New interim APD chief Robin Henderson welcomed in pinning ceremony

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department welcomed Robin Henderson as its interim chief with a standing ovation on Thursday.

"I have the best job in the world," said Henderson. "I get to work for you. Let's go to work."

Dozens packed into the room to watch Austin police transition from one leader to another.

"She helped me to put my mark on the department, and now she is going to put her mark on this department," said Joseph Chacon, former APD chief.

One of the first issues Henderson said she wants to tackle is the staffing shortage.

"We just want to make sure that we have enough personnel to keep all of our community members, and so with that, being intentional, taking advantage of opportunities to recruit more personnel to join our department and making sure that we do that not just on a local level but on a national level, too," said Henderson.

Recently, the city called for a partnership between APD and DPS to end. It aimed at filling APD's staffing shortage, but Governor Greg Abbott directed troopers to stay.

"DPS is still here in Austin and still helping with the mission of keeping our community safe," said Henderson. "As other law enforcements are willing to help in those efforts, I am happy that they are here."

As of now, Henderson adds no negotiations are happening with police contracts.

"Please understand that that’s outside the scope of typically what we would be handling at this point," said Henderson. "That’s between the Austin Police Association and then our city leadership but looking forward to where we do get back to the table."

The Austin Police Department welcomed Robin Henderson as its interim chief with a standing ovation

In the meantime, she wants to work on boosting police morale.

"It’s improving," said Henderson. "I have the tremendous honor of working with the best law enforcement officers in my humble opinion in the entire nation, so I'm going to do everything I can to help support and lead them."

Interim Chief Henderson also said community relations and transparency are important to her.

She said she wants to improve the department's website and digital platforms.

Plus, she said she is looking at adding a dashboard for residents to get information about the department.