A Texas Department of Public Safety Audit looking into three months’ worth of Austin Police investigations of sexual assaults started Tuesday (Dec 4th).
APD Chief Brian Manley explained Austin has a higher rate of exceptional clearances than the national average.
An exceptional clearance means police have a suspect, know where they live and have probable cause to make the arrest; but won’t because A) the victim/survivor refuses to cooperate in the investigation, B) the District Attorney’s office refuses to prosecute, or C) because the suspect is outside of the departments legal reach.
In the cases where a victim refused to cooperate, Manley noted APD can still reopen those exceptionally cleared cases, once the victim is ready.
Manley said they invited the DPS to perform the Audit in an effort to be transparent. At a press conference at APD Headquarters, Manley said this shows their willingness to ensure our willingness to ensure that what the department is doing is appropriate.
He said DPS and his department agree the policies used in Sexual Assault investigations are good. But DPS could not verify if the way the policies were being employed were correct or not until after an audit is performed.
Manley expects it will take a few days before any results come back from the Audit.
(Photo:Newsradio KLBJ/Jon Cooley)
