Texas DPS averaging 300 traffic stops, 16 arrests per day in Austin under new partnership

State troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety are averaging 16 arrests and 300 traffic stops per day in Austin under a controversial new partnership with the short-staffed Austin Police Department.

In the collaboration's first five days, the DPS says troopers have recovered six vehicles, and seized 174 grams of cocaine, 40 grams of heroin, 127,415 grams of methamphetamine and 11 firearms. The state agency said troopers also have conducted 15 crash investigations.

The enforcement figures, which the DPS announced Tuesday, reflect state police activity in Austin through Monday and provides a snapshot into the enhanced law enforcement strategy that Mayor Kirk Watson has said is needed to make residents feel safe.

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Watson, who took office in January, negotiated the partnership with the state's top two Republicans, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Their discussions came in the wake of threats by state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, who went on Twitter and singled out Watson after a woman from his North Texas district was attacked in Austin by a man police describe as transient. Springer threatened to support a bill in the Texas House that proposes to abolish Austin’s government and establish in its place a state-led District of Austin.

The Austin Violent Crimes Task Force aims to fill in public safety gaps in the city, where the Police Department is short around 300 officers. Average officer response times have risen from seven to 10 minutes since 2018. The state troopers are expected to assist primarily in enforcing traffic laws and responding to violent crime.

A similar partnership in Dallas drew scrutiny after state troopers made 12,000 traffic stops in only seven weeks in 2019. Critics in Austin have also pointed out that state troopers will be under no obligation to act according to local policies that restrict citations for marijuana use and limit no-knock warrants.

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Through Monday, the DPS says its officers on the task force conducted over 1,570 traffic stops and wrote 765 citations. During that time, they say, officers also made 52 felony and 31 misdemeanor arrests, and stopped three large-scale street takeover events, like those from February that led Abbott to create a task force aimed at curbing the illegal street events.

The partnership's launch coincided with a busy weekend in Austin, which hosted the Texas Relays track meet and the CMT Music Awards.

From Thursday to Sunday, the Travis County Jail reported 348 bookings. Austin police were responsible for 222 bookings, and the sheriff's office was responsible for 38. The DPS booked 61 suspects.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas DPS making 300 traffic stops a day in Austin police partnership