A team dedicated to safety in downtown Austin is set to expand in the coming months due to an Austin police officer shortage.

The Downtown Austin Alliance’s Downtown Safety Team, which is owned and operated by the same group behind the West Campus Ambassadors, launched in May to help address low-class misdemeanor violations and crimes downtown. Bill Brice, senior vice president of investor relations of the Downtown Austin Alliance, said the team typically deals with Class C misdemeanors, including encampment sites and public intoxication, daily between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., with a team in Republic Square doing bike patrols and working overnight. 

For these offenses, the team simply asks offenders to comply voluntarily and calls the police if the crime escalates.

A Downtown Austin Alliance representative said between May 1 and June 30, the safety team had 828 interactions for compliance with city ordinances with an 86% compliance rate. In July, the number of daily patrolling members increased from two to four, with October having projected growth to eight members per shift, Brice said. 

“So far, the response has been highly positive, but we’re not yet fully staffed,” Brice said. “I anticipate that when we’re fully staffed come October we’ll see not just a lot more visibility out there but people will recognize the benefits of the team.” 

The team works closely with the Austin Police Department amid the department’s long-term staffing shortages, particularly downtown where there is a lack of a police presence, said Christopher Juusola, operations lieutenant for the Austin Police Department in the downtown area. 

“Getting their feedback is critical for us to make sure our resources are where we need them,” Juusola said. “Downtown is currently at a 25% vacancy rate, so there’s a lot of things that we can’t respond to.” 

With lower-class misdemeanors, Juusola said it is fairly easy to correct people’s behaviors by simply pointing them out. 

“When people are engaged in lower level behavior when somebody’s watching and saying something, it discourages that behavior,” Juusola said. “Whether it’s coming from the police, the downtown public safety team, if it’s a business manager, as long as somebody is saying something and doing something about it, you’re probably going to get compliance and I think that’s kind of the message here.” 

Brice said the purpose of the safety team is to have a visible presence downtown, especially due to the number of visitors, employees and entertainment in the area. 

“They’re typically patrolling on bikes, in high pedestrian traffic areas during the day and evening hours,” Brice said. “That visibility and that presence, I think, really helps to increase the perception of downtown being a safe and welcoming place.”