Austin Police Tell Robbery Victims to Call 311 After Rolling out AI-Powered Reporting Service Amid Staffing Crisis

Police and FBI officers guard the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, on March 12, 2018. Sergio Flores/Reuters

Residents of Austin, Texas, who are robbed near ATMs are being told to report the incident to a non-emergency phone number instead of police amid ongoing staffing shortages at the Austin Police Department (APD).

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sept. 1, the department asked victims to either make a report online or call 311 as opposed to 911; with the former giving callers access to non-emergency municipal services.