Racial Profiling Law

Compliance Audit

Austin Police Department

December 15, 2015

Austin Police Department

Chief Art Acevedo

715 E. 8th

Street

Austin, TX 78701

Dear Chief Acevedo,

I am pleased to inform you that the audit for the Austin Police Department

has been completed. The overall aim of this racial profiling audit is to determine if the

Austin Police Department is in compliance with the Texas Racial Profiling Law

requirements. These findings are attained under the premise that a police department is

better served and functions more effectively by eliminating errors relevant to data

recording and reporting; in addition, to fulfilling all of the components of the Texas

Racial Profiling Law. It is my most sincere hope that the findings produced as a result of

this audit assist the Austin Police Department in producing an accurate and transparent

racial profiling report.

A review of the 2014 racial profiling reporting documentation along with a

sample of the contact data for the past year, leads me to conclude that the Austin Police

Department is not in compliance with state law as it pertains to racial profiling

reporting. Specifically, the Department needs to address, right away, the following:

1) Ensure that ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic) is recorded and reported as required by the law.

That is, the law considers the individual to be either Hispanic or Caucasian. In various

instances, officers noted suspects as Caucasian even though the surname (on males)

suggests the person could have been Hispanic. This has a tendency of over-reporting

Caucasians and under-reporting Hispanics.

2) The audit revealed that in the past, the Department has not reported contacts of

individuals belonging to the “other” category. The reason provided was that

TCOLE’s form does not include “other”. While this is accurate, the spirit of the law

on racial profiling has been to report ALL motor vehicle contacts where a citation is

issued or an arrest is made. Therefore, it is required that the Department report

contacts that meet this criteria regardless of the fact they may be classified as “other”.

3) The Texas Racial Profiling Law requires all agencies to “launch an educational

campaign aimed at informing the public” on how to file a racial profiling complaint.

Most law enforcement agencies interpret this by making available a brochure to the

public where individuals are informed on how to file a racial profiling complaint.

Although the Austin Police Department currently makes available to the public, a

brochure where individuals can file a complaint, it is recommended that the

Department modify the existing brochure to include “racial profiling” as a category

in which to file a complaint. Every attempt should be made to ensure that these

brochures are made available in Spanish.

4) The Departmental Racial Profiling Policy is outdated and it is not complete. The

Department is urged to modify it in accordance to the revised racial profiling law.

Items such as the new definition of a contact, type of data collected consistent with

Tier 1 requirements, and random reviews of video, are among the concepts that

should be added to the policy. Ensure that video and/or audio equipment is

functioning and available in each of the police units. This will allow the Department

to fall under the partial Tier 1 data exemption.

5) Confirm that contacts are being recorded, in accordance with the law, as motor-

vehicle related where a citation has been issued or an arrest been made. In addition,

confirm that arrests resulting from a motor vehicle contact are in fact being recorded

accurately. The current procedure in place is not reliable. That is, it connects motor

vehicle contacts with arrests. In other words, the arrests that are counted are those

that are connected with a motor vehicle contact where a citation was issued.

However, there is a strong likelihood that there are some arrests not being counted, as

there are circumstances in which an officer can stop an individual and simply arrest

the person without the issuance of a citation.

Given the findings produced in this audit, it is clear that the Austin Police

Department needs to take immediate measures in order to comply with state law.

Further, it should also consider taking long-term measures in order to ensure compliance

on racial profiling requirements, at all times. The recommendations that should be

adopted immediately are as follows:

1) Address items 1-5 referenced in this audit in order to comply with state legal

requirements.

2) Once these items are addressed, produce and modify the 2013 and 2014 racial

profiling reports. These should be submitted to both TCOLE and City Council as

soon as they are completed.

3) Retain an objective and independent firm in order to produce all future annual

racial profiling reports.

4) Retain a firm to perform quarterly data audit annually in order to ensure that the

data being recorded and reported is both valid and reliable.

5) Retain a firm in order to perform a search analysis annually, which will show the

contraband-hit ratio on all searches while controlling for race and ethnicity. This

is considered as the gold standard when identifying possible concerns on racial

profiling.

6) Retain an independent firm to provide training on racial profiling, state data

requirements, and the importance of data integrity. This training should also

include all civilians in charge of the internal racial profiling data processing.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me so that I can elaborate on the

points made in this audit. Again, thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Sincerely,

Alex del Carmen, Ph.D.

Criminologist

For additional questions regarding the information presented in this audit, please contact:

Del Carmen Consulting, LLC

dcconsulting@sbcglobal.net

www.texasracialprofiling.com

Disclaimer: The author of this audit report, Alejandro del Carmen/del Carmen

Consulting, LLC, is not liable for any omissions or errors committed in the acquisition,

analysis, or creation of this report. Further, Dr. del Carmen/del Carmen Consulting is not

responsible for the inappropriate use and distribution of information contained in this

report. Further, no liability shall be incurred as a result of any harm that may be caused

to individuals and/or organizations as a result of the information contained in this audit

report.