Assault
A person commits an assault when they intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury or threaten to cause injury to another person. If you have been assaulted, you can make a police report by calling 512-974-0845, Option 3 and have your incident investigated by a detective.
Depending on the circumstances, assaults can be classified as misdemeanors or felonies. Assaults can be classified as: Assault by Contact, Assault by Threat, Assault with Injury, Aggravated Assault with Injury and/or use of a weapon.
If you have been assaulted, you may be affected in different ways such as anger, frustration, sadness, guilt, happiness and other feelings. Everyone reacts to situations differently so know that whatever you are feeling or experiencing is normal. If you seem to have trouble for more than a few weeks, you may benefit from professional counseling. Visit our Resources page for assistance to include counseling, shelter, legal or financial assistance, etc.
Burglary
A burglary occurs when a person enters a habitation or building without the effective consent of the owner with the intention of committing a felony, theft or assault. Burglary differs from robbery in that robbery involves intentional threat or physical harm caused to the victim by the suspect.
A burglary can be very traumatic, and a person can experience feelings of anger, frustration, suspicion, stress, shock, fear, etc. It is important to know that these reactions are normal and will often decrease with time. Some people with severe or long-lasting reactions may benefit from counseling to help cope with trauma reactions. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Crimes Against Children
Children are especially susceptible to becoming victims of crime as they are less able to care for and defend themselves. Examples of Crimes Against Children include: Injury to a Child, Sexual and/or Aggravated Sexual Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, Indecency, Prohibited Sexual Contact, Solicitation, Child Abandonment, Child Endangerment, etc. Acts of Child Abuse and Neglect do not always constitute criminal offenses.
However, abuse and neglect are very harmful and may lead to serious injury or death. We as a community must take child abuse and neglect seriously and work to stop it. There are two ways to report child abuse and/or neglect: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or Child Protective Services. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Elderly/Disabled Persons Abuse
Elderly and disabled persons are especially vulnerable to becoming victims of crime and abuse because they are often dependent on others for their care. Elder and dependent adult abuse is the mistreatment or neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult. These abuse victims include adults 65 years of age and over and dependent adults 18 to 64 years of age who are physically, developmentally or cognitively disabled. Such crimes include the assaultive offense of Injury to an Elderly or Disabled Person, Sexual Assault, etc.
As is the case with children, elder and dependent adult abuse is not always a criminal offense but is nevertheless serious and potentially deadly. We as a community must take elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect seriously and work to stop it. There are two ways to report elder/disabled abuse and/or neglect: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or Adult Protective Services. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Death Investigations
If you have just lost a loved one and the death is being investigated by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, rest assured that we will fully investigate the loss of your loved one to determine what happened. Victim Services will likely be contacted by patrol staff to ensure that you have the support and resources you need during such a difficult time.
- If the death was expected, a detective will most likely not respond to the scene to investigate. A detective will review the case and contact you if he/she has any questions regarding the loss of your loved one. If you have any questions or concerns, and there is no detective assigned, you may contact Victim Services for assistance.
- If the death was unexpected, a detective will most likely respond to the scene to investigate, even if the death appears to be from suicide. The scene will be treated as a crime scene to protect the integrity of any evidence that might have been left behind, even if it appears the person took his/her own life.
- If the case is regarding the death of a child, it is important to know that Child Protective Services will investigate regardless of the apparent cause of death.
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office is responsible for the investigation and certification of cause and manner of death of all sudden, unexpected, violent, suspicious, or unnatural deaths that occur in Travis County. If the Medical Examiner will be involved in the death of your loved one, Victim Services is available to provide you with the necessary information about their office.
In the event of an unexpected death, if family and friends are not financially prepared for funeral arrangements, Victim Services is available to help with resource information for qualifying cases. Grief and Loss Grief is a normal response to loss, yet it sometimes produces emotional, behavioral , and physical reactions which can be alarming. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Family Violence
Family Violence is an act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault or sexual assault, or that is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault or sexual assault. Family Violence does not include defensive measures to protect oneself.
The term “Family Violence” is often used interchangeably with the terms “Domestic Violence” or “Spousal Abuse.” However, violence does not only occur between couples or spouses. It can occur between parents and children, siblings, roommates, and numerous other types of relationships. What is Intimate Partner Violence? Intimate partner violence can occur between opposite or same-sex couples, couples who are married, cohabitating, dating, or who dated previously. It includes verbal, emotional, economic, physical and sexual violence. It is not uncommon for people to misinterpret or ignore the “red flags,” especially at the beginning of a relationship, thinking that they are actually signs that their partner really cares about them or that their partner will change.
Teen Dating Violence, violence within gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender relationships and violence against people with disabilities or who are deaf are often overlooked. For more information on Teen Dating Violence and GLBTQ issues, please visit The Safe Alliance.
Family violence, intimate partner violence and abuse can happen to anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, education, religion, disability status, or sexual orientation. REMEMBER - All family and intimate partner violence is ILLEGAL and can be traumatic. There are resources available that can help you should you need counseling, shelter, legal or financial assistance, etc. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Harassment
A person commits harassment if they initiate communication by telephone, text, in writing or by electronic communication with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment or embarrass another. There are several different types of harassment to include sexual, workplace and teen peer harassment, among others.
Harassment can be perpetrated by a family member or a non-family member. When a person is harassed by a family member it is considered a Family Violence crime. Harassment is a risk factor for further violence and should be taken very seriously; it can lead to more severe crimes like terroristic threats or stalking. Therefore it is important to know what to do if you are harassed and ways to prevent it.
If you have been harassed you may be affected in different ways such as fear, anger, frustration or other emotions. Everyone reacts to stressful situations differently so know that whatever you are feeling or experiencing is probably normal. If you seem to have trouble for more than a few weeks, you might want to look into getting some professional counseling. There are resources available that can help you should you need counseling, shelter, legal or financial assistance, etc. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transporting, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services, using force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, slavery or forced commercial sex acts.
There are many ways in which victims can be trafficked. Some may be recruited from their countries of origin with the promise of employment, but then find that they are not compensated as promised or that they now owe a debt to the traffickers. Others may be smuggled into the country with their consent, but then are sold into prostitution or forced labor upon arrival. Individuals need not be foreign to be trafficked. Vulnerable U.S. citizens can be and are forced into sex and labor trafficking.
Trafficking vs. Smuggling - It is important to understand the difference between human trafficking and smuggling. Trafficking of individuals involves an element of fraud or coercion and subsequent exploitation and/or forced labor. Trafficking does not always include the physical transportation of victims from one country to another.
Smuggling, however, is the act of assisting another to enter the country illegally. Consent is given from the individual being smuggled, and in many cases, the smuggled individual pays for or initiates the illegal smuggling. Victims of trafficking are likely to have a number of physical, emotional and psychological needs. There are resources available that can help you should you need counseling, shelter, legal or financial assistance, etc. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Identity Theft | Identity Fraud
Identity Theft and Identity Fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. Unlike your fingerprints, which are unique to you and cannot be given to someone else for their use, your personal data such as your Social Security number, your bank account or credit card number, your telephone calling card number and other valuable identifying data can be used, if they fall into the wrong hands, to personally profit at your expense.
In the U.S. and Canada, for example, many people have reported that unauthorized persons have taken funds out of their bank or financial accounts or in the worst cases, taken over their identities altogether, running up vast debts and committing crimes while using the victims' names. In many cases, a victim's losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial additional financial costs associated with trying to restore his reputation in the community and correcting erroneous information for which the criminal is responsible. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Robbery
A robbery occurs when the suspect intentionally or knowingly hurts or threatens the victim while committing the offense of theft. Robbery is different from burglary in that robbery involves intentional threat or physical harm caused to the victim by the suspect, whereas burglary does not. If the suspect causes serious bodily injury, displays a weapon or places the victim in fear of bodily injury while committing the robbery, the charge is changed to an Aggravated Robbery.
While a robbery is similar to a burglary in that it usually involves theft, the enhanced traumatic experience of threats and physical harm can have an intense and lasting impact on the victim. If you have been the victim of a robbery, you may experience different reactions including anger, frustration, suspicion, stress, shock, fear, etc. It is important to know that these reactions are normal and will often decrease with time. Some people with severe or long lasting reactions may benefit from counseling to help cope with trauma reactions. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Sexual Assault
Crimes that involve forced or unwanted sexual conduct are considered to be sexual assaults and can include: Acquaintance Rape/Non-Stranger Rape, Stranger Rape, Drug/Alcohol Facilitated Sexual Assault, Forced Sodomy (Oral or Anal), Gang Rape/Multiple Rape, Marital Rape or Marital Sexual Assault, Object Penetration, Same Sex Sexual Assault.
It is common for victims of sexual assaults to question whether they were victimized and/or whether they are responsible for the event or the opportunity for its occurrence. Because you may not have resisted verbally or physically, does not mean that you were not assaulted. A choice not to physically resist is often made as a means to avoid escalating the attacker’s violence. Surviving the event may require you to refrain from saying “No.” Use of a weapon or a threat against your friends or family could also be reasons that make it unsafe to resist.
A question that often surfaces for victims who know or are familiar with the attacker is whether the event is still considered a sexual assault. Sexual assault occurs any time the sexual event is not consensual. Inability to remember the assault does not mean it didn’t occur. Although this may make prosecution difficult or not possible, reporting the incident to law enforcement is welcomed and encouraged. Many times alcohol and/or drugs are used as an excuse or explanation for the assault. Being unconscious or asleep during the assault may cause doubt about the event. The key is to consider the fact that in these states of mind providing consent is not possible and if you did not give consent, it is sexual assault.
It’s important to remember that a variety of reactions after a traumatic experience can occur. There are resources available that can help you should you need counseling, shelter, legal or financial assistance, etc. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Stalking
A person commits stalking if on more than one occasion the individual knowingly engages in conduct, including following another person, that the offender knows or a reasonable person would believe the other person will regard as threatening: bodily injury or death for the person, their family or home members, or their property. A stalker tries to control his/her victim through behavior or threats intended to intimidate and terrify. A stalker can be an unknown person, an acquaintance or a former intimate partner. A stalker's state of mind can range from obsessive love to obsessive hatred.
A stalker may follow a victim off and on for a period of days, weeks or even years. A stalking victim feels reasonable fear of bodily injury or death to self or to a family or household member or damage to property. Stalking can be perpetrated by the stalker or by someone acting on her/his behalf. Stalking can take the form of verbal threats or threats conveyed by the stalker's conduct, threatening mail, property damage, surveillance of the victim, or by following the victim. It’s important to remember that a variety of reactions after a traumatic experience can occur. There are resources available that can help you should you need counseling, shelter, legal or financial assistance, etc. Visit our Resources page for assistance.
Vehicular Crimes
Vehicular Crimes include incidents involving the use or theft of a motor vehicle. If you have been involved in a vehicular incident and need a copy of the report for insurance purposes, requests can be made through an Open Records Request.
If your car has been stolen, you need to file a police report by calling 512-974-0845, Option 3. You will need to provide information about your car such as the make, model, color, year, license plate number and VIN number (if you have it). After the police report is made, if the reported information indicates that the vehicle has been stolen, your vehicle will be entered into a state and national system as stolen. At that point, if any law enforcement officer runs the license plate, it will show as stolen. This may assist in the recovery of your vehicle. Be sure to let your insurance company know if your vehicle has been stolen. Visit our Resources page for assistance.