Austin residents are saying their city is being destroyed by crime and homelessness, claiming that an ineffective city council and “radical left” anti-police policies have only exacerbated such problems.
“I love Austin, and it’s very frustrating that we go to City Hall, we take time off from work, we go up there, and we advocate to our city leaders to address public safety, and they only listen to the anti-police activists who hate the police, who’ve made it very clear that their goal is to dismantle our police department,” Austin resident Joell McNew told Fox News.
“And they’re doing a great job, and they’re aligned with our county attorney and our district attorney,” she added.
McNew serves as president of a crime prevention consulting business called Safeguard Strategy and a nonprofit known as SafeHorns. Both organizations aim to improve public safety in the state’s capital.
“In Texas, you think we would do better. … This is Austin, one of the most beloved cities in the world. And it’s shameful that this is happening and that it’s continuing,” she said.
McNew told Fox News that homeless encampments have been contributing to rising crime.
“Under that umbrella of homelessness is a portion of that population that are criminal transients that prey upon the homeless and other individuals,” she said, claiming that repeat offenders create a “revolving door of lawlessness.”
Austin business owner, attorney, and former candidate for Travis County judge Rupal Chaudhari said that defunding the police and “failed homeless policies” have placed the burden of crime and vagrancy on city residents.
“Nobody’s taking any responsibility,” Chaudhari said, according to Fox News. “I’ve seen this since 2020. The Progressive Zealots on Austin City Council … pushed to defund the police. … To make matters worse, they actually went ahead and cut millions of dollars from 911 staffing, and one of the zealots got a taste of their own medicine, I would say, when she was on hold for 28 minutes to speak to [a] 911 call dispatcher.”
In 2020, Austin’s city council voted to cut roughly one-third of the city’s police department following sustained protests against police over the killing of an unarmed person of color and officers’ use of force against protesters, according to The Texas Tribune.
The new budgeting involved reallocating numerous duties typically handled by the Austin Police Department to unarmed city employees. The proposal did have some support from residents.
“Specifically, we support reimagining traffic safety and enforcement within this proposal,” said Sarah Hay at the time, per The Texas Tribune. “We can easily divest over $18 million from traffic enforcement when most of these functions can be administered by unarmed civilians and is not required to be police work.”
Dallas has been suffering from its own police staffing problems, with the Dallas Police Department maintaining a force of roughly 3,100 sworn officers. A City report previously advised that 4,000 are needed to adequately police a jurisdiction the size of Dallas. The shortage has led to alarmingly high police response times.
Chaudhari said Austin is beginning to resemble cities like San Francisco. Rampant crime, homelessness, and vagrancy have resulted in a severe downturn in San Francisco’s downtown area, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Downtown Dallas has seen its own share of high crime rates, outpacing those of nearby Fort Worth, where a dedicated police unit reportedly works alongside private security officers. The police division that patrols Downtown Dallas has logged steep increases in criminal drug activity and motor vehicle thefts in recent years.
“‘Don’t’ California my Texas’ I think is apt,” Chaudhari told Fox News. “We are importing failed policies.”
Andy Hogue, the Travis County Republican Party’s communications director, claimed the situation in Austin resulted from left-wing policies.
“The radical left has found their way into city policy, and far left-leaning mayors have enacted cookie cutter policy proposals that frankly have not been tested in reality, and we’re seeing the reality right now with a sharp uptick in violent crime,” he said, per Fox News.
Austin City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly sent the following statement to Fox News, echoing similar concerns:
“Without strong support for law enforcement in Austin, we are witnessing the consequences unfold before our eyes. The decision to defund the Austin Police Department … has had a noticeable impact on the safety and well-being of the city’s residents. Austin has inadvertently created an environment where criminal activity can flourish, and unfortunately, residents are having to deal with the reality of feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods.
“It is crucial for Austin residents to acknowledge these effects and consider the long-term consequences of defunding the police, and while it is important to address any concerns with APD, a balanced approach that supports the police department can lead to a safer and more secure community for all. I’m proud to support public safety and would like to remind everyone that elections matter because they give citizens the power to shape our community.”
The majority of Dallas residents consider both crime and homelessness to be “major” problems in their city.
One approach credited with reducing homelessness by 77% in San Antonio is that employed by Haven for Hope, which offers housing in conjunction with “transformational” services. The “one-stop-shop” model polled favorably among Dallas voters.
Mayor Eric Johnson recently visited Haven for Hope, but it remains to be seen whether the City will adopt such a model, as reported by The Dallas Express.