AUSTIN, Texas — The ongoing police shortage has been a nationwide problem for several years now.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis was sworn into office in 2024. Her primary goal has been to get more boots on the ground. She said it’s still a challenge, and vacancies have tripled compared to pre-2020 levels.
The City of Austin is down nearly 340 officers, but the good news is that 2024 to 2025 data shows more officers are being hired than leaving, the first positive net gain.
The 2021 vacant positions number doesn’t account for the 150 positions that were removed from the department, according to the Austin Police Department.
Spectrum News spoke with Davis recently, and she said she’s looking at modifying how long it takes to become an officer in Austin to get more people hired faster. She said it’s going to be for individuals who already have a technical license. Davis said she’s doing a presentation on the idea soon.
“Having opportunities for that modified class that can come and do a 10 to 12 week academy, be paid at a higher rate, and then come out to an FTO program and hit the road. And so I think if we can do a couple of those classes a year, we’ll be ahead of the game,” said Davis.
In February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Dallas officials, alleging the city is not complying with a voter-approved amendment requiring the city to hire 4,000 police officers and increase wages. The Dallas police chief told us the department is nearly 700 officers short of the 4,000-officer requirement.
It’s important to point out that more than 100 Dallas police officers received promotions. It’s a move that the chief there said reflects ongoing hiring efforts.
Spectrum News reached out to the City of San Antonio to see what its headcount looks like. A spokesperson for the city did not get back to us by our deadline.
The Fort Worth Police Department said Spectrum News needed to file a public records request to get this information, which has now been filed. The department said its recruiting department is constantly taking applications to continue having academy classes graduate.