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
TCOLEs 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 motorvehicle 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 dont 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.