Virtual public forum held to discuss Downtown Austin safety concerns
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Tovo said at the forum on Monday morning that Austin is still one of the safest major cities in America but wanted to address community concerns. Downtown Austin Alliance President and CEO Dewitt Peart said some types of crime increased in 2021 compared to 2019 and 2020 while others decreased. However, Peart said gunfights had increased in the Austin entertainment district. As of June, there had been four homicides in the region in 2021, compared to just one in 2019 and 2020. Panellists included Temporary Police Chief Joseph Chacon, District Attorney Jose Garza, and District Attorney Delia Garza. The questions and concerns of the panel were all brought up by the public in advance. Chacon said the Austin Police Force Intervention Program is helping fight gun violence in Austin. This year, 59 arrests were made under the program and the APD confiscated 109 illegally owned firearms. Of 11,751 9-1-1 calls from April to June 2021 that had a psychological component, 1,204, just over 10%, were diverted through APD’s crisis call forwarding program, according to Chacon. He said Austin is the only call center in the US that has a fourth option for mental health services in its call script. Both Delia Garza and Jose Garza discussed their office’s early case review programs. Jose Garza also mentioned the District Attorney’s Firearms Handover Protocol, in collaboration with the District Attorney, which restricts access to guns to those accused of a crime while in custody. The panel also discussed a proposed mental health diversion program at The Sobering Center in Austin. Delia Garza said that when her office is pursuing criminal offense cases, business owners often don’t want offenders to go to jail, but since they don’t want them on their property there is no other option. Delia Garza said she supported the diversion program for many reasons, including this one. Jose Garza said his office and the district attorney’s office were “excited” to be working with the Downtown Austin Alliance, City and Travis County Commissioners Court on the project. The commissioners want to discuss the program at their meeting on Tuesday. Delia Garza and Jose Garza both encouraged the public to attend the meeting. Councilor Tovo told KVUE that the forum came after several downtown business owners and residents raised their concerns about the recent shootings and other public safety issues in the area. “They run in the manner of occasional violence, harassment and other threatening behavior,” Tovo said of the concerns people have shared with her. “You know, we have certainly had several very tragic incidents of gun violence on the streets of our city, especially in the entertainment district, in the last few months.” Chacon said APD is busy downtown differently than other areas, especially on the weekends, to ensure response times are as quick as possible. “If you’re planning on getting downtown, don’t bring a gun,” Chacon said. “It doesn’t make you or anyone else any safer.” Chacon said the community can also help by calling 3-1-1 if they see a homeless camp that is not allowed under the city’s homeless camping ban. “If the basic needs of our entire community for housing, food and health care were met, we would be sure we would not see these rising crime rates,” said Delia Garza.
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