'More forward thinking': APD's changes since DPS left

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Texas Department of Public Safety's (DPS) increased presence in Austin lasted roughly nine months.

The program - called the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (AVCTF) - launched at the end of March 2023 as an effort to uphold public safety in the city as the police department hit what officials called a "critical" staffing shortage.

In December, DPS announced the end of the AVCTF, citing the need to deploy more resources to the border.

KXAN asked Austin Police Department Interim Chief Robin Henderson this week if she had hoped the initiative would have lasted longer.

"We're always in the space of being shorthanded, and any time our law enforcement partners are willing to come into the hold to help Austin stay safe and improve safety, I'm very much for that," she said.

Since staffing issues began, APD has pulled resources from certain specialized units to help backfill patrol shifts. Henderson said it was helpful having DPS as an increased presence in Austin to offset that, but the backfill process was still necessary.

Now, with DPS gone, she said the biggest operational challenges are special events.

"We don't have that additional resource to rely on," she said. "So we have to be more forward-thinking when we have special events going on. Because we just don't have that added element of additional officers being here from DPS."

Henderson added that it's still too early to gauge whether there has been a significant increase in crime since the AVCTF ended.

DPS presence in Austin results in 4,000+ arrests, millions of doses of fentanyl seized

The AVCTF included an increase in troopers making traffic stops as well an an increase in agents working specialized operations in Austin. Below is a breakdown of a DPS' activity throughout the entirety of the task force.

• Arrests: 4,230
• Felony charges: 2,547
• Misdemeanor charges: 2,821
• Felony warrants served: 431
• Misdemeanor warrants served: 201
• Stolen vehicles recovered: 327
• Cocaine seized: 49.10 lbs
• Fentanyl seized: 3,902,313 lethal doses
• Heroin seized: 5.97 lbs
• Marijuana seized: 282.68 lbs
• Methamphetamine seized: 629.23 lbs
• Firearms seized: 389
• Currency seized: $554,213
• Traffic stops: 87,007
• Vehicle pursuits: 252
• Crash investigations: 696

Spike in DPS citations cost taxpayers $80,000

Travis County Commissioners approved a request to allot Justice of the Peace Precincts 1, 2, 4 and 5 $20,000 each to address the increased workload that resulted from a spike in citations issued by DPS.

As part of a KXAN investigation, County Attorney Delia Garza told us in September of last year that by September, her office had received triple the amount of citations it received in 2022.

Garza also sent an email to City of Austin staff addressing how this stretched resources in her court system and created a backlog.