In October of 2020 I reported on data from CrimeViewer, the on-line tool that allows you to view crime reports from the Austin Police Department. I decided to do a review of the data 6 months later, for the month of April 2021. During that time, we had an increase in at least the visibility of the homeless population downtown, and in other areas of Austin. It has also been clear from news reports that violent crime is increasing in Austin. Here is the summary, and I have provided the summary data below. Contact me if you would like to see the Excel spreadsheets.
For the report in October, I actually analyzed 32 days of data from October 9 to November 9, 2020, inclusive, in Council Districts 9, 4 and 10. District 9 is the east side of downtown Austin, from just south of the river to 51st street, and mostly west of the interstate. District 4 is north of District 9 and includes the St. John’s neighborhood, and District 10 is west Austin north of Lake Austin Blvd., including the Tarrytown, Northwest Hills, Great Hills and Jollyville neighborhoods.
For the April 2021 report, I analyzed April 1-30, 30 days inclusive, for the same districts. Keeping the number of days in each report in mind, the overall daily crime rate is almost exactly the same as the October report in each district. Part 1 Crimes (more serious crimes reported to the FBI) decreased somewhat, but Part 2 Crimes increased by 15% in the downtown area, 7% in District 4, and 31% in District 10. Most Part 2 crimes in District 9 were drug or alcohol related, followed by assault/fighting/harassment and criminal mischief. 71% of Part 1 Crimes in District 9 were property crimes, many involving vehicle break-in or theft.
Drug and alcohol related offenses in April, including DWI/DUI were almost 4 times higher in the downtown area than in northeast Austin, and 40 times higher than west Austin. Arrests for assault, fighting and harassment were 20 times more frequent, and criminal mischief was almost 20 times more frequent in downtown Austin than in west Austin. I challenge anyone to argue that the increasing presence of the homeless population in downtown Austin is not a significant contributor to the downtown crime rate. And once again I ask: Why should those of us living in downtown Austin be subjected to a much higher crime rate than the people living in West Austin? It is time to clean up downtown Austin and put a stop to crime committed by the homeless population. We need no tolerance drug zones for the entertainment districts (meaning you go to jail for any drug offense). We need increased enforcement of alcohol and drug intoxication offenses, and we need a curfew after 2 AM in the entertainment districts. I welcome other ideas for decreasing crime in downtown, and anywhere else for that matter.
I encourage everyone in Austin to engage your City Council Member and demand relief from crime in Austin. I also encourage you to subscribe to SpotCrime, an app that will allow you to follow crime in your neighborhood. Download the app here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spotcrime/id767693374
Also, use the CrimeViewer application to view APD crime reports for your neighborhood. I recommend the Crime Search tool in the toolbar to refine your search.
http://www.austintexas.gov/GIS/CrimeViewer/
Waterloo to Austin 