rank Austin below all of those except Las Vegas and San Jose, Costa Rica (and that one is a third world country.)

How about you? What cities make up your basis?

---

Austin is safer than every city you listed. Well, I'm not sure about SJ, Costa Rica but I'd assume there as well

I obviously live in Central Austin. I visit Houston, SA, Dallas, Detroit, Tampa and New York City often. Travel a lot other than that though.

txags92 said:

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Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Tulsa, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Jose, Costa Rica. I would currently rank Austin below all of those except Las Vegas and San Jose, Costa Rica (and that one is a third world country.)

How about you? What cities make up your basis?

---

Ok, I just moved out of Houston last year and I am going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there. Downtown Houston and significant areas around it and up and down Hwy 59 are are sh*tholes that are far more dangerous and violent than anywhere in Austin. Same cause and general source of the problem, but it is worse there and you are being disingenuous to say otherwise. Are there homeless issues and crime issues in Austin? Yes. Worse than Houston? No.

---

I appreciate your discussion and honesty.

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

---

So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

---

As far as I knew the DPS started back up in July. I don't know if it stopped after that.

You can have you opinion on Austin but I think it's a dramatization. I live in Central Austin, kid goes to school in Central Austin, both my wife and I are frequently DT, on the Eastside and in Central Austin…. There are a lot of really nice and fun areas. I don't ever feel unsafe, nor does my wife and son, but we feel comfortable with people who not like us. Austin is pretty nice compared to other big cities and is clearly safer than other big cities. Maybe big cities just aren't for you. They surely are not as "pretty" as a wealthy suburb and surely more crowded than a rural town.

---

The program ended August 25th after violent crimes had been reduced by 26% from previous year for the time period. It made a significant impact to the cities short staffing issues. But was ended after the council and other critics believed that it unfairly targeted troubled areas and minority populations. As far as I know, there are not many large cities in TX that have had to have the help of the State agency for this. The short staffing of the APD is criminal.

You can think that my opinion on Austin is a dramatization, just as your opinion is. Neither one holds any more weight than the other. You can be proud of your city's sanitation and safety and graciously claim that it is better than other large cities, but I compare it to the large cities that I frequent and I am not impressed with the direction that Austin is going compared to those large cities.

---

The City of Austin ended the DPS partnership program (I assume the date above is correct). Then Abbott basically said too bad, the DPS is going to continue their patrols and that continued for a few months until the DPS staff was pulled to assist down at the border. As far as I know, the DPS supplemental patrols have not resumed.

KT 90 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

---

So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

---

As far as I knew the DPS started back up in July. I don't know if it stopped after that.

You can have you opinion on Austin but I think it's a dramatization. I live in Central Austin, kid goes to school in Central Austin, both my wife and I are frequently DT, on the Eastside and in Central Austin…. There are a lot of really nice and fun areas. I don't ever feel unsafe, nor does my wife and son, but we feel comfortable with people who not like us. Austin is pretty nice compared to other big cities and is clearly safer than other big cities. Maybe big cities just aren't for you. They surely are not as "pretty" as a wealthy suburb and surely more crowded than a rural town.

---

The program ended August 25th after violent crimes had been reduced by 26% from previous year for the time period. It made a significant impact to the cities short staffing issues. But was ended after the council and other critics believed that it unfairly targeted troubled areas and minority populations. As far as I know, there are not many large cities in TX that have had to have the help of the State agency for this. The short staffing of the APD is criminal.

You can think that my opinion on Austin is a dramatization, just as your opinion is. Neither one holds any more weight than the other. You can be proud of your city's sanitation and safety and graciously claim that it is better than other large cities, but I compare it to the large cities that I frequent and I am not impressed with the direction that Austin is going compared to those large cities.

---

The City of Austin ended the DPS partnership program (I assume the date above is correct). Then Abbott basically said too bad, the DPS is going to continue their patrols and that continued for a few months until the DPS staff was pulled to assist down at the border. As far as I know, the DPS supplemental patrols have not resumed.

---

they did resume and stopped Dec 23rd as the program ended as scheduled. It wasn't just Abbott that brought them back. Our new mayor brought them back.

cityagboy said:

---

KT 90 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

---

So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

---

As far as I knew the DPS started back up in July. I don't know if it stopped after that.

You can have you opinion on Austin but I think it's a dramatization. I live in Central Austin, kid goes to school in Central Austin, both my wife and I are frequently DT, on the Eastside and in Central Austin…. There are a lot of really nice and fun areas. I don't ever feel unsafe, nor does my wife and son, but we feel comfortable with people who not like us. Austin is pretty nice compared to other big cities and is clearly safer than other big cities. Maybe big cities just aren't for you. They surely are not as "pretty" as a wealthy suburb and surely more crowded than a rural town.

---

The program ended August 25th after violent crimes had been reduced by 26% from previous year for the time period. It made a significant impact to the cities short staffing issues. But was ended after the council and other critics believed that it unfairly targeted troubled areas and minority populations. As far as I know, there are not many large cities in TX that have had to have the help of the State agency for this. The short staffing of the APD is criminal.

You can think that my opinion on Austin is a dramatization, just as your opinion is. Neither one holds any more weight than the other. You can be proud of your city's sanitation and safety and graciously claim that it is better than other large cities, but I compare it to the large cities that I frequent and I am not impressed with the direction that Austin is going compared to those large cities.

---

The City of Austin ended the DPS partnership program (I assume the date above is correct). Then Abbott basically said too bad, the DPS is going to continue their patrols and that continued for a few months until the DPS staff was pulled to assist down at the border. As far as I know, the DPS supplemental patrols have not resumed.

---

they did resume and stopped Dec 23rd as the program ended as scheduled. It wasn't just Abbott that brought them back. Our new mayor brought them back.

---

No, the program didn't end as scheduled. An announcement was made that DPS troopers were needed at the border. There was no scheduled end date, as Abbott continued the DPS troopers on his own after Watson shut down the initial program.

Here are a few snips from the Statesman:
"The Texas Department of Public Safety task force dedicated to policing Austin will cease operations on Saturday, the state agency confirmed Thursday. Troopers will be redirected to the southern border "due to the ever-changing situation," according to Ericka Miller, a press secretary for the DPS.

It was not immediately clear whether the DPS will revive the Austin task force in the future or how many, if any, troopers will remain on Austin streets."

Here is a note from the same article about Watson ending the program and Abbott restarting it:
"On the same day in July that Watson announced the partnership's end, Abbott announced DPS troopers would continue to patrol Austin streets anyway, given their statewide jurisdiction, and the only change made would be the repeal of directives from Austin police. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott said he would send an additional 30 troopers to the capital city, bringing the total to 130, which was more than had patrolled the city during their partnership with the Austin police."


https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2023/12/21/texas-dps-troopers-cease-austin-task-force-police-us-mexico-border-greg-abbott/72002945007/

KT 90 said:

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cityagboy said:

---

KT 90 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

cityagboy said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Struggle and Strifer said:

---

Not trying to troll. I believe that this is a serial killer and that there will be escalation. I also believe that the city council's attempts to neuter APD will only make this issue worse. Austin is not a city that I would want to linger around in due to safety concerns.

---

To be fair and support what Cityboy is saying, even though I disagree with him on other subjects, the city council has restored the funding to APD and they are trying to correct some of their earlier missteps with policing. The same can't be said for the DAs office. I think the damage to APD will have long-term ramifications, but the recent changes they made are positive in my eyes.

---

Did they reinstate the partnership with DPS? That would go a long way to short term stop gap.

---

. Yes they did in July

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So you are stating that DPS is currently actively partnering with APD in keeping the city safe? That is great news if they are, but the fact that the partnership was needed is a great indicator of the safety of the citizens. The last I had heard was that the partnership was ended again.

To me a war zone is defined by homeless camps, trash littering the city sidewalks, graffiti, brazen behavior in the downtown area and city ROWs that need maintained and mowed. Those are all happening in Austin and that is not a dramatization.

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As far as I knew the DPS started back up in July. I don't know if it stopped after that.

You can have you opinion on Austin but I think it's a dramatization. I live in Central Austin, kid goes to school in Central Austin, both my wife and I are frequently DT, on the Eastside and in Central Austin…. There are a lot of really nice and fun areas. I don't ever feel unsafe, nor does my wife and son, but we feel comfortable with people who not like us. Austin is pretty nice compared to other big cities and is clearly safer than other big cities. Maybe big cities just aren't for you. They surely are not as "pretty" as a wealthy suburb and surely more crowded than a rural town.

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The program ended August 25th after violent crimes had been reduced by 26% from previous year for the time period. It made a significant impact to the cities short staffing issues. But was ended after the council and other critics believed that it unfairly targeted troubled areas and minority populations. As far as I know, there are not many large cities in TX that have had to have the help of the State agency for this. The short staffing of the APD is criminal.

You can think that my opinion on Austin is a dramatization, just as your opinion is. Neither one holds any more weight than the other. You can be proud of your city's sanitation and safety and graciously claim that it is better than other large cities, but I compare it to the large cities that I frequent and I am not impressed with the direction that Austin is going compared to those large cities.

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The City of Austin ended the DPS partnership program (I assume the date above is correct). Then Abbott basically said too bad, the DPS is going to continue their patrols and that continued for a few months until the DPS staff was pulled to assist down at the border. As far as I know, the DPS supplemental patrols have not resumed.

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they did resume and stopped Dec 23rd as the program ended as scheduled. It wasn't just Abbott that brought them back. Our new mayor brought them back.

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No, the program didn't end as scheduled. An announcement was made that DPS troopers were needed at the border. There was no scheduled end date, as Abbott continued the DPS troopers on his own after Watson shut down the initial program.

Here are a few snips from the Statesman:
"The Texas Department of Public Safety task force dedicated to policing Austin will cease operations on Saturday, the state agency confirmed Thursday. Troopers will be redirected to the southern border "due to the ever-changing situation," according to Ericka Miller, a press secretary for the DPS.

It was not immediately clear whether the DPS will revive the Austin task force in the future or how many, if any, troopers will remain on Austin streets."

Here is a note from the same article about Watson ending the program and Abbott restarting it:
"On the same day in July that Watson announced the partnership's end, Abbott announced DPS troopers would continue to patrol Austin streets anyway, given their statewide jurisdiction, and the only change made would be the repeal of directives from Austin police. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott said he would send an additional 30 troopers to the capital city, bringing the total to 130, which was more than had patrolled the city during their partnership with the Austin police."


https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2023/12/21/texas-dps-troopers-cease-austin-task-force-police-us-mexico-border-greg-abbott/72002945007/

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You are right on not having a scheduled end date but it did stop Dec 23. Our new mayor is being proactive and doing a good job with the police issue…. or at least better than anyone else has. APDs budget is higher than ever and they are starting to pay better. Police numbers are on the rise but I still think they need to pay even more. APD also needs to do a better job of building positive community relations throughout the city.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/texas-dps-violent-crime-task-force-in-austin-ending/amp/

https://cbsaustin.com/amp/news/local/dps-ends-austin-violent-crime-task-force-redirects-resources

BQ78 said:

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Stop accepting "not as bad as <blank>"

When I moved to the area almost 30 years ago, murders and robbery were rare and not a daily occurrence. That should be the goal, not being better than some other ****hole.

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No one has said everything in austin is great. I have said I won't defend any politicians and said that Austin's transition to a top ten population has been difficult.

Most just get upset when people come on here saying that Austin is some lawless hellhole, which it isn't. We have problems but it's still a great city. It is a safe city compared to most other large cities and the safest large city in Texas… that's fair to say and true.

30 years ago Austin had 500k people. It has over a million now. The greater Austin area has grown at an even faster rate. It's natural that there are different problems now but it's also fair to say we need to do a better job adapting to the change.