Long-standing racial divides and the unjust killings of members of the black and brown community have sparked more conversations recently. These conversations are important ones that must take place, and many community members are voicing concerns and experiences of systemic racism and social injustices across the United States.

Ensuring that key messaging is intentional and thoughtful for all residents is essential in these crucial moments. These times serve as a clear reminder that having a diverse team of communications professionals on hand to create and disseminate empathetic, inclusive content is paramount.

Austin Community Protests and Police

After George Floyd’s death, Austin, Texas residents joined protesters around the world, taking to the streets to voice their concerns about not only the wrongful killings of unarmed minorities, but also what many of them believe to be an inherently racist culture within the Austin Police Department (APD).

When the dust settled, the relationship between the community and the police department was even more strained. The local news was wall-to-wall coverage of the fallout, protestors hospitalized, and day-long sessions of the Austin City Council debating police department funding.

In the end, APD found themselves among the first police departments in the United States to have their budget reallocated and their upcoming cadet classes canceled. The relationship between a community and its police department is one of the most important factors in protecting the best quality of life for all residents. With the relationship between the community and the police department fractured, not only from these recent events but also historical ones, the question becomes, what can be done to fix this?

Communication during the Crisis

When a relationship is strained, whether it’s a personal relationship between two people or between two groups within a community, the start of the solution is always communication. Two-way communication in which the police department employs proactive messaging and listens to the needs and concerns of its community can be very productive. This dialogue involves officers from all levels of the organization talking to residents and taking the necessary steps to address any issues that surface to restore the relationship.

“A multimedia specialist focused on gathering audio and visual aids to support department messaging is of the utmost importance in the 21st century.”

How do public information officers (PIOs) perform during such difficult times? Do they stay in a reactive, responsive mode? For PIOs who are also police officers, do they join fellow officers on the front lines? Many struggle with these questions during unfolding instability and controversy.

For anyone fortunate enough to have the appropriate number of staff, it comes down to a team effort. It’s like football. A coach calls the plays, and each player has a role within the plays. How does this team look? What roles are there?

Start with a lead PIO to disseminate crucial messaging to the community and local leaders. Keep these stakeholders updated regularly and promptly. Another PIO should be designated to respond to media inquiries, establish talking points, and coordinate routine briefings. Utilize media partners as the instrument that amplifies the agency’s messages to the community, and to demonstrate the department’s actions and response.

This is the video age. A single clip can have the power to spark a movement across the world. Individuals can upload or stream high-definition videos on their phones. A multimedia specialist focused on gathering audio and visual aids to support department messaging is of the utmost importance in the 21st century. Not only can the content be shared with the media to help with news stories, but it can also be directly shared with the community in furthering the goal of public safety for every resident. If the agency lacks the staff to fulfill this role, have a previously established graphics and photo library ready for use before a crisis occurs.

One of the areas that seemingly falls by the wayside during crises is the opportunity to continue to tell the stories occurring within a department. It can be difficult to find and remain focused on an agency’s story, as crises are the priority and demand the attention of the entire team. However, documenting the department’s activities and sentiments should be used strategically, with the goal of controlling the narrative.

Internal Communication and Employee Relations

The stage of a national public crisis was set for APD, with an ongoing pandemic, budget reallocation, canceled cadet classes, and an increasing attrition rate.

An organization is nothing without a strong, healthy workforce to do the necessary work. An assessment of employee morale is imperative in a crisis situation. Internal communication must be on the list of priorities, and before addressing external needs, the agency has to take a hard look in the mirror to focus on employee concerns. With the guidance of the PIO, leadership should do the hard work of creating a safe space for open dialogue, inclusion, and accessibility to be a part of the overall process for progressive development.

This safe space was created at APD by coordinating a series of meetings engaging administrative leadership, with members of affinity groups and peace officer associations, as well as civilian staff. While there were difficult conversations about discrimination and racism that took place, this meaningful step was necessary to create an effective productive action plan that would be equitable for all staff. The outcomes included policy updates, modifications to promotional processes, training curriculum reviews, and enhanced employee engagement opportunities.

One strategy adopted by APD to address internal communication is the implementation of a weekly video series hosted by members of the department’s leadership staff. The goal of the series is to keep officers and employees informed on departmental updates, city council actions, policy changes, current events, promotion opportunities, new initiatives, officer safety information, human resources and benefits, and other pertinent information that impacts the APD. This communication tool ensures employees are more knowledgeable about factual department information and issues that impact various areas of responsibility. The videos offer staff a higher level of awareness, dispel rumors, and help to ensure department-wide messaging goes a step beyond a lengthy email.

As an example from another agency, in 2016, the Round Rock, Texas, Police Department implemented PD-43, an award-winning internal video briefing, distributed to the entire department through a private YouTube channel. Officers and civilian staff can view the videos on a computer or their city-issued iPhone. Produced daily, and hosted primarily by the PIO, this form of communication has given their officers timely details about crime trends, intelligence, BOLOs, and details that help those in patrol be aware of the most up-to-date information.

Reimagining Public Safety

Engaging and acknowledging the views of residents has proven to be a meaningful way to improve levels of trust between law enforcement and the community. In Austin, the Reimagining of Public Safety is a process the city has adopted to reform police response. This comprehensive approach involves various stakeholders collaborating to examine community resources and taking a deep dive into the APD training, structure, and operations. With the use of the process, last month, the Austin City Council voted for the APD to move forward with a new cadet class after completing a blueprint of improvements to the training academy. On June 7, 2021, the reimagined 144th cadet class started with a new curriculum and a focus on community engagement.

The process offers a chance for the police department to repair the relationship with the community by being accountable and identifying any inequities within the agency and taking the appropriate steps to make positive changes.

A large part of the effort requires community input. There are several options members of the community have to engage, including the City-Community Taskforce, working groups, the Public Safety Committee, the Police Review Commission, and listening sessions.

A series of virtual community listening sessions were completed for all 10 Austin City Council districts to determine how residents want police to respond during their times of need. Discussions on alternatives to police response in various scenarios such as domestic disturbances, traffic issues, residential burglaries, and mental health calls provided important input that was collected through a survey tool completed during each session.

Engaging the community through local partnerships and educational outreach is another way that police departments can start the healing process with local communities. District representatives, similar to community relations officers, are APD officers tasked with dedicating all of their on-duty time to community outreach. A small but mighty group, these officers work collaboratively with homeowners associations, local groups, youth programs, faith-based organizations, and city officials.

Through the implementation of strategic communications planning, APD and other departments can create awareness around the steps they are taking to improve the programs and services that are provided to all populations in their cities. By being intentional about communicating how the agency is investing in areas of the community that are most heavily impacted by the systems and processes that disproportionately impact people of color, this restoration can become possible. The series of these actions aims to transform the future of a strained partnership between the community and the police department into rebirth and collaboration that will ultimately strengthen through remaining committed to the common goal of safety and protection for all.

Please cite as

Angelique Myers Evans, “Building Community Trust in a Crisis: Crisis Communication at the Austin Police Department,” Police Chief Online, June 16, 2021.