Posting Language
Title
Ratify a contract for consulting services for the Austin Police Department with Tamara Dawn Herold in an amount of $148,000 and authorize an increase in the amount of $154,000. Funding: $148,000 is available in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Operating Budget of the Austin Police Department. Funding for the remaining contract term is contingent upon available funding in future budgets.
Body
Lead Department
Austin Financial Services.
Client Department(s)
Austin Police Department.
Fiscal Note
Funding in the amount of $148,000 is available in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Operating Budget of the Austin Police Department. Funding for the remaining contract term is contingent upon available funding in future budgets.
Purchasing Language:
Ratification.
MBE/WBE:
This contract is exempt from the City Code Chapter 2-9B (Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Enter Price Procurement Program); therefore, no subcontracting goals were established.
For More Information:
Direct questions regarding this Recommendation for Council Action to Austin Financial Services – Central Procurement at: FSDCentralProcurementRCAs@austintexas.gov or 512-974-2500.
Additional Backup Information:
The requested action is to ratify a contract with Dr. Tamara Herold and increase the authority for continued scientific and organizational consultant services for the Chief of the Austin Police Department. The continuation of the contract will provide strategic training and community engagement consultant services which align with the Police Chief’s 100-day action plan. The contractor will continue to be instrumental in guiding and documenting activities associated with the outcomes of the action plan, including designing and initiating crime prevention and community trust-building initiatives that engage stakeholders across the City.
Dr. Herold received her Ph.D. with an emphasis in Crime Prevention and has developed several crime theories, shaping knowledge and practice in the field. Her unique background includes theory development, crime prevention strategy design, stakeholder engagement, DOJ experience, crowd dynamics and psychology expertise. She combines evidence-based policing tactics with local analyses to create effective, efficient, and equitable crime prevention approaches.
The ongoing multi-departmental efforts in the 6th Street corridor and other city-wide hotspots demand urgent and sustained support, particularly through the focused resources provided by Dr. Herold. Any delay in executing this contract would have jeopardized the momentum of progress already achieved in these critical areas.
Given the time-sensitive nature of this work, the contract was executed under emergency authority and brought to Council for ratification at the earliest opportunity. Timely deployment of data-driven crime reduction strategies is essential to optimizing our limited law enforcement resources and ensuring public safety. Postponing implementation would have introduced avoidable risks and potentially increased the likelihood of violence in the community.