The Texas Department of Public Safety is promoting a new law enforcement project: a Texas 10 Most Wanted Facebook page where visitors can submit tips. The page, created in 2010, recently received a boost in popularity after adding a tab for individuals to report the whereabouts of suspects.

The link takes users to a page on which visitors can submit the fugitive’s name, possible location, and details like clothing, tattoos, and possible gang affiliations. The page keeps a list of Texas’s top 10 most wanted criminals, but individuals can submit tips for any wanted criminal.

This is not the first time the DPS has used the Internet for public safety measures. See this post for details regarding online citation searches, registration e-Reminders, and used car title checks. For more information regarding traffic-related criminal cases, contact the McMinn Law Firm today.

In 2011, 31 cameras were installed in Austin–27 downtown and four near Rundberg and I-35. The cameras are part of the new HALO (Higher Activity Location Observation) initiative and are monitored by officers around the clock to look for signs of criminal activity.

Officers claim the cameras allow them to dispatch officers more effectively and identify suspects more easily and now the project is looking to expand access to security cameras within private businesses. By contracting with the businesses, Austin police would be able to tap into web-based security cameras if there is a call to the location. Some cameras would show the inside of the establishment, while others that aim outside may help shed light on criminal activity in the street.

Several civil rights groups have expressed concern over the cameras but APD defends their use by claiming that they help solve crimes more efficiently.

Have you ever left your keys in your car while you ran inside your house or a convenience store to grab something? In addition to making your vehicle prone to theft, Austin police officers are pushing for an ordinance that would issue citations to drivers of idling, unattended cars and cars with keys inside.

APD defends their stance by claiming that 37 percent of vehicle thefts are the result of keys left in cars. Commissioners from the Public Safety Commission raised a few objections, including the legality of entering private property to ticket a car owner. However, rather than rejecting the ordinance, they asked the police department to clarify some details and re-visit the issue during the December meeting. If the City of Austin does adopt the ordinance, they will be the 4th Texas city to issue tickets for keys in cars, following Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington.

The City of Austin has employed several interesting methods of catching car thieves, including using “bait vehicles” placed strategically around Austin. Additionally, the Help End Auto Theft (HEAT) program encourages drivers who do not normally drive between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to place stickers on their cars. If the car is being driven during those hours, an officer can legally stop the vehicle and verify that it is being driven legally.

Next time you’re downtown, don’t assume you’re out of APD’s sight. Seventeen crime cameras have been installed on Sixth Street and twelve more are going up soon.

The security cameras are part of Austin’s HALO (Higher Activity Location Observation) project, and several cameras have already been installed in high crime areas like Rundberg Lane and IH-35. The cameras are watched by police officers in Austin’s Real Time Crime Center, and are capable of moving, tilting, and zooming to better see suspicious activities. The cameras’ footage can be saved and used as evidence in criminal hearings.

East Sixth Street will have the highest concentration of cameras thus far, 29 in total. The Sixth Street area generally contributes significantly to Austin’s crime rates. Some have protested the installation of the cameras, claiming that it’s a civil rights violation.However the Austin Police Department responded that the cameras have significantly decreased crime in certain areas.

Update: The downtown crime cameras are already being credited with finding an assault suspect.