Texas Governor Announces Plan to Place Austin Police Under State Control: City's effort to defund its police force has led to a rise in violent crime

Epoch Times ^ | 12/22/2020 | GQ Pan

[SeekAndFind]

Legislation to place the Austin Police Department under state control has been drafted for lawmakers to consider in the coming January session, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.

The Republican governor wrote on Twitter Monday afternoon that the Legislative Council has sent “draft language” for a proposed law that would transfer control of the Austin Police Department (APD) to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) “just in time for Christmas.”

“One way or another we will pass a law to keep Austin safe,” Abbott wrote.

According to the draft obtained by KXAN-TV, the takeover would only apply to municipalities with populations of 950,000 or more and a ratio of fewer than two police officers per 1,000 residents, for which the governor needs to issue a written document declaring a public safety threat due to insufficient funding for police.

Under the bill, municipalities that are taken over to DPS would have to pay for the law enforcement services. They would also not be allowed to perform their own law enforcement after the takeover.

Earlier this month, Abott told his supporters during a tele-town hall that he was considering a state takeover of the policing responsibilities of a large portion of Austin that covers downtown, the state capitol, and the University of Texas at Austin. He said the city’s effort to defund its police force has led to a rise in violent crime.

In August, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to cut its police department budget by one-third, or $150 million.

[SeekAndFind]

The decision was made in response to multiple incidents, including a fatal police shooting of Mike Ramos, a black man who was killed at a parking lot by APD officers looking for a man in a car with a gun and possibly drugs. The APD later revealed that Ramos was unarmed.

[Bob434]

[[City’s effort to defund its police force has led to a rise in violent crime]]

Now there’s something nobody saw coming

[ConservativeMind]

“Under the bill, municipalities that are taken over to DPS would have to pay for the law enforcement services. They would also not be allowed to perform their own law enforcement after the takeover.”

You’ve got to like how Texas holds cities responsible and doesn’t make the rest of the state pay for their stupidity.

[Fiddlstix]

Click The Pics & Text For Christmas Music

MERRY CHRISTMAS

[pepsionice]

This would beg the question...in most cities, the police are used to collect on fees/fines with bogus traffic violations. If under new management (by the state), then would one assume the traffic fines gimmick is ‘ended’?

[KC Burke]

Many states have had such systems in place for decades due to corrupt Democrat machine politics making it necessary. In the 1920s and 30s Kansas City, Missouri was ruled by the Pendergast machine. In 1939 the state took back the police power and took control of the Police Commission. The new chief had to fire 50% of the force to get the corruption out.

The city has no direct control. The Board is appointed by the state Governor.

[SaveFerris]

Whodathunk???

[caww]

....."Texas holds cities responsible

and doesn’t make the rest of the state pay for their stupidity".......

[Jaded]

It’s Austin where everything is groovy.

[OrangeHoof]

Could Houston and San Antonio be far behind?

[Fai Mao]

“.in most cities, the police are used to collect on fees/fines with bogus traffic violations.”

Speed traps and the like are not legal for cities to do in Texas. Only (I think) 3% or some small percent of city revenue can come from fines and penalties.

[GOP Poet]

definitely!

[Hootowl99]

I moved to Texas in 1979 for my 1st job post college. Around that time and into the 1980s a scandal blew up over small town speed traps and other related shake downs. In my region, US59 north of Houston was the highway with a bad reputation.

Postage stamp sized towns every 10-20 miles would have a lowered sped limit for a short stretch of road. Many of these would have the speed limits drop 20-30 mph in a single step with no coasting zone such that even slamming on the brakes you would still be “speeding”. The towns involved in this scam derived essentially all their revenue from speeding fines. The state ended this practice by establishing uniform state standards setting and signing speed limits and mandatory coast zones for slow downs.

A separate scam was run by a small number of sheriff departments. This was not a rogue deputy here or there but department level corruption. The usual way it worked was to pull an out of state car over at night for some traffic violation then shake the drivers down for big $$$ often by a frame up. It was so bad, the feds got involved (violation of constitutional rights) and ran stings that snared a number of deputies. Deputies and sheriffs went to prison over this and others as well.

[cweese]

"Around that time and into the 1980s a scandal blew up over small town speed traps and other related shake downs. In my region, US59 north of Houston was the highway with a bad reputation."

I'd pass through Burton, TX on HWY 290, driving between Houston and Austin in the 80's and Burton was a notorious speed trap. With a population of less than 300, the sheriff there was making a lot of $$$ with his speed traps.

[rstrahan]

You are correct, due to the town of Splendora, that took in a narrow swath of a highway and ran its city off traffic fines,

[dljordan]

If you step in and save these idiots they’ll never learn their lesson.

[Vaduz]

Indeed it’s amazing how many can be so stupid.