The Austin, Texas, Police Department asked residents of the growing city to refrain from calling 911 and instead dial 311 — a non-emergency number — if they are robbed at a bank or an ATM.
The police department, which has been facing staffing shortages, posted a graphic to X last week asking Austin residents to “call 311 or make an online report” if they were victims of a robbery on their way back from a bank or ATM, The New York Post reported. Austin has seen a 77% increase in auto thefts, a 30% increase in murders, and an 18% increase in aggravated assaults since 2020 as the police department struggles to hire the number of officers it needs to protect its streets.
“Even if you are cautious & follow all the safety advice, you may still become the unfortunate victim of a robbery,” the Austin Police Department posted on X. “Do you know what your next steps should be? Make a police report & provide as much information as possible so we can recover your property quickly and safely.”
The graphic suggested “mention[ing] in your report that you were coming from a bank when the crime was committed” and “includ[ing] the time and date of your money withdrawal.”
Even if you are cautious & follow all the safety advice, you may still become the unfortunate victim of a robbery. Do you know what your next steps should be?
Make a police report & provide as much information as possible so we can recover your property quickly and safely. pic.twitter.com/79Cv0RI099— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) September 1, 2023
The city’s police chief, Joseph Chacon, resigned last month after serving two years as the department’s head, saying it was the “right time” to retire. Chacon’s resignation came as the department’s police union and some Austin residents laid into city leaders for “miserable conditions” for officers and for defunding the department following the George Floyd riots in 2020.
Austin’s city council slashed the police budget by $150 million after the spread of the “defund the police” rhetoric in the summer of 2020. The police cut has led to a shortage of officers, according to the Austin Police Association, which said that the Austin Police Department currently stands at around 1,475 officers, and the growing city needs closer to 2,000 in order to be able to protect the city.
The city council’s decision to cut police funding also led to outrage from the mother of a man who was killed in a mass shooting in the city. Julia Kantor, whose son Douglas, 25, was killed in June 2021, wrote an email to the council only days before her son’s alleged murderer went on trial last week, calling councilmembers “cowards” for going along with the police cut.
“Aug 28th in Austin TX there will be jury selection for the murder of my son Douglas Kantor and the attack on 14 others for the June 12th 2021 mass shooting on 6th street,” she wrote. “I hope you will follow this [trial] as your duty to your citizens. It was you, the city council and others who defunded the police and welcomed these evil people with no regard for life to run and ruin your city.”
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Earlier this year, another Texas city required residents to fill out some police reports online instead of calling 911 to free officers to respond to more serious crimes. The new reporting requirements for the Dallas Police Department went into effect in July as the police department has faced an increase in high-priority calls and staffing shortages.