APD messaging on when to call 311 or 911 causes confusion

AUSTIN, Texas - Some people are calling recent messaging from Austin police confusing.

This all stemmed from a tweet about jugging, where suspect follows a victim to steal from them after they withdraw money from a bank or ATM. APD originally posted people should call 311 if they are a jugging victim, then clarified that robbery victims should call 911. 

Attorney Adam Loewy shares his reaction. 

"When it comes to armed robbery or jugging, people should be able to call 911, and it's abysmal that the city is messaging that they should call 311," he said. 

ATX Kind, a group that's worked with the city to improve systems for reporting hate crimes and hate incidents, also weighed in. 

"It's confusing for residents. It's confusing to know what's the right way to go. We should be making it easier and simpler and more streamlined for residents to be able to report what's happening to them," co-founder Sharyn Vane said. 

APD sent the following clarification to FOX 7. Essentially, robbery is a crime against a person, while burglary is a crime against property.

"When a robbery occurs, callers should be reporting these crimes to 9-1-1. This is whether the crime is still in progress or no longer in progress.

The post was intended for victims of a jugging in general and not specific to robberies. Jugging is a form of theft that includes both robbery and burglary. It occurs when a suspect follows a victim from a bank to their next location before committing the crime. If your money was stolen from your car and the crime is no longer in progress, you can call 3-1-1 or make an online report. However, if you are assaulted or threatened during the "Jugging," then you are a victim of robbery and should call 9-1-1."

In 2021, APD started routing certain calls to the non-emergency line, in part because of the ongoing staffing shortage. These are cases where the suspect isn't on scene anymore, or there's no threat to life or property. 

"We have gone from calling 911 to now it gets complicated as to when you should call 911 versus 311, and there's some truth to that on some incidents, but when it comes to robbery, when it comes to a felony crime, people should trust the fact that they should be able to call 911," Loewy said.

"No one in Austin should have to wonder, 'do I call 311? Do I call 911? Do I go online?' It's just such a confusing system," Vane said.