Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis spoke about diversity in policing, safety goals and immigration enforcement at Bass Lecture Hall on Monday.

Davis discussed APD’s staffing shortages due to a lack of applicants and its impact on the Austin community.

“(The community) certainly feel(s) it when they’re calling the police, and the police take hours to show up,” Davis said. “I hear that story all the time. It breaks my heart that people call the police, they need the police, and they’re either saying ‘We’re not coming’, (or) ‘That’s not something we respond to’.” 

Davis encouraged UT students to get involved with the department and volunteer or look into the department’s internship program. She also said the police department should employ more Hispanic, Black and female officers to better reflect the diversity of Austin.

Davis was also asked about immigration enforcement and the police’s role in assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said immigration was not a priority of the police and that the police will not ask for a person’s immigration status. Davis said police are not informed when ICE is in the area, but if they are called to assist ICE agents, they must comply. 

“We have to know where people are that have guns, that have bulletproof vests, that are taking people into custody,” Davis said. “We shouldn’t be just getting calls about someone (saying) ‘Hey, I think someone was kidnapped. I’m not sure what’s going on.’” 

Davis also addressed concerns about Austin’s crime rates and spoke about the importance of diverse community involvement in investigating crimes.

“When everyone’s at the table about what’s going on in a community, the wins are shared and the losses are shared,” Davis said. “So when you do lose or something doesn’t work, you come back to the drawing board. You’re like, ‘Let’s go look at this from a different perspective.”