Austin and Travis County are working to address sexual assault despite facing new federal obstacles. The Public Safety Commission discussed local sex crime data, highlighting a need for better data sharing solutions. Chair Nelly Paulina Ramírez emphasized the necessity of a long-term solution for transparency. Lichter from APD commented that the increase in reported cases reflects improved services and victim comfort in reporting rather than a rise in actual crimes. Victim readiness poses a challenge for APD investigations, with many survivors choosing not to pursue cases further.
"This is an imperfect and temporary solution for cumulatively sharing all of this data. What we need is a long term solution where all of this is housed, so that everybody can see all of this data transparently from month to month."
"We do not believe there is an actual increase in sex crimes throughout the city at this time. Due to the known underreporting nationwide in sex crimes, we believe that an increase in call volume actually reflects an improvement in services from APD. More people are feeling comfortable to report these cases to the police."
"What we see here is actually a reflection of improved data quality and management."
"We recognize this...encompasses a wide range of situations, and we want to better understand how to support survivors and effectively move their cases forward."
Collection
[
|
...
]