Austin Police Tell Robbery Victims to Call 311 After Rolling out AI-Powered Reporting Service Amid Staffing Crisis

Police and FBI officers guard the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, on March 12, 2018. Sergio Flores/Reuters

Residents of Austin, Texas, who are robbed near ATMs are being told to report the incident to a non-emergency phone number instead of police amid ongoing staffing shortages at the Austin Police Department (APD).

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sept. 1, the department asked victims to either make a report online or call 311 as opposed to 911; with the former giving callers access to non-emergency municipal services.

“Even if you are cautious & follow all the safety advice, you may still become the unfortunate victim of a robbery,” the police department wrote in its post. “Do you know what your next steps should be?”

“Make a police report & provide as much information as possible so we can recover your property quickly and safely,” the post added.

The post was shared alongside a graphic that included advice on what victims should mention when calling 311 or their bank to inform them of the robbery, such as the date and time of the cash withdrawal.

It comes as staffing issues continue to plague the police department while crime and violent crime have skyrocketed across the city.

Austin has seen a 77 percent increase in auto thefts, a 30 percent increase in murders, and an 18 percent rise in aggravated assaults compared to 2020, according to Fox News.

Calls to defund the police in the wake of the death of George Floyd prompted the Democrat-run Texas city’s council to slash APD’s budget by a third in 2020 and sparked widespread resignations as well as the disbanding of multiple police units.

Interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon is seen in Austin, Texas, on June 12, 2021. Austin Police Department via AP

Police Chief Resigns

While its budget was restored in 2021, the shortages remained, with former Police Chief Joe Chacon warning in April that the department had more than 300 officer vacancies and was struggling to effectively tackle crime.

Mr. Chacon himself abruptly resigned last month, although he stopped short of stating exactly why.

Officials have sought to counter the shortages via a partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) under which DPS troopers provide support across the city.

The joint operation has helped improve safety, decrease traffic fatalities, and enable faster responses to calls for help in the capital city, according to officials.

Elsewhere, the Austin Police Department earlier this year also launched a non-emergency online reporting system for victims that is powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant.

That system allows members of the community who fall victim to various incidents deemed a “non-emergency” by police to report them via voice, mobile, web, and text, according to police.

AI System Will ‘Alleviate’ Backlogs

The AI reporting system is able to conduct “full interviews” with the person filing a report and provide key information to the police department, with that report entering the official database “within hours or a similar time frame as if an officer wrote the report,” officials said.

“This platform reduces wait times for community members and speeds up the investigation process,” APD said in a March statement announcing the AI-powered system.

Incidents that can be reported through the system include assault resulting in minor or no injury, burglary that does not involve fire or arson, theft that does not include firearms, explosives, vehicle license plates, and motor vehicles of any kind, damaged property or graffiti, fraud, harassment, threats (excluding domestic violence), trespassing, and shoplifting reports, among others, according to police.

Victims can also use the AI-powered reporting system in cases of lost property, forgery, identity theft, illegal use of a credit or debit card, and minor, non-criminal child custody issues for documentation only.

“We are confident this technology will streamline the reporting process, alleviate the current backlog for APD non-emergency requests submitted via 3-1-1, and provide community members personalized attention to their incidents,” police said at the time.