Commission calls for full audit of police training academy - Austin Monitor

"In November, 2020, the city hired Kroll Associates to review and evaluate the Austin Police Department (APD) on the extent to which discrimination, racism and bigotry are present in the protocols and practices of the department, beginning with an assessment of the academy. As the resolution notes, Kroll recommended that the academy shift away from "stress-oriented military style curricula toward a resiliency -based approach.""

"According to the resolution, the Kroll final report in 2022 found a lack of buy-in from academy staff related to the mandated reform efforts and a continued prevalence of "military style culture" at the academy. In a follow-up to that report, Kroll once more evaluated progress in making the changes previously recommended. They found there was no process for the Academy Curriculum Review Committee to provide specific recommendations and that staff rarely reported back to the committee on whether they were following the committee's recommendations."

"The resolution states that there remain institutional barriers within APD, and a resistance to changing training approaches and curriculum content among sworn instructors. In general, they found that there was "a general feeling among sworn staff that the Division Manager, as a civilian employee has no authority to impose directives on sworn members and that sworn members are only required to respond to directives from the sworn chain of command.""

The city hired Kroll Associates in November 2020 to assess the Austin Police Department for discrimination, racism, and bigotry, starting with the training academy. Kroll recommended shifting the academy from stress-oriented, military-style curricula to a resiliency-based approach. The 2022 Kroll report found a lack of buy-in from academy staff and continued prevalence of military-style culture. A follow-up review found no clear process for the Academy Curriculum Review Committee to provide specific recommendations and little reporting on implementation. The resolution identifies institutional barriers, resistance among sworn instructors, and inadequate documentation of progress or completion plans.

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