This is what people want from the next police chief in Austin

Nearly 1,230 people took an anonymous survey to tell the city what they want from the next person elected as Austin Police Chief.

The survey, which ended on June 10, included three questions:

How would you rate safety in Austin today compared to five years ago?
What qualities do you think are most important for the next police chief to have?
What do you think should be the top priorities for the next police chief?

For the last two questions, each respondent selected his or her three best answers from a variety of answers.

The city government hopes to have a candidate selected by the end of July. Austin has been without a permanent police chief since last September. Interim Chief Robin Henderson said she will not apply for the position.

The city has partnered with recruiting firm Mosaic Public Partners to search for the next candidate. Applications opened on May 15, and 32 people applied for the position. Although the city originally announced applications would be open until June 10, officials said applications will be open until the position is filled, which is typical for leadership positions.

The American-Statesman obtained the poll results through a public information request. Here’s what we found out:

Is Austin safer than it was 5 years ago?

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said safety in Austin is worse today than it was five years ago.

About 16 percent of respondents said the city is as safe today as it was five years ago. Nearly 8 percent of respondents said they weren’t sure the city was safer now. Only 51 people – or about 4 percent of survey respondents – said the city felt safer.

What qualities do people want in the next police chief?

The three most common answers to this question were: a police chief who supports officers and holds them accountable when needed, someone who strives to maintain credibility within the department and the community, and a chief who is transparent.

Nearly 10% of respondents answered “other” to this question themselves, with responses ranging from saying they wanted someone who would be tough on crime to saying they wanted someone who would make police accountability a top priority.

When answering this question, respondents were asked to select their three best answers from eleven options.

Here is the percentage breakdown of selected answers in order from most selected to least selected:

Courage to defend officials and employees when they are right and to hold them accountable when they are not: 19.5%
A strong leader with the ability to build credibility with both employees and community members: 17%
An honest, effective, engaging and transparent communication style: 12.5%
Other: 9.9%
Commitment to modern policing methods that meet community expectations: 8%
Experience in successful cooperation with police supervision: 7.8%
Commitment to professional development of Austin Police Department members: 7.3%
A visionary who helps the department move forward through problem solving and innovation: 5.5%
A progressive leader who can leverage the ideas and contributions of a diverse workforce: 4.6%
Proven experience as a collaborative leader and partner developer: 4.5%
The ability to build and lead a values-based organization: 3.4%

What should the boss’s top priorities be?

According to the survey results, crime prevention and increasing security in the city should be the top priorities for the next police chief.

The next two priorities, according to the survey, should be to recruit and retain more officers and then better train them in de-escalation, use of force, racial profiling and mental health.

The police department has been struggling with constant vacancies for years and is currently short around 330 sworn officers.

Similar to the previous question, respondents were asked to select their top three answers out of eleven. Here is the percentage breakdown of those choices:

Crime prevention and reduction, neighborhood safety, and ensuring a safer community for residents and visitors: 21.1%
Improve recruitment and retention of managers and employees: 16%
Focus on training officers in key areas such as de-escalation and use of force, racial profiling and mental health policing: 13.4%
Focus on creatively addressing issues surrounding homelessness and mental health: 8.6%
Commitment to transparency: 8.2%
Invest in training, equipment, technology and facilities: 8%
Develop proactive partnerships with the community while building public trust and relationships: 7.8%
Increase in community engagement and community policing: 6.4%
Other: 6.3%
Stronger focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in the Austin Police Department to represent the communities it serves: 4.2%

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