Austin, TX (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)
As if we needed more proof that the “Defund the Police” campaign did far more harm than good, a report coming out of Austin, TX reveals the city’s decision to slash its police budget could be disastrous for potential victims of sexual assault. As a result of the Austin Police Department (APD) having fewer resources due to the budget cuts, sex offenders in the city will not be monitored as closely as they were previously.
Benefitting From Budget Cuts
In what was likely an unforeseen consequence of cutting the police budget, the APD has been forced to pull police officers from a team whose purpose is to monitor criminals convicted of sex offenses. Fox News reported hundreds of “convicted sex offenders are no longer being monitored by sworn police officers in Austin, Texas due to the city’s move to defund the police and cut police academy classes.”
The report continues:
“As of 2019, there were about 1,600 registered sex offenders in Austin according to the state’s sex offender database. There is no law preventing any of them from living near schools or other places where children tend to congregate, according to a local news report. About 650 of those cases were handled by officers who checked in on the registered sex offenders weekly to ensure they were where they reported themselves to be. But three of those officers were sent back to patrol as a result of the decision to defund the police, including slashing three cadet classes at the police academy, in August 2020.”
The cases that were handled by police officers prior to the budget cuts are now being taken by civilian employees, two of whom only work part-time hours. However, civilians do not have the authority to arrest the subjects of these cases if they re-offend.
The notion that defunding the APD precipitated this change in staffing is not mere conjecture; it was confirmed by a spokesperson with the department. “The lack of cadet classes at APD over the last couple of years has contributed to an officer staffing shortage.” The spokesperson continued:
“In order to prioritize the department’s ability to respond to 911 phone calls and keep the community safe, APD has had to reallocate some personnel from our support units back to patrol. The Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit (SOAR) is one of the units affected by these staffing challenges and lost 3 officers who were reassigned to patrol in the process … There are currently 1 sergeant, 3 detectives, 1 full time civilian, and 2 part time civilians who now work in this unit.”
Austin, TX (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)
Austin City Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly told Fox News she discussed the issue with two female contractors who facilitate placing ankle monitors on violent offenders. She said, “it surprised me to learn that these violent offenders often remove the monitors and dump them in trash bins. There are no officers going out to check on the whereabouts of these violent offenders, and it appalls me.”
Justin Berry, a 13-year APD veteran, said the staffing shortage likely caused an incident in which a sex offender with an active warrant allegedly raped an autistic teenager. “They took those officers back and those officers were tasked with field visits, sex offender compliance checks, things that could have prevented things like this from happening,” he said.
A source told Fox News the individual who allegedly committed the sexual assault was one of the cases monitored by an officer who was reassigned to patrol because of the decision to slash the APD’s budget.
Will Austin Learn its Lesson?
Defunding the police has had a catastrophic impact on Austin, which had been considered one of the safest cities in America. Now, it is dealing with record-breaking homicide rates. The previous record in 1984 was 59 homicides. In 2021, the number was 89. This comes amid a surge of resignations from the force due to the anti-police sentiment fomented by the far-left progressive crowd in the city.
Unfortunately for the people of Austin, it does not appear the government has learned its lesson. Last year, Prop A, which would have refunded the police, was voted down in part due to a deceptive narrative promoted by the city’s Marxist crowd. However, other efforts are in the works to prevent Austin from becoming more like Baltimore and Chicago. But it is clear this will be a fiery battle in the years to come.
~ Read more from Jeff Charles.
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