Surveillance footage shows alleged burglary at Austin preschool
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police are investigating an apparent burglary at the Mariposa Family Learning Center in southeast Austin.
The school provided APD with surveillance video from two separate incidents on April 12 and 13, a Saturday and Sunday, that shows a man getting into and out of the school. One video shows him hauling a cart full of items out of the building.
“We discovered they had taken our computers, they had taken other forms of technology, they took snacks and food, they took a wagon, they took program materials and supplies, said Barb Dunnam, the executive director at the Mariposa Family Learning Center.
Barbara said the first incident happened overnight Friday into Saturday, and the second case happened on Saturday afternoon – in broad daylight – shortly after the school wrapped up a community gardening event.
“It was exceedingly violating and scary to know that someone had come in in clear view of our cameras,” Dunnam said.
APD responds in-person to this burglary
This is officially marked down in APD’s system as a burglary case.
Starting in 2021, the department said it would no longer respond in-person to nonviolent crimes not currently in progress, which the Mariposa burglary would typically be classified as. This change happened amid APD’s first major dip in staffing numbers.
However, about five months ago, the department shifted back to its original response system, Chief Lisa Davis told KXAN in March.
“Most people never have to call police, but when they do, they expect to have someone come,” she said.
In the Mariposa case, Dunnam said it made all the difference.
“I truly expected when I called back on Monday that they would take a report over the phone, I didn’t expect APD to show up again,” she said. “It was deeply, deeply important to us and made us feel important and supported in the community.”
Classifying calls
APD classifies calls based on priority levels 0-4, with 0 being the highest priority and 4 being the lowest.
Below is a breakdown of the types of calls associated with those classifications, according to APD.
- Priority 0: An incident involving physical harm or injury to a person or property, which is in progress and/or all involved parties are still on scene. (Examples: Shooting, stabbing).
- Priority 1: An incident involving physical harm or perceived threat to person(s) or property, which just occurred and/or suspect(s) may still be in the area, where a quick response might aid in apprehension. (Example: Robbery)
- Priority 2: In progress property crimes or just occurred crimes against persons. An incident warranting a rapid police response, however, poses a minimal threat or no immediate threat, which is either in progress or has just occurred. (Examples: Suspicious person, burglary)
- Priority 3: Incidents where life or property is not at risk and an immediate police response will not likely prevent further injury, loss of property or adversely affect an investigation. (Examples: Ordinance violations)
- Priority 4: Incidents where a police response is not required, however, the incident does require the documentation and/or dissemination of information to law enforcement personnel.
“What we’re doing is, I think before they were only dispatching 0’s and 1’s, and the 2’s and 3’s were kind of hanging in the air there,” Davis said. “So that has changed, we’re starting to dispatch those calls now.”
