The Public Safety Commission on Oct. 6 voted to send a set of recommendations to city council and other oversight bodies asking for an audit and greater public transparency around reforms at the Austin Police Department Cadet Training Academy and asking APD not to reassign current academy staff while continuity measures are implemented.

Commissioner Michael Sierra Vallejo, a member of the working group, summarized the timeline of reviews dating to 2020, including multiple assessments by Kroll and others that recommended shifting the academy away from stress‑oriented, military‑style training toward a guardian model and evidence‑based continuous improvement. Sierra Vallejo said the working group found progress but also a lack of clear, publicly available documentation mapping reforms to the many prior recommendations.

The commission’s recommendation as approved has two main components. First, the commission recommended that APD not reassign current academy staff while the department implements a learning‑management system (LMS), an instructor‑training program and a continuity plan to accommodate instructor turnover. Second, the commission requested a layered transparency and accountability package: 1) a full audit of progress on academy reform by the city auditor’s office; 2) expansion of the city’s open policing data portal to show progress and completion of reimagining‑public‑safety, Kroll, Office of Police Oversight and City Council recommendations pertinent to the Cadet Training Academy; and 3) a public application process for participation in the community and professional advisory committees tied to the academy.

Commissioners amended the draft language on the floor to clarify the personnel recommendation: rather than a broad prohibition on any staffing changes, the approved text recommends not reassigning current academy staff officers so the academy retains institutional experience while continuity systems are put in place. That amendment passed by voice vote and the commission then approved the full recommendation as amended; commissioners present recorded the motion and subsequent voice votes as carried unanimously.

The working group presentation and the final motion repeatedly cited earlier recommendations by Kroll and the reimagining public safety process and asked that any audit or progress tracker be publicly accessible through the city’s existing policing data portal so residents, researchers and council members can see which recommendations have been completed, which are in progress and which are deferred.

Ending: The commission directed staff to transmit the approved recommendation to the city council and city auditor and asked APD and the auditor to report back at a future commission meeting with the results of the audit and the public portal updates.