(NewsNation) — After facing a storm of backlash online, the Austin Police Department appears to be backtracking on one of their posts.
On Friday, Austin police made a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, with a graphic that said, in part: “Did you get robbed on your way back from a bank or ATM? Call 311 or make an online report.”
311 is considered a type of nonemergency line, where according to the city’s website, residents can report issues such as “potholes, graffiti, loose dogs, and much more.”
The tweet from police generated a flurry of comments from people who seemed to overwhelmingly disagree with the idea of calling 311 following a robbery.
One user responded: “No, you should be able to call 911 and a real live police officer should be dispatched to see you in 15 minutes or less. You are setting up everyone in the community as targets for criminals with the process you have implemented.”
Tuesday, Austin police posted: “CLARIFICATION: When a robbery occurs, callers should be reporting these crimes to 9-1-1.”
The debacle comes as the Austin Police Department has struggled to fill vacancies with officers and within the 911 call center. In July, the department had 47 vacancies out of 104 call operator positions.
John Hoyt, the national second vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert that “misguided politicians” are driving good law enforcement employees out of cities including Austin. Hoyt also believes suggesting that victims of a crime call a nonemergency line eliminates a human element that officers provide.
“When you have the victim of a crime, the victim of a robbery, something of yours has been taken by force … and for most people, that’s going to be one of the most traumatic experiences of their life,” Hoyt said. “And when we tell them to call 311 and make a report, there’s a lot more to law enforcement than taking a report.”
According to reports, the average 911 hold time in Austin from June 25 through July 1 was two minutes and 53 seconds. Austin police advised those on hold with 911 not to hang up and try again, since they say doing so will place callers at the bottom of the queue.
