“But we must also recognize that we’ve been talking about the need to make many of these changes for a long time. And there simply might be a limit to which the institution of policing can be reformed, such that it can fully reflect the values of a truly progressive community. And so I will continue to push as well for us to understand that there are alternative approaches…”

These are the words of Chris Harris (a member of the city’s newly formed City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force & director of criminal justice programs at Texas Appleseed) when the Tatum Report was first released in April of this year. The report was just one of many in 2020 that investigated racism & racial disparities within the Austin Police Department. 

With our latest guide, we run through these reports, hopefully giving you a bit of a summary and some context as Austin continues its work to truly reimagine public safety. 

You can learn more (and read the complete reports) by checking out the following links:

• The Tatum Report 

• 2018 Officer-Involved Shooting Report 

• 2019 Joint Report: Analysis of APD Racial Profiling Data 

• Additional info about the forthcoming APD audit, to be conducted by Kroll Associates

• City of Austin Fair Administration of Justice Data Dashboard 

• The Austin Police Association’s response to the Tatum Report

• Austin City Council Tatum Report Press Conference