New ‘safety officers’ working downtown Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) has some new faces on its street team. They’re called “safety officers.”

“We have an elevated safety team that’s a facet of downtown ambassadors program, they’re higher level qualified, trained individuals, basically the same the same level as a building security officer,” said the DAA’s Bill Brice.

While they don’t have the authority to make arrests, they can assist in getting people off of private property if issues arise, and bridge the gap between the community and the police department.

The goal is to have these safety officers work morning, evening and overnight shifts.

“With decreasing police resources and increased incidents of illegal camping, people sleeping and sitting and lying throughout certain areas downtown, and us needing to keep public safety clean and safe for everyone’s enjoyment, the DAA decided to launch safety officers as part of this year’s program,” Brice said.

The program should be in full swing and fully staffed by October.

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