Complaints against APD on the decline

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The number of people intending to lodge complaints against the Austin Police Department is on pace to decline for the third consecutive year, according to the latest report from the Office of Police Monitor.

From Jan. 1 though the end of June, 618 people contacted the office with the intent to file a complaint. The report says that if the trend of fewer complaints being file in the second half of the year holds, the 2012 number will be "down significantly" from 2011.

Margo Frazier, the police monitor, says, 80% of the officers have never been in this office ever in their careers. Hopefully the message is getting across that it matters not only what you say but how you say it."

• The full report

Most of the complaints lodged during the first half of the year had to do with officers' conduct. Others complaints had to do with issues such as the handling of traffic enforcement, the organizational structure of the police department and police vehicles.

Complaints were broken down along command areas. The downtown command had the most complaints, followed by the southeast sector.

The number of complaints by Anglo residents remained about the same compared with recent years. Complaint rates by Hispanics dropped slightly while the rate among blacks rose slightly.