Austin police chief finalists talk staffing, police oversight, response times

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The two finalists in the running to become Austin's next chief of police took questions from reporters Tuesday.

Those finalists are Lisa Davis, an assistant chief for the Cincinnati Police Department, and Jeffrey Norman, the chief of the Milwaukee Police Department.

The City allotted media 30 minutes to address each candidate.

Police contract, staffing and officer morale

The police department is currently operating without a police contract, and is roughly 350 officers short.

Davis said gaining officers' trust and building morale is a priority of hers, and explained how she believes that trickles down into stronger relationships with the community.

"You have to look at morale and retention, those are all tied together," she said. "You boost morale by listening to the officers and professional staff there. Listen, listen to their concerns, be present. Once you start doing that morale gets raised, no better recruiter for a police department than those that work there."

Norman emphasized the need for a chief to set the tone for both the city and the department.

"Do you have a unified message? Do you show the support to those who are putting in the work?" he said. "Those messages affect recruitment and also retention. I am not fully aware of the details of the contract but I am hoping there can be some positive resolution between that... so that the work that needs to be done in the city can be focused on, which is keeping the city safe."

Austin Police Oversight Act, 'g' file

The status of the Austin Police Oversight Act, which voters passed in May 2023, is currently in the hands of the courts. A main component of it is allowing the public greater access to the contents of an officer's 'g' file, which includes complaints against officers that are unsubstantiated.

Davis said she wants to find a balance between being as transparent with the public as possible about the inner workings of the police department while still protecting certain aspects of officers' privacy.

"The community has a right to know what your use-of-force is looking like, what's your traffic data? And you can look at the data in aggregate, it doesn't have to have officers' names. There's ways to do it and still be transparent. But citizens have a right to know what's going on in a publicly funded department," she said. "And I understand where police are coming from because a lot of those complaints aren't sustained. How do you do that? How do you balance being transparent with the officer's right of hey this was a complaint that was made that was totally unjustified."

Norman also addressed the differing opinions about the contents of the Austin Police Oversight Act.

"We're not always going to agree on everything, but at least we can have an understanding that once that's all been cleared up, you go and you get it done," he said. "In regards to some of the other challenges, again, it's for me to get a little bit more of an understanding of what those challenges are, what the opportunities are."

You can view the full Q&A sessions with the finalists in the videos below.

Police response times

In 2021, APD asked the public to start calling 311 instead of 911 for nonviolent crimes that were not currently in process at the time of the call. The public has raised concerns since then about the lag time in getting certain crimes - mainly property crimes - investigated.

"I think you have to look at the overall staffing, where people are," Davis said. "Look at the data, where are the calls for service coming in. I'm a big evidence-based policing advocate... Those are long term solutions and I know we need short term solutions to get officers there. So I think it's just about looking where people are located, how they're dispatched and what those calls for service are."

Norman said he wants to look at innovative ways to prioritize calls.

"There have to be other opportunities that we need to explore in regards to what will help lighten the load, what are we responding to and why. Are there alternative methods to respond? Use all the tools in our toolbox to make sure we're being efficient and effective," he said. "Again, that's for me to learn, look under the hood, see what's going on with that particular engine, and see where those opportunities - with a team - are."