AUSTIN, Texas — If you live in Austin, you’re likely to see Texas Department of Public Safety troopers helping Austin police to patrol, respond to traffic incidents and violent crimes.

What You Need To Know

  • City and state officials on Monday announced a partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety

  • DPS troopers will help Austin police to respond to traffic incidents and violent crimes 

  • This comes as the Austin Police Department is dealing with a staff shortage 

  • Police and city leadership are trying to address the issue with recruitment and retention efforts 

The development — announced by Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, Gov. Greg Abbott and others on Monday — comes as the Austin Police Department deals with an officer shortage and delayed response times. The department has struggled with vacancies as officers choose retirement.

“This partnership will reduce traffic fatalities in Austin, reduce response time by Austin police to calls for help, increase law enforcement presence across our community, which will also help prevent and deter crime from happening,” Watson said during a news briefing on Monday.

According to a news release from the city, the partnership was agreed upon by Watson, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. The city said DPS troopers have previously provided support to police in Dallas and San Antonio.

The release says that as the Austin Police Department deals with the staff shortage, Austin Interim City Manager Jesús Garza and Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon have implemented recruitment and retention strategies.

“Public safety is at the very core of what we do in city government, and we must get it right,” Garza said. “We’ve moved quickly to address staffing issues — recruit new officers, retain experienced officers, and staff up in our 9-1-1 call centers. But those efforts take time, and we can’t wait to make sure Austinites feel safe.”  

Chacon said he’s reassigned officers to patrol duty but that meant pulling them from traffic, parks, DWI and other specialized units. He also said gun crimes and traffic fatalities are on the rise in the city.

“This is a wonderful resource and partnership that will provide relief to our APD officers and detectives who want nothing more than to focus on keeping Austin safe — whether that’s responding to domestic violence incidents, combating DWI or investigating criminal activity,” Chacon said.