OPO's Complaints Division accepts complaints and compliments related to Austin Police Department (APD) officer conduct. Community members can submit complaints or compliments based on their own or someone else's experience. Anyone may contact OPO via phone, email, fax, U.S. mail, or the online form.
Community members may also file complaints anonymously. Accepting anonymous feedback increases accessibility for community members who would otherwise be unwilling or unable to share their experiences.
In 2021, OPO conducted oversight of each complaint, specifically:
- Conducting a preliminary review of the complaint
- Monitoring any subsequent investigation by APD
- Providing progress updates to the individual who submitted the complaint
- Communicating the results of an investigation once APD made a final determination
Image 1: 2021 OPO contact stages
Providing positive and negative feedback loops is essential to building trust between the community and APD. Contacts between community members and OPO can originate online, in person, or by phone, email, or mail. A contact may or may not result in a complaint. The number of contacts and compliments the OPO received in 2021 is illustrated in the chart below.
In 2019, the OPO received 1,353 contacts and 158 compliments for APD. In 2020, the OPO received 2,809 contacts and 177 compliments for APD. In 2021, the OPO received 2,239 contacts and 187 compliments for APD. Please note that the significant increase in contacts in 2020 was due to local and national protests against police brutality.
Chart 1: Breakdown of Contacts and Compliments 2019 - 2021
Below is the breakdown of contacts via channel. The OPO continues to receive the majority of complaints via phone calls. In 2019, 1,353 contacts were received, and of those, 1,014 contacts were by phone. In 2020, 2,809 contacts were received, and of those, 1,772 contacts were by phone. In 2021, 2,239 contacts were received, and of those, 1,886 were by phone.
Chart 2: Contracts submitted to OPO by channel in 2021