San Antonio Public Safety Committee Meeting - January 20, 2026
San Antonio Public Safety Committee Meeting - January 20, 2026
This meeting of the Public Safety Committee was called to order at 2:06 p.m. and adjourned at 3:59 p.m. on January 20, 2026. The committee considered routine approvals, received crime statistics for 2025, discussed a proposed diversion and recovery center, and received an update on the SA CORE program.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The committee approved minutes from a previous meeting by unanimous voice vote.
- Consent Agenda – CAR Appointments: The committee approved appointments to the Citizen Advisory Board for the Police Chief. The motion passed 3 – 1 (with one abstention) after a revote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Susan Yerkes (Chair, Bear Area Harm Reduction Coalition) expressed support for the diversion and recovery center, stressing the importance of voluntary, non-coercive treatment and robust follow-up services.
- Jorge Esteves (Organizer, Harm Reduction Movement) urged the committee to adopt a harm reduction, non-coercive approach. He shared his personal experience with HIV and substance use recovery and called for peer navigators and real treatment options instead of threats of incarceration.
Discussion Items
1. Crime Statistics – January through December 2025
- Overall crime in San Antonio fell 12.5% compared to 2024. Violent crime decreased 7.7%, and property crime decreased 17.5%. Motor vehicle theft dropped 25.6%, attributed to awareness campaigns, enforcement, and anti-theft devices by Kia. Drug/narcotics arrests increased 21.9% (indicating more individuals being caught). Staff will provide a heat map of drug enforcement by district. A future committee meeting will include a deep dive on drugs and narcotics.
2. Council Consideration Request (CCR) – Diversion and Recovery Center
- Maria Vargas (Integrated Community Safety Office) and Jelynn Jamison (CEO, Center for Healthcare Services) presented a proposal for a centralized diversion and recovery center modeled after Harris County’s Judge Ed Emmett Center. Key features: pre-arrest/pre-booking diversion, up to 14-day residential stays, on‑site assessments, and linkage to aftercare. Cost analysis shows jail costs $1,750/day vs. $510/day for treatment. Staff recommended a $30,000 contribution from the police department budget for a feasibility study and creation of a joint city‑county ad hoc committee. Council members expressed strong support, emphasizing the need for coordination with the District Attorney’s office, law enforcement, and housing providers. The motion passed.
3. SA CORE Program Update
- Chief Mental Health Officer Jesse Higgins reported on fiscal year 2025 outcomes: 5,567 responses, only 1 arrest, 3,156 individuals referred to follow-up, and 804 who received CHCS appointments. The team aims to reduce unnecessary arrests and increase access to care. Discussion focused on adding a mental health option to 911 calls, possibly using centralized clinician triage via StRAC’s Medcom. Council requested tracking of SA CORE availability and comparative data on call responses by patrol vs. specialized teams. An update on older adult mental health was also provided.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes and consent agenda (CAR appointments: 3‑1).
- Accepted the crime statistics report; directed staff to provide a drug enforcement heat map and schedule a future deep-dive on drugs/narcotics.
- Approved the motion to fund $30,000 for the diversion center feasibility study and to move the CCR to the February 11, 2026 B session for full council briefing.
- Received the SA CORE update; staff will produce follow-up data on call response comparisons and SA CORE availability tracking.
- Recognized Chief McMahonis for his years of service upon his retirement announcement.
The meeting adjourned at 3:59 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, let's go ahead and get started to uh protect everyone's time. Thank you all for coming today. The time is now 2 06 p.m. and our public safety committee is called to order. Madam Clerk, could you please call Councilman McKee Rodriguez? Present. Councilmember Castillo? Here. Councilmember Spears. Chair Corps? Yes. Okay. So we have a few items on the agenda. Do we have minutes to approve? Yes. Okay. Let's go ahead and take a motion to approve the minutes first. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any aye. Any opposed? All right, motion carries. We do have an item on consent. It's our carb appointments. And um, Maria, if you want to talk a little bit about that, is it just on consent? Sure. Um, so this particular item will consider appointment of individuals to the citizen advisory board for the police uh chief. And uh we uh brought an item to this committee back in November, and uh that went to council and was approved in January. We had additional vacancies um that the terms ended in December, so we conducted interviews, and we're recommending this individuals to fill those vacancies. Um this item is approved, it'll go before the full council in February, and then all of our vacancies at the car will be filled. Thanks, Maria. I know we received the information ahead of this meeting, so would anyone like to pull the item for discussion? Okay, can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? You have a motion, you can have a second. There's a motion and a second. Um, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right, motion. Oh, sorry. Um, and and we have one abstention. So do we is two one? Okay, all right, we're good. Motion carries. So you want me to wait to just for clarification because I think councilwoman Spears was walking in at the time the vote was taken. So you want to just go back and retake it? Yes, please.
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