AUSTIN (KXAN) —  Food truck owners at the Hamilton Food Park in north Austin arrived Wednesday to find broken glass, padlocks that had been cut and empty tip jars.

Sopa De Fideo’s owner, Erika Guerrero, said she caught someone on her cameras around 3:30 a.m., and when she arrived at her food truck, she found the person had tried to cut her pad locks but failed.

“He cut the locks for my windows,” Guerrero said. “I was fortunate that he was not able to get in, but he also made an attempt to cut the lock on my door. So, if I don’t get that fixed there is a weak spot on the door now.”

Guerrero said she called police to file a report and was told that someone would follow up in seven to 10 business days, but she said she is worried the person will strike again before then.

Another food truck owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, told KXAN she had her window broken out and locks cut off her windows. She said someone damaged her back door locks and took her tip jar as well.

“I lost my money today,” she said. “I can’t open again until I fix everything.”

Guerrero said this is not the first time she has had to deal with issues like this. She said three weeks ago, someone damaged her food truck.

“I had sail shades out here (on the roof) and they cut them off,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero said she has noticed a lot of issues near the food park and would like to see more police presence in the area.

“Every day there are abandoned vehicles on this street and we don’t know who is in them and there is people living out of them, there are people living behind the grocery store,” Guerrero said.

Business owners KXAN spoke with said they would like to see quicker response times and someone come out sooner.

KXAN has reported on 911 callers having to wait longer to get through to an operator with shortages in in the 911 Call Center. There is also a police officer shortage.

Reporting crimes that are no longer in progress

APD wants people to use iReportAustin.com or call 311, not 911, to report crimes that are no longer in progress, when the suspect or people involved are no longer on the scene and when there is no further immediate threat to life or property.

KXAN reached out to 311, and an operator told us this APD Non-Emergency Request Police Report service request has an “open” status as it was submitted this morning.

Austin 311 is adequately staffed, but there are two positions open.

Currently, 311 has no backlogs in the reporting system.

Is APD still facing an officer shortage?

KXAN asked APD how many openings they needed to fill, but that information was not available at the time this story aired.

APD said the department currently has 319 vacancies.

APD did tell KXAN that the 151st cadet class just started with 49 cadets on Sept. 11. The 152nd Class is scheduled to begin in February.

“Currently we are vetting 186 applicants and we will continue to accept applications until 11/15/2023 for this hiring cycle,” an APD spokesperson said. “We currently have 319 officer vacancies.”

911 Call Center

The 911 Call center has openings for 32 call takers and five dispatchers.

Are 911 callers still experiencing long wait times?

“Year to date we are answering the phone approximately 70% of the time within 15 seconds. The average hold time is approximately 67 seconds,” said an APD spokesperson.