“Starting a police department is no small task, but it is desperately needed for CapMetro,” Transit Police Chief Administrator Eric Robins said. “The most important thing about this is getting it right, and so I definitely do not want to rush this process.”
CapMetro launched its Public Safety Program in August 2021. The program features three major components, including public safety ambassadors, intervention specialists and a transit police department. Here is their progress on each branch of the Public Safety Program.
Transit Police Department
The completion of the Transit Police Department facility is scheduled for early 2024, Robins said. This facility will be located at 8200 Cameron Road, Austin, and serve as a hub for the department.
The goal for hiring in 2023 includes five sworn transit police officers and three civilian officers, Robins said. The force plans to have 46 sworn transit police officers along with 11 civilian officers by 2027.
Several positions in the organization necessary to get the program off the ground are now filled, but CapMetro is also still in the process of hiring an assistant chief, Robins said.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or TCOLE, requires agencies to have certain policies and a policy manual in place before beginning operation, including policies on biased based profiling, use of force, missing persons, a code of conduct and others. Those policies are currently in the process of development, Robins said.
Input on the policies and manual will be provided by the Public Safety Advisory Committee, which was established alongside the police force in 2021. The goal is to get the policies to the advisory committee in April, Robins said. CapMetro will also get the Transit Police Department accredited with TCOLE to ensure policies meet industry standards, which is required to start police operations, Robins said.
In addition to hiring and policy development, the Transit Police Department will work on the upcoming year’s budget, recruiting and the acquisition of equipment such as radios, body cameras and cars, Robins said.
Public safety ambassadors
Public safety ambassadors are the main point of contact for bus riders. Ambassadors respond to calls for service from riders and employees, complete area checks of bus stops and ride the bus system. Individuals in this role also complete welfare checks and direct calls to the appropriate authority in the event of an emergency.
The first team of eight ambassadors began October 2021, and CapMetro has since hired a second team as well, CapMetro Director of Security Darryl Jamail said. The final goal for hiring is to have three teams of eight for 24 total public safety ambassadors who switch off in shifts, Jamail said. The department is hoping to hire on the third team this summer, according to CapMetro.
In its first full year, the public safety ambassadors had over 39,000 customers and almost 20,000 employees contact them for support, according to data from CapMetro.
Intervention specialists
While public safety ambassadors are the first point of contact for riders, they will escalate issues to the proper team if necessary. Intervention specialists work with individuals experiencing homelessness, mental health concerns, substance abuse and other community issues.
Two intervention specialists began in October 2021 and added a third intervention specialist to the team in fiscal year 2023, Jamail said.
Cost of the program
Prior to the intended formation of its own force, CapMetro relied on off-duty Austin Police Department officers to staff security roles for the transit system. Since establishing the Public Safety Program, some of the funds used for off-duty police officers have been transitioned to Public Safety Ambassadors and intervention specialists, according to CapMetro documents.
Although running an in-house police force will cost more than outsourcing officers, the amount of funding allocated for officers before was not representative of the need in CapMetro, Board President and CEO Dottie Watkins said.
“Using an off-duty Austin police officer model, we haven't been able to staff to the level that we've needed, so we've budgeted for what we could get and in many cases we budget for more than we can get in the hopes that maybe one day we'll be able to get the resources that we need,” Watkins said. “What we have been budgeting for public safety support has been artificially constrained by the availability of officers to support us.”
