The background
Austin officials paused police training in 2020 amid broader examinations of misconduct and culture issues at the APD. The academy was later rebooted in 2021 with new civilian involvement and a focus on concepts like community relationships, active adult learning, diversity and inclusion, de-escalation, and curtailing paramilitary practices.
New reporting on internal disputes at the academy and lacking momentum toward some reforms comes from the latest in a series of third-party reviews of the "reimagined" training system. The details were reported by Kroll Associates, the city's independent consultant on several APD evaluations, including training, during a June 12 City Council committee session.
The update comes nearly three years after city leaders first moved to rethink policing in Austin amid widespread calls for change through summer 2020, and as revisions to cadet training and APD operations have remained a priority for some city officials.
“This work is really, really important. It is going to determine the future of our police department and its relationship with our community," Council Member Alison Alter said.
By the numbers
City leaders have expanded the scope of Kroll's work with APD in recent years, most recently in March. Austin has spent $2.38 million on Kroll's services since 2020, and further reports from the firm are expected in the coming months.
While multiple reviews and changes at the academy continue, the APD is still without about one-fifth of its 1,812 budgeted officers; well over 300 vacancies were reported this spring.
The police department has brought on more than 160 new officers since the 2021 training reboot with diminishing returns. The department welcomed:
- 66 officers out of 100 original cadets from the 144th class on Jan. 28, 2022
- 55 officers out of 84 original cadets from the 145th class on Nov. 18, 2022
- Eight of eight officers from the 146th class—a transitional program for those with past law enforcement experience—on Nov. 18, 2022
- 33 officers out of 55 original cadets from the 147th class on May 19, 2023
Linskey said those separations were largely due to "personal reasons" and that the recent exit trends are under further analysis.
What the experts say
Even after multiple cadet classes along with a string of reports and proposed fixes from Kroll, consultants say many of the changes anticipated through the new training program were unsuccessful or obstructed by police.
Months ago, Kroll disclosed a key piece of the academy update, the creation of a civilian board to review cadets' curriculum, has been largely ineffective in making any training revisions given a bumpy relationship with the APD and an unclear mission.
“Frankly, there was a failure to progress through a lot of curriculum. There really wasn’t as much progress made, and everybody, I think, was a little frustrated with that," Linskey said during the June 12 council briefing.
During that meeting, Linskey went on to detail several other lingering sticking points with regard to revised instructional practices and community involvement centered around "friction and pushback" from academy staff.
Another high-profile change made in 2021 was the involvement of a civilian division manager at the academy. Criminal justice researcher Anne Kringen has served in that role since the reboot began; however, Kroll representatives said her position is still resisted by many APD academy leaders—despite specific orders from APD Chief Joseph Chacon establishing her authority.
Mark Ehlers, Kroll's engagement leader on the firm's APD work, said Chacon's directive "effectively was never enforced."
“Whatever reason that exists, that’s just not a good way to function and I think has been impactful in trying to change some of the things that we’re trying to change there. And I think those tensions have existed throughout the process," Linskey said. "It seems it’s a resistance to having sworn police officers listen to civilians who they feel don’t have the same experience they have as sworn, even though Dr. Kringen has both sworn law enforcement experience and her academic experience as well."
Kringen is set to end her full-time work in the coming weeks after two years at the academy, although APD representatives said she will remain on contract in a part-time role. Kroll representatives said the outlook for her replacement remains unclear.
APD Assistant Chief Jason Staniszewski said the department has valued Kringen's contributions and is working to hire a successor. He also noted he's working to address remaining pushback to civilian involvement.
"That is something that we are working on that is part of the culture and the past. It’s unacceptable," he told council.
Aside from Kringen, Linskey said many “frontline instructors" at the academy also believe the updated curriculum is ineffective and stand against some changes proposed along the way—despite findings that the academy is more effective than ever.
"Some of the instructors still feel like changing the curriculum the way they have has impacted the way in which cadets are able to serve on the city streets. We don’t think that’s the case," Linskey said. "We’ve pushed back and said, ‘If you haven’t prepared them for the street then that’s failure on your part, right?’ But the curriculum is the same curriculum that’s been taught—and it’s enhanced; they’re actually getting more training."
Despite that slate of challenges, consultants credited the APD for what Linskey called "extremely well-done" updates tied to cadet safety alongside several other academic improvements in the past two years.
What's next
Beginning this month, Staniszewski said APD will start holding biweekly meetings between academy training staff and leadership to work through ongoing challenges, tensions and Kroll's training recommendations.
Bruce Mills, Austin's interim city manager for public safety, said in a June 12 memo that the APD plans to publicly address many of those recommendations during an August committee meeting. That will be followed by a staff report on APD and Kroll's collaboration.
Kroll is now monitoring the in-progress 148th cadet class that's set to wrap up in September. Consultants will audit its curriculum and culture as well as issues, such as instructor working relationships and the high rates of cadet departures. An interim report on the 148th class is expected in October, Mills said.
Additionally, Kroll will be producing a separate report covering long-term strategies for improved APD cadet training based on the past several years of discussion and review. That analysis is expected in December.
While Kroll remains involved for now, APD was also expected to produce internal audits of every cadet class under the rebooted program since 2021. Kroll consultants said that has not taken place for any academy session.
Staniskewski confirmed the department hasn't completed any of its own audits so far. Kringen said staff are now working to firm up an internal audit system for future classes.
“It sounds like we’re going to get a Kroll report on the 148th [class], but we can’t keep having Kroll there forever. We need to have confidence that it’s coming back," Alter told police representatives.
