The Pivot to Modern Policing

The Austin Police Department (APD) faced numerous challenges and significant scrutiny for its handling of sexual assault cases over the past decade.

In 2017, APD’s DNA lab was closed after several failures were identified including cross-contamination of DNA samples obtained through rape kit testing.

In 2018, a number of additional fall-outs occurred. APD withdrew from the Austin/Travis County Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team (A/TC SARRT), a multidisciplinary team that provides support to victims of sexual assault. A federal, class-action lawsuit was filed against the City of Austin for APD’s improper handling of sexual assault cases, and APD was highlighted in the investigative report exposing the improper and overuse of Exceptional Clearance in the closure of sexual assault cases.

In 2020, a similar, second, class-action lawsuit was filed at the state level, and in 2022, over 100 recommendations for change were published by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) upon the conclusion of their multi-year assessment of APD's Sex Crimes Unit.

In 2023, the founder of Blue Renew, Hanna Senko, was hired by APD to help them find their way through the changes and improvements that were necessary. Senko has assisted APD in the creation of a truly multidisciplinary project involving over 119 elements of scope and 40 project members including advocates, survivors, partner agencies, APD victim services, and APD sworn personnel. This project is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and is projected to be the national best practice for sexual assault reform in policing.

In conclusion, the Austin Police Department has transformed the way it handles sexual assault cases. Blue Renew and this project provides a model for other law enforcement agencies that are seeking to improve their response to sexual assault and sex-based crimes.