How many 2023 citations in Austin's downtown precinct came from DPS?
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Judge Rick "Rico" Olivo, the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 5 - which includes all of downtown - said nearly 400 citations DPS issued in his jurisdiction last year are still pending in the county court system.
When the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) came to Austin as part of the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (AVCTF), the agency made more than 87,000 traffic stops, according to DPS data.
Many citations that came from those ended up in Olivo's court.
"Bringing citations to us in stacks of 750 at a time," he said.
According to Olivo, 83% (8,182) of all citations (9,817) that went through his court last year came from DPS. The agency had an increased presence in Austin from the end of March through December - with a month-long break in the middle - to assist the Austin Police Department (APD) amid a staffing shortage.
By comparison, 4% of citations Olivo received came from APD and 1% came from the Travis County Sheriff's Office.
In addition to processing citations, Justice of the Peace courts also handle small claims, evictions, public student loans from the state, driver license suspensions, warrant signings and courthouse weddings.
"[Processing citations] takes our time away from some of the other work that we do," Olivo said.
In December, Travis County commissioners approved $80,000 in taxpayer money for Justice of the Peace precincts to handle the backlog the DPS citations brought on.
Olivo said he used that money for overtime to staff the court on Saturdays for a six-week period ending March 9, so staff could process citations or address other work they had to put aside.
The extra day also gives the public more time to visit the court.
"We really want to make sure people have access to the courts," Olivo said.
According to data APD presented to city council about DPS' presence in Austin, violent crime went down when troopers patrolled in town, and rose when DPS left.
During the AVCTF, DPS made more than 4,000 arrests, seized nearly four million lethal doses of fentanyl, recovered more than 300 stolen vehicles and conducted nearly 700 crash investigations.