The University of Texas at Austin will hire additional police officers and extend security patrols off-campus to the adjoining West Campus neighborhood in response to what UT Police are saying are security gaps resulting from a lack of city police presence.
The UT System Board of Regents approved $2 million per year for the security measures at the Austin flagship institution in a meeting Feb. 27.
Vice Chairman James Weaver moved that the UT System “increase police presence with the addition of more officers and other security personnel and the implementation of technology solutions to improve security in areas near UT Austin campus where students live, congregate and walk.”
“I further move that the Board authorize the allocation of $8 million from the available university fund for the next four years to assist with these conditions,” he said, according to a webcast of the meeting. The motion carried unanimously.
The funding comes at the request of UT Austin President Greg Fenves and UT Austin Police Chief David Carter, both of whom cited an “uptick in violent crime” as the reason for the new security measures.
Two UT Austin students recently were injured in a stabbing spree on 6th Street.
After the vote, Fenves said in a statement that the new security funding will allow UT Austin to hire 11 additional police officers and two police sergeants, and to invest in cameras, vehicles and other equipment.
“We are taking these actions because there has been an uptick in violent crime in Austin during recent months. Thousands of UT students live and congregate in West Campus, and many students and employees travel through the area to get to class and work. I am grateful for Chairman Kevin Eltife and the Board of Regents’ support for enhancing UT’s safety and security in this neighborhood next to our campus,” he said.
For his part, UT Police Chief David Carter said that his department already has created a new patrol district that extends from the main campus border along Guadalupe Street to Rio Grande Street with the northern border of 27th Street to Martin Luther King, Junior Boulevard.
With the new funding, the university police will create a new “storefront substation” in Walter Webb Hall on the corner of Guadalupe and 25th Street. This outpost would operationally support the new patrols.
Carter said, “Austin Police Chief Brian Manley has stated that violent crime is up across the city. I am concerned when I read over the reports APD shares with UTPD. Compounding the issue, is the fact that APD is understaffed with an estimated 180 vacancies. It is clear APD needs support. We are doing our part.”
“Police presence matters. We do not want to be reactive. I did not want to wait until the increase in violent crime hits areas close to our campus,” he added. “While it will take some time to get our new officers through the training process, you can expect to see more officers now. We will use overtime funds to begin our new patrol district. We are not taking over APD’s responsibility. We are here to enhance their efforts.”
Speaking at the regents’ meeting, Regent Jodie Jiles said, “I want to compliment President Fenves for working aggressively to identify and address safety issues with the potential to impact the UT Austin community. These are some of the most important priorities we face.”
Recently, the Austin City Council froze new police cadet classes until after the completion of a third-party audit of alleged “homophia, racism, and sexism” in the city’s police force.
