On March 11, 2018 Albuquerque Journal did a front-page story entitled “STOLEN CARS fuel ABQ crime wave; Police: Crooks frequently use stolen vehicles for crimes ranging from armed robbery to drive-by shootings”.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1144655/stolen-cars-fuel-an-albuquerque-crime-wave.html

Since 2013, Albuquerque has seen more than a three-fold increase in auto theft along with climbing rates of armed robbery, larceny and burglary.

In 2013, a total of 2,743 auto thefts reported.

Last year, that number was 7,684, which was slightly down from 2016 when 7,710 vehicles were stolen.

In 2016 more than 10,000 vehicles were stolen in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County combined or more than 27 vehicles a day.

The APD auto theft unit has less than 10 assigned detectives with each having well over 100 open cases.

RISING CRIME STATISTICS

Violent felons using stolen vehicles for armed robbery to drive-by shootings is really not news and has been going on for years in a city that is as violent as Albuquerque.

In 2017, violent crime rose by 18% over the previous year.

Since 2012, violent crime has dramatically increased in Albuquerque by 77%.

The dramatic increase in in violent crime in 2017 was still significantly less than “nonfatal shootings” which increased by a whopping 148%.

According to APD statistics released for 2017, homicides increased by 23%, robberies increase by 43%, rapes increased by 21% and aggravated assaults increased 4.2%.

The dramatic increase in crime in 2017 followed a 15.5 percent increase in violent crime in 2016.

In 2016, Albuquerque had a 13.3% increase property crime.

During the last six years, or since 2012, Albuquerque’s crime rates have steadily increased.

In June, 2017, the National Insurance Crime Bureau named Albuquerque “the auto theft capital of the nation.”

High crime rates, public safety and the Albuquerque Police Department were the biggest issues debated in the 2017 Mayor’s race.

Albuquerque’s steady dramatic increase in crime rates corresponds to the decrease in the size of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) over the last eight (8) years.

In 2010, APD was fully staffed and funded for 1,100 sworn police officers.

In 2018, APD is budgeted for 1,000 officers but has only 845 full-time, sworn personnel.

The most dramatic figures in the 2017 crime statistics are for robberies, which increased by 43.6%, and nonfatal shootings, which were up by 148 percent.

Albuquerque’s crime rates have steadily increase each year for the last eight (8) years.

APD HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION UNIT OVERWHELMED

On December 28, 2017 Albuquerque reached a record high of 75 murders in one year.

(December 28, 2017 Albuquerque Journal, page A-1, “The city has reached 75 homicides with decomposed body, police say”)

The record high was originally 70 murders in the year 1996.

Currently, there are only five homicide detectives, with three in training, and a sergeant, that are currently investing the 75 murders.

APD’s homicide clearance rate has usually been in the 80% and it is now only 59%.

APD’s Homicide Detective Unit is overwhelmed by the caseload and needs immediate help and resources.

The Homicide Investigation Unit needs to be at least 15 detectives.

APD is in a crisis mode and it needs to concentrate on recruiting seasoned homicide detectives from other departments if necessary.

At the very least, APD needs to ask for temporary assignment of personnel from other agencies such as the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department or the State Police to help clear out the cases.

The longer a homicide case takes to complete an investigation or is neglected because of lack of personnel, the less likely the cases will be solved.

Adding to the crisis is the emotional toll an unsolved murder takes on the families of the victims.

FELONY VIOLENT CRIME STATISTICS

According to Albuquerque Police Department (APD) statistics, the total number of violent crimes in Albuquerque dipped two years and then steadily increased as follows:

2010 – 4,291
2011 – 4,207
2012 – 4,151
2013 – 4,323
2014 – 4,934
2015 – 5,409

According to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, from 2009 to 2015, Albuquerque’s violent crime rate increased by 21.5%.

Murders spiked in Albuquerque by over 50% from 30 murders in 2014 to 46 murders in 2015.

According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics, in the last eight (8) years, Albuquerque has become the is fifth-most violent city in the country on a per capita basis while the nation’s violent crime rate dropped by 13.7%.

FELONY PROPERTY CRIME

Albuquerque has become number one in the nation for auto thefts.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s latest Hot Spots report shows Albuquerque and of Bernalillo County as the worst place in the nation when it comes to auto theft per capita.

In 2016 more than 10,000 vehicles were stolen in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County or more than 27 vehicles a day.

According to Albuquerque Police Department (APD) statistics, the total number of property crimes in Albuquerque has steadily increased each year during the last six (6) years as follows:

2010 – 26,493
2011 – 28,109
2012 – 29,804
2013 – 30,614
2014 – 30,523
2015 – 34,082

In 2015, APD made 9,049 felony arrests, 22,639 misdemeanor arrests, 2,213 DWI arrests, and 2,552 domestic violence arrests.

In 2016, APD made 8,744 felony arrests, 19,857 misdemeanor arrests, 1,070 DWI arrests, and 2,462 domestic violence arrests.

In 2016, field service officers responded to 546,550 calls for service with a priority 1 response time of 11 minutes, 35 seconds which is approximately two minutes over the national standard.

(Source: 2017-2018 City of Albuquerque Proposed budget)

CRIME WAVE INCLUDES MISDEMEANOR CASES

The Bernalillo County District Attorney Office has a misdemeanor division with approximately 25 Assistant District Attorney’s assigned to the division who are responsible for prosecuting cases that mandate a court record.

In 2009, there were 746 people arraigned for felony DWI and that number dropped to a mere 104 in 2015.

In 2008, there were 6,538 people arraigned for misdemeanor DWI and in 2015 that number dropped by close to 60% to 2,942.

In 2010, the APD traffic unit had more than 34 officers and today there are less than 12.

APD SWORN OFFICER DEFICIENCY

The steady increases in our crime rates coincide with the steady decrease in size of the Albuquerque Police Department.

APD is so severely understaffed it cannot complete felony investigations and get the cases over to the District Attorney for successful prosecution.

Eight (8) years ago, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) was the best trained, best equipped, best funded department in its history and fully staffed with 1,100 sworn police officers.

In 2010, APD response times had been brought down below the national average and crime rates were hitting historical lows.

In eight (8) years, APD went from 1,100 sworn police to 853 sworn police.

From 2010 to 2014, the city council fully funded 1,100 positions despite the mass exodus of sworn police and the APD Police Academy’s failure to recruit and keep up with retirements.

Three years ago, the City Council voted to reduce funding from 1,100 sworn officers to 1,000 sworn officers because of the Berry Administration’s failure to recruit and keep up with retirements.

In 2017, response times went to historical highs with calls to APD taking hours instead of minutes to respond threatening public safety.

In 2017, APD was funded for 1,000 sworn officers but had only 853 sworn police officers.

Funding for the unfilled positions has gone to pay police overtime.

Last year, APD busted its overtime budget by $4 million dollars and it went from $9 million budgeted to $13 million spent in overtime.

In 2016, field service officers responded to 546,550 calls for service with a priority 1 response time of 11 minutes, 35 seconds which is approximately two minutes over the national standard.

Of the 853 sworn police 436 are assigned to field services, resulting in 417 sworn police officers assigned to the various specialized felony units and command staff.

Given the volume of felony arrests and cases, APD is severely understaffed to complete felony investigations.

A December 11, 2015 Albuquerque Police Department Comprehensive Staffing Assessment and Resource Study concluded that APD needs at least 1,000 sworn officers.

CONCLUSION

The Keller Administration is proposing to spend $88 million dollars, over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures to expand and grow the ranks of APD.

The goal is to hire and expand APD from 850 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers by implementing a hiring and recruitment program that offer incentives, pay raises and bonuses to join or return to APD in order to return to community-based policing in the hopes of bringing down crime rates.

At this point in time, the number one priority should be addressing and rebuilding APD rank and file.

Until APD is fully staffed, Albuquerque can expect more stolen cars used to commit violent crimes.

The City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Monitor overseeing the consent decree and the reform efforts entered into a negotiated stipulated agreement that makes changes to the DOJ consent decree and modifies how police use of force cases will be investigated.

The changes were outlined in a document filed with the Federal Court last week.

The agree to changes creates a specialized unit to investigate and scrutinize officers who strike or kick people or use more serious levels of force.

The specialize unit will concentrate on expediting the review of use of force cases.

PAST FEDERAL MONITOR REPORTS

Investigations of use of force and excessive force by command staff have been the biggest source of problems with APD command staff that has resulted in severe criticism of APD by the Federal Monitor in his reports to the Federal Judge.

The July 1, 2016 federal monitor’s third report states “Across the board … the components in APD’s system for overseeing and holding officers accountable for the use of force, for the most part, has failed … the serious deficiencies revealed point to a deeply-rooted systemic problem. … The deficiencies, in part, indicate a culture [of] low accountability is at work within APD, particularly in chain-of-command reviews. …”

The November 1, 2016 fourth federal monitor’s report states that when “excessive use of force” incidents are investigated by the APD Critical Incident Team, it “[deploys] carefully worded excuses, apparently designed not to find fault with officer actions” and “[uses] language and terminology apparently designed to absolve officers and supervisors of their responsibility to follow certain CASA (Court Approved Settlement Agreement) related provisions.

THREE LEVEL CLASSIFICATIONS FOR USE OF FORCE

The changes outlined include a three-level classification system for use of force and clarifying how police officers would respond to each level of use of force.

Previously for any use of force instance, no matter the level of force used, a complete and full investigation that included separating arresting officers for interviews and identifying and interviewing for witnesses was required, all of which was labor intensive and time consuming.

There are three levels of use of force instances defined.

Level 1 “use of force” instances are defined as force that does not result in an injury and “that is likely to cause only transitory pain, disorientation, or discomfort.”

In other words, a level one “use of force” does not involve the infliction of bodily harm or injuries that may be sustained.

A Level 2 use-of-force instance could include striking or kicking a criminal suspect.

A Level 3 use-of-force would include using an electronic control weapon (TAZER) against a handcuffed criminal suspect or during a police shooting.

Under the agreed to changes, APD Sergeants will do a review, and not a complete investigation, of “Level 1” use of force instances.

One of the major arguments made to justify the changes was that sergeants were required to spend hours being part of an investigation of any and all types use-of-force case.

The changes should free up patrol officers to respond to calls for service.

Under the new policy, a supervisor, usually a sargeant, will review the officer’s lapel camera on scene, which police can do using their cellphones.

Within 72 hours of the incident, the supervisor is required to review police reports, documents, on-body camera footage and any other evidence involved with the use of force incident and then write an evaluation on whether policies were followed.

The final report is then required to be sent further up the chain of command.

Final evaluation reports will be filed with a separate bureau that is tasked with ensuring Albuquerque police are following the requirements of the settlement agreement and constitutional policing practices.

FORCE INVESTIGATION SECTION

If more serious force is used, including if officers strike or kick people that may or could result in physical injury, the investigation will be turned over to the APD “Force Investigative Section” already set up under the consent decree.

According to the court pleading, the Force Investigation Section:

“… will conduct investigations in a rigorous manner, evaluate all evidence, determine whether the force was consistent with APD policy, and identify any policy, training, tactical or equipment concerns. … Having all Level 2 and Level 3 force investigated by a centralized unit will ensure uniformity and promote greater consistency in investigations, addressing long-standing concerns with variability in the quality of force investigations at APD.”

According to the court pleading filed the changes “will improve the quality of force investigations, clarify reporting requirements, and reduce burdens on front-line supervisors, while promoting the overall objectives of the … settlement agreement.”

The agreed to changes will shift the burden of use-of-force investigations from in-the-field supervisors to detectives who specialize in such investigations.

Assigning Level 2 and Level 3 force incidents to the Force Investigation Section should allow APD to quickly and efficiently identify and resolve any problematic trends in officers’ use of force.

Under the previous policy, sergeants were required to spend hours being part of any use of force investigation, no matter the level of force identified.

CONCLUSION

Federal Court appointed Monitor James Ginger said the proposed changes would bring the police in line with recommendations he has been making since he started auditing the department by saying:

“It is the monitor’s opinion that the proposed changes … substantially increase the probability of successful response by APD to problematic uses of force observed in the field. …”

The Federal Monitor’s response to the changes is in sharp contrast to what has been said in the past and indicates progress is now being made with the reform effort.

APD will now have to develop policies and train officers about the changes before taking effect.

On Monday, March 5, 2018, the Albuquerque City Council voted to raise the city’s gross receipts tax rate by three-eighths (3/8t ths) of a percentage point to deal with a $40 million project deficit for fiscal year that commences July 1, 2018 and to fund public safety and hire more police to increase ranks.

The gross receipts tax increase of 3/8th of a cent could potentially raise an additional $30 to $40 million in revenues this year when it goes into effect July 1, 2018 and upwards of $55 million each year thereafter.

The City of Albuquerque has a total general budget of $955.3 million dollars, of which $529.6 million is the general fund which goes to providing essential services.

“Public Safety” represents 29% of a $529.6 million general fund budget appropriation and includes both the Albuquerque Fire Department and the Albuquerque Police Department.

The Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) Annual budget is $171.8 million.

On April 1, 2018, the Keller Administration will be submitting the city budget for fiscal year 2018-2019 to the city council for public hearings and approval.

THE $88 MILLION APD EXPANSION PLAN ANALIZED

The Keller Administration is proposing to increase the number of sworn police officers from the current 836 positions filled to 1,200, or by 264 sworn police officers, and return to community-based policing.

In order to address the $40 million deficit, the Keller Administration prepared a “Budget Deficit Initiative Report” submitted to the city council for consideration outlining cuts and revenue generating options for the city council to consider.

(For the full February, 2018 Budget Deficit Initiative Report prepared see:

https://www.cabq.gov/abq-view/documents/budget-deficit-initiative-report-3-2-18.pdf )

The “Budget Deficit Initiative Report” included outlining an aggressive and ambitious four (4) year plan to expand APD sworn police personnel.

The Keller Administration is calling for an $88 million dollar of additional funding and increased costs for APD over the next four fiscal years from 2018 to 2022.

The $88 million dollars for expanding APD does not delineate in detail or account for the academy training nor the vehicles and other equipment that additional officers will require.

The amount does not delineate in any great detail nor take into account pay increases, which will be necessary for many recruitment and retention strategies.

The recruitment and hiring plan proposes to add 100 new police officers per year until a 1,200-staffing level is reached.

The ultimate goal is to return to community-based policing.

At a minimum, the plan calls for $32 million dollars in recurring costs.

The recurring costs does not include the price of recruitment strategies nor pay increases designed to recruit and retain officers.

EXISTING APD BUDGET AND STAFFING

“Public Safety” represents 29% of a $529.6 million general fund budget appropriation for the City of Albuquerque and includes both the Albuquerque Fire Department and the Albuquerque Police Department.

The Albuquerque Fire Department (AFD) annual budget is $75.5 million and employs 699 full time employees.

The Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) Annual budget is $171.8 million and employs 1,484 which consists of funding for 484 civilian support staff and funding for 1,000 sworn police officers.

APD is currently funded for the salary and benefits for 68 additional officers.

However, the funding for the 68 additional officers is being absorbed by the need to fund overtime to cover the officer shortage.

Although fully funded for 1,000 sworn officers, APD has 853 sworn police officers with only 436 assigned to field services, divided into three working shifts, less any of those on vacation, sick leave or in court.

The December 11, 2015 Albuquerque Police Department Comprehensive Staffing Assessment and Resource Study prepared by Alexander Weiss for the Department of Justice concluded that APD needs at least 1,000 sworn officers.

The Weiss report concluded that 1,000 sworn police officers were sufficient for Albuquerque provided that APD officers did not respond to certain low priority calls such as minor traffic accidents or false alarm calls.

STATUS QUO PROJECTIONS FOR APD WITHOUT $88 MILLION EXPANSION

A “Status Quo Projection” for Number of APD Officers was included in the plan for consideration:

Starting Officer Count each year for the next four years: 2018: 880, 2019: 872, 2020: 864, 2021: 857

Annual New Recruits each year for the next four years: 56 per year for a total of 224

Annual Lateral Recruits each year for the next four years: 2 per year for a total of 8

Total Annual Recruits each year for the next four years: 58 per year for a total of 232

Annual Retirements each year for the next four years: 41 per year for a total of 164

Annual Resignations each year for the next four years: 24 per year for a total of 96

Total Annual Attrition each year for the next four years: 65 per year for a total of 260

Net Loss each year for the next four years: 8 per year for a total of 32

Remaining Officers each year for the next 4 years: 2018: 872, 2019: 864, 2019: 857, 2020: 849

According to the status quo projections APD will virtually have no if any projected growth rate without expending $88 million dollars.

COMMENTARY: The status quo projections for starting officer count, lateral recruits, annual recruits, annual retirements, annual resignations, annual attritions and the net losses are each flat and reflect the same numbers each year for each category. The statistics during the past eight years are very fluid and the status quo projections are believed not to be an accurate representation.

IN A NUTSHELL

The overall objectives of the $88 million-dollar APD Expansion Plan are nothing more than very general proposals which are very short on details, budget matters and fails to show exactly what the City, APD and the public will get for $88 million.

In a one sentence nutshell, the plan is to spend $88 million dollars, over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures not delineated, to hire 350 officers and expand APD from 850 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers by implementing a hiring and recruitment program to offer incentives, pay raises and bonuses to join or return to APD in order to return to community-based policing in the hopes of bringing down crime rates.

The entire expansion plan is extremely short on details, including and not limited to, detailed budget proposals and costs associated with the hiring of the 350 police officers, budget costs of recruitment, costs for training and equipment, budgets for advertising and recruiting, benefit and retirement contributions to PERA and police academy expenditures.

The expansion plan fails to give a breakdown of the $32 million-dollar recurring costs and costs and expenditures for the completion of the Department of Justice consent decree reforms to accomplish constitutional policing with the $32 million based on speculation.

Although the plan has a chart to compare before and after staff for 2010 and 2018, the plan also fails to address any type breakdown of what the administration plans to do with the additional police officers hired, what units they will be assigned to, the number that will be assigned to field services and units such as auto theft, violent crimes and property crimes units.

It can only be assumed because of the lack of detail the APD expansion plan presented in the “Budget Deficit Initiative Report” was based on sure speculation and offered merely as an effort to justify the tax increase and as reference point for city council consideration.

APD RECRUITMENT PLANS DETAILED

Following is the detailed APD recruitment strategy developed by the Keller Administration.

The expansion strategy that APD intends to pursue are three specific programs:

A. A program to attract new recruits.
B. A Program to attract lateral hires from other law enforcement agencies.
C. A Program to retain existing APD police by convincing them not to retire.

PROGRAM TO ATTRACT NEW RECRUITS

To attract new recruits, APD is proposing the following:

1. Institute and broaden hiring and referral bonuses. The total cost of adding new officers to the Police Department depends on the extent to which APD uses increased pay, longevity incentives, incentives for new recruits, and other incentive to increase sworn personnel numbers.

COMMENTARY: Successful programs have been used in the past for recruitment. APD offers a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires. Other programs or bonuses could include mortgage down payment bonuses, debt forgiveness bonuses, relocation cost bonuses and education debt pay off bonuses, all contingent and paid only upon successful completion of the academy with an eight-year minimum commitment to work for APD.

2. Create an APD Intern “PSA2 Plan” Program to keep a connection with applicants who were rejected for reasons that can be corrected over time such as credit scores, physical abilities, etc.

COMMENTARY: The inability to meet the physical requirements of academy training pose one of the largest areas of rejection and reducing the pool of applicants. A physical training camp or program after acceptance but prior to entry into the academy could be offered by outside contractors or trainers, either paid for by cadets or the city to prepare cadets before they begin the academy. Cadets need to pass physicals and be deemed capable of handling the physical requirement of the training.

3. Increase recruiting and background check staff to expedite in order to clear more candidates for the police academy.

COMMENTARY: APD recruits must pass a “polygraph” examine as part of the background checks. It is well settled law that the results “polygraph” examines are not admissible in court unless agreed to by the parties. Polygraph examines are considered unreliable and based on highly questionable scientific data and physical responses to questions. The rationale for the polygraph exam being evidence of a person’s propensity to lie is highly questionable and it is one requirement that should be revisited or given less weight in the evaluation process. Eliminating the “polygraph test” passage requirement all together would increase the pool of applicants that could be admitted and would not be a lowering of entrance requirements.

4. Produce recruitment videos and ads to be used during movie theatre showings or on local television stations during active recruitment cycle. Video could also be shared on social media.

COMMENTARY: A major financial commitment needs to be made with advertising agencies and funding for an advertising budget to develop a comprehensive recruitment and promotion plan to include television, radio and outdoor adverting, with a formal Request for Proposals (RFPs) issued for competitive bids. An advertising and promotion budget for a four-year period would be in order to coincide with the four year growth plan.

5. Off-site testing for the Academy.

COMMENTARY: Academy testing sites and dates should be made available at major Universities and community colleges and major cities in New Mexico and other major cities such as Houston, Denver, Phoenix and elsewhere.

6. Host a Law Enforcement Explorer Program and other outreach programs for youth.

COMMETARY: The minimum age to become a police officer is 21 and any outreach programs for youth may have a negligible benefit.

7. Reconsider educational requirements to allow recruitment of officers to temporarily defer the college credit requirements and meet the requirement within reasonable time frames following graduation from the police academy

COMMENTARY: Approximately fifteen years ago, the minimum of 32 college credit requirement was added as a minimum entry requirement thereby excluding many individuals from being able to apply. The rationale for the college credit requirement was that it would mean recruiting a higher quality of applicant who would be better police officers. A person’s education level does not always reflect intelligence nor how a person will react under pressure, especially when that person perceives their own life is in danger and they have to make life and death decisions to defend themselves.

The Albuquerque Police Academy is a six-month academy that requires the successful completion of physical and mental training and screening. The academy has mandatory attendance of academic classes, in standard operating procedures, criminal procedure and the law with “constitutional policing” emphasized.

The college credit requirement needs to be revisited and determined if it is really necessary given the amount of training and education mandated by the academy. Eliminating altogether the “college credit” would increase the final pool of applicants and not be a lowering of standards.

8. Formalize a CNM Pipeline-apprentice program.

COMMENTARY: The New Mexico Community College (CNM) offers an associate’s degree in law enforcement or criminal justice. A partnership or memorandum of understanding should be explored on what additional training or classes that could be offered by CNM to satisfy academy credit hours and training. Classes in constitutional policing methods could be developed and offered by CNM

9. Morale building initiatives including parking, re-examining take home vehicle restrictions, reasonable tattoo standards and other issues important to frontline officers.

COMMENTARY: The effectiveness of morale building measures are always difficult to gage in para military organizations such as APD that deal with criminal elements, but they do matter and should be implemented whenever possible.

PROGRAM TO ATTRACT MORE “LATERALS” FROM OTHER AGENCIES

To attract more “laterals”, the Keller Administration is proposing as follows:

1. Create lateral transfer program with career development program to allow certified law enforcement officers to be hired and placed at salary levels commensurate with their training and experience.

COMMENTARY: Lateral hires have the advantage of lower training costs. Lateral hires have the disadvantage of requiring more pay for the experience. Another major disadvantage is the potential hiring of experienced officers that have not been fully trained in constitutional policing methods as mandated by the Department of Justice consent decree.

2. Use strategic and targeted longevity increases for recruitment of lateral officers in order to adequately compensate them for their law enforcement time and experience.

COMMENTARY: The City Administration reinstated longevity pay where experienced officer are paid anywhere between $5,000 to $15,000 depending the number of years on the force to stay with APD or not to retire and the program should be made permanant.

3. Reach out to recently retired APD or other New Mexico law enforcement officers with incentive plan to return to the department.

COMMENTARY: What is very problematic is hiring and returning to work APD police officers that helped create, or participated, or did not stop the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice. Another problem area would be hiring police officers that are not fully committed to the DOJ mandated reforms under the consent decree.

PROGRAM TO RETAIN EXISTING PERSONNEL

To retain more existing officers from leaving for other police departments or retiring, the Keller Administration is proposing:

1. Increasing overall compensation to police officers.

COMMENTARY: APD police officers in general are some of the best paid police in the country with a very generous retirement program where a police officer can retire after 25 years of service and earn 90% of their “high three” salary for the rest of their lives.

The average and normal yearly salary paid APD Police Officers First Class after about one year on the job is $56,000 a year. A total of 124 of the 250 top wage earners at city hall are employed by the Albuquerque Police Department and include patrol officers, sergeants, lieutenants, commanders and deputy chiefs, assistant chief and the chief with annual pay ranging from $95,000 a year up to $166,699 a year. (See City of Albuquerque web site for full list of 250 top city wage earners).

Patrol Officers First Class are all paid $27.50 an hour regardless of the number of years of service. Five (5) APD Patrol Officers First Class are listed in the top 250 city wage workers as being paid $146,971, $145,180, $140,243, $137,817 and $125,061 respectfully making them the 6th, the 7th, the 10th, the 12th and the 20th highest paid employees at city hall. The main reason for the high pay is the overtime worked. The Albuquerque Police Department consistently goes over its overtime budget by millions to the detriment of other city departments and other city employees. Last year, APD went over is overtime budget by $4 million when it went from $9 million budgeted to $13 million spent. An audit of APD’s overtime found serious deficiencies in the granting of overtime and time cards.

There are listed 66 Patrol Officers First Class in the list of the top 250 wage earners at city hall earning more than $95,000 a year and as much as $146,000 a year. Combined, there are a total of 91 APD sworn police officers and sergeants who are named in the top 250 wage earners and city hall.

All sworn police officers, including management, are paid on an hourly basis. What should be implement is a base salary pay scale program with steps increase in salaries for years of service.

Overtime pay and time and a half pay should be strictly prohibited with a yearend bonus program initiated and bonuses paid for levels of overtime worked. Command Staff should be paid salaries, not hourly wages, with no allowance for any overtime and working hours be a minimum of eight hours a day and no further paid for work over the mandatory eight hours.

2. Adopt a flexible shift schedule for officers assigned to field services division.

COMMENTARY: Flexible shift schedules do not necessarily result in an increase of productivity.

3. Provide diversified training offerings.

COMMENTARY: This was at one time offered by APD.

4. Institute other nonmonetary measures designed to improve morale. Apart from the base cost of hiring new officers, including detectives and other law enforcement professionals and first responders, the price of these options depends on whether APD officers’ compensation increases. Currently APD compensation for new recruits is competitive with other departments, but that competitiveness decreases with longevity over time.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY THAT ARE NEEDED

Police officer shortage and increasing personnel are only part of the problems to deal with Albuquerque rising crime rates.

The City’s public safety departments lack critical key equipment and technology for them to be effective.

Additional resources are needed for public safety to address communications.

These items over time have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to broader criminal justice system delays across the criminal justice systems, including prosecution, criminal defense and the courts.

Some of the most pressing needs include the following:

1. To comply with federal regulations, the land mobile radio system for the Police and Fire Departments needs to be replaced at an estimated one-time cost to the City of $15 million.

COMMENTARY: The $15 million is only the replacement cost for the communications system, and given the system finally selected and when you factor in remodeling or construction costs for the 911 Emergency Call Center, it will likely reach a cost of $40 million. The one-time cost should not come out of the city’s general fund but rather be part of the capital improvements program (CIP) approved by voters. Another option for the update or replacement of the communications system would be securing one-time funding in federal law enforcement grants or a congressional appropriation.

2. In order to redirect more appropriate resources to the over 30 overdoses per day and over 20 calls for psychological issues and suicide attempts, an estimated investment of $2.8 million recurring and $2.1 million in non-recurring for community paramedicine and basic life support units for the Albuquerque Fire Department.

COMMENTARY: These are costs that should be included within the Fire Departments general operating fund.

3. In order to keep up with modern technology, implement effective crime fighting strategies and comply with the Department of Justice settlement agreement, an estimated $2 million recurring for the Police Department needs to update its information technology systems.

COMMENTARY: The fact that this is a “recurring cost” mandates that it be included each year in the APD budget.

4. In order to address the backlog of over 4,000 untested sexual assault evidence kits with a combination of in-house and outsourced testing, an estimated one-time investment of $4 million.

COMMENTARY: The Albuquerque City Council could enact and fund a separate program for this that would require Requests for Proposals and competitive bidding from private contractors.

5. In order to address the backlog of over 6,500 untested fingerprints and 4,800 DNA samples in addition to the sexual assault kits, and a wait time on this testing of up to 16 months, an estimated recurring cost of $400,000.

COMMENTARY: The Albuquerque City Council could enact and fund a separate program for this that would require Requests for Proposals and competitive bidding from private contractors.

COMMENTARY: RECRUITMENT IS MAJOR OBSTACLE AND THE MAIN PROBLEM

APD is severely understaffed and struggling to implement expansive and expensive Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to and mandated reforms.

APD is having significant problems filling unfilled positions and the difficulty in growing the department even with APD offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

APD consistently has thousands of applicants that apply to the police academy every year as evidenced by the number of “interest cards” submitted which is the first step to applying with APD.
According to an APD 2,551 cadet “interest cards” were submitted by people online in 2017.

Saying that there were 2,551 “interest cards” filled out is misleading and does not mean actual applicants.

Of the 2,551 interest cards submitted, 1,479 were out-of-state applicants which reflects a healthy interest of people at least willing to consider coming to Albuquerque and beginning a law enforcement career.

Of the 2,551-people showing an interest in applying, 2,050 qualified to take the academy test but only 606 showed up for the testing.

It is a three-day testing process which probably explains why there are so many no shows.

Recruiting a younger, new generation of sworn police officers and growing the size of the police department has become very difficult and unachievable.

The number of APD sworn officers has fallen from 1,100 officers to 850 over the past eight years for any number of reasons including:

1. Extreme low morale resulting in experienced officers deciding to retire sooner than later or going to other law enforcement agencies.
2. Changes in the Public Employee Retirement Association benefits
3. Failed APD management by the previous administration
4. Poor Working conditions as a result of heavy workloads and caseloads
5. Intense scrutiny by the Department of Justice resulting in the DOJ consent decree.
6. Terminations and disciplinary actions
7. Inability to attract “lateral” transfers from other departments

APD’s poor and negative national reputation and Albuquerque’s high violent crime rates are also not conducive to attracting people who want to begin a long-term career in law enforcement in Albuquerque.

The DOJ oversight requirements and the increased dangers in being a police officer in a violent city such as Albuquerque has also had an impact on recruitment.

The overwhelming number of police academy applicants fail to get into the academy for any number of reasons including the following reasons:

A. Failing to meet minimum education and entry qualifications
B. Unable to pass criminal background checks
C. Unable to make it through psychological background analysis
D. Failing the polygraph tests
E. Lying on the on the applications
F. Failing a credit check.

Once in the police academy, many cadets are unable to meet minimum physical requirements or unable to handle the training and academic requirements to graduate from the academy.

The APD Police Academy is unable to keep up with retirement losses and for a number of years graduating classes have averaged 35 to 40 a class, well below the number to keep up with yearly retirements.

CONCLUSION

The Keller administration will not be very successful anytime soon in filling all the vacancies APD already has and the projected increases promised given the plan presented to the city council.

APD needs to “triple down” on recruitment and dramatically increase the size and number of police academy classes per year if it hopes to make any progress in growing APD ranks.

Based on past experiences, there is no doubt that it will take years to grow the department to the 1,200-level desired to return to community-based policing.

Growing the department will take time, major changes in management and a major financial investment for recruitment.

I suspect it will be more like eight (8) years to get APD back to the department it once was, presuming Keller seeks and is elected to a second term and if any progress is made by APD in reducing our crime rates.

On March 10, 2018, I attended the Democratic State Convention in Albuquerque.

There was a tremendous turnout from all over the State as delegates converged to nominate their candidates for statewide offices and federal offices.

The convention packed the main ballroom of the Albuquerque Convention Center.

This year, the video introductions of the candidates were very impressive and slick and really helped to get their messages out.

It has been a very long time since I have seen so many new faces and a Democratic party this energized.

After 8 years of Governor Susana Martinez and just one year of Trump, the Democrats know this is going to be a big year for our party.

During the convention, I had a chance to talk and visit with Congressman Ben Ray Lujan from Santa Fe.

As each year passes, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan grows and matures in the job and continues to make a major difference in New Mexico and in Washington.

I feel Congressman Ben Ray Lujan has done an exceptional job for his own Congressional District as well as New Mexico.

Congressman Ben Ray Lujan has consistently and without failure stood tall for Democratic core values including civil rights, racial equality, a woman’s right to choose, opposed right to work laws, stood up for the working class and the middle class, opposed cuts to social programs, supports comprehensive immigration reform, believes in universal health care and Obama care, and has opposed the hard right Republican Agenda, including calling Trump what he is, a racist.

Congressman Lujan is head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) having been appointed by Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

After talking to Congressman Lujan, the smile on his face and the tone in his voice reflected that the Democrats do indeed have a tremendous chance of taking back the majority in the United States House of Representatives.

Thirty-Seven (37) Republicans in the House have decided not to seek re-election and the Democrats only need 26 to gain a majority, and Democrats are winning in special elections held in red states that Trump carried.

As a sign of real problems for the Republicans in the House, many prominent committee chairman are stepping down an retiring so as not to risk a loss.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has yet to announce if he will be running for reelection or be retiring.

Congressman Lujan also expressed some optimism that Democrats just may be able to take back the United States Senate but acknowledged that the path to victory with the US Senate is a little narrow.

When I posted a photo on FACEBOOK of me talking and standing next to Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, I had a few negative comments that accused Congressman Lujan of “squeezing” progressive out or discouraging them from running for congress, with one even posting an article on a progressive running in Pennsylvania.

Some of the posts from people who I know to be progressive were downright disappointing.

What I have discovered and seen over the years, progressive in New Mexico seem to be playing the game of trying to squeeze people out that they disagree with and they perceive as not being “progressive” enough for them with little or no tolerance for moderate Democrats.

Just ask former Mayor Martin Chavez how he was treated by many progressive when he wanted to run for the United States Senate against Martin Heinrich and when Chavez was told by the Washington progressive establishment he was not the candidate they would be supporting.

You can ask Democrat Gary King how he was treated four years ago by many progressive Democrats and how they declined to even vote allowing Martinez sweep to victory again.

You can also ask former Democratic State Party Chairman and moderate Brian Colon how he was treated by progressives when he was running against their chosen progressive Tim Keller for Mayor.

I recall vividly after Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic nomination, I attended a monthly meeting of Albuquerque Progressives as was my custom.

I went to the monthly meeting because I wanted to hear a respected member of the Progressive Democrats of America speak and who also worked on the Bernie Sanders campaign.

What I heard the guest speaker say loud and clear to the Albuquerque Progressive was that the Progressive Democrats of America would never get behind Hillary Clinton and they had no intention of ever endorsing her and would start concentrating on the 2018 and 2020 elections.

Another progressive activist went on to say the goal of New Mexico Progressives is to take over the traditional Democratic Party in New Mexico and get their own people elected.

At both the Bernalillo County Democrat Party and the State Democratic Party Conventions this year, I saw many new progressive faces amongst the old guard Democrats.

I was born and raised a Democrat, have been a Democrat all my life, and feel just as progressive as anyone else.

Over the years, I have also served as a Precinct Chair, Ward Chair and on the State Central Committee, but that stopped last year.

The Democratic party in New Mexico has a problem.

The big question is, will we ever unite or just be satisfied being divided and allow the elections of people like Susana Martinez and Donald Trump so we can just bitch about how bad things are statewide and nationally?

On Wednesday March 7, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published my letter to the editor on the gross receipts tax enacted by the City Council just two days before on Monday.

I wrote the letter because it was never sufficiently reported on why the City Council enacted the tax at such a break neck speed without public hearings and before Mayor Keller submitted his budget on April 1, 2018.

The letter was written on Tuesday morning and it was published the very next day which came as a pleasant suprise.

Following is the full text of the letter, followed by one last recommendation to the Mayor and City Council:

On March 5, the Albuquerque City Council voted to raise the city’s gross receipts tax rate by three-eighths of a percent on an 8-1 vote without putting it to a public vote.

The increase goes into effect July 1 unless vetoed by the mayor and the Council does not override the veto with six or more votes.

The tax of three-eighths of a cent will potentially raise $22 million this year and upward of $55 million each year thereafter.

It represents 38 cents more paid in gross receipts tax for every $100 in purchases.

Revenues generated by the tax will be applied to the $40 million-dollar projected deficit and applied to public safety and the hiring of police officers. …

The Albuquerque City Council was at breakneck speed … to enact the tax for it to be on the books by April 1 and for it to commence being collected by the state on July 1, when the city budget for fiscal year begins for the city. The City Council is required by law to enact a city budget that is fully balanced and without any deficits.

Without the guarantee of the tax revenues generated by the new tax, the budget deficit of $40 million could have only been resolved by extensive cuts, including layoffs, furloughs and elimination of services.

Had the tax been enacted after April 1, it would not go into effect nor be collected until Jan. 1, 2019. The City Council could have put the tax increase on the ballot for a vote with a special election, but had it passed, it would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2019.

Had the Council called for a special election and put it on the ballot, it would have been a mail-in ballot costing $500,000 for printing of ballots and postal costs, money the city does not have.

There is always a significant risk voters will say no to any tax, even if it is dedicated to public safety. Mayor Martin Chávez tried to get a public safety tax enacted years ago, and it failed at the polls.

The City Council’s tax increase now goes to Mayor Tim Keller for approval or veto. Keller is taking heat from the public and the media for backtracking and breaking his campaign “promise” to have a public vote on any tax increase. When Keller does not veto the measure, he breaks his campaign promise, thereby losing his credibility with many voters. Even if the mayor vetoes it, there are enough city councilors who voted for it to override his veto.

A promise not to raise taxes without a public vote by any candidate for mayor is meaningless when said from the get-go and nonsense that should not be taken too seriously. No candidate for mayor really knows what is going on with city finances until he/she actually look at the books.

Keller making the promise as a candidate was at best idealistic and at worse being foolish just to garner votes to get elected.

Candidate Keller saying he would draw from various agencies, departments and programs where large, misappropriated budgets existed to deal with any city deficit sounded fantastic but was not very realistic after the eight years of budget cuts and downsizing of government.

Any candidate for office usually regrets making promises regarding raising taxes to get elected; just ask former President George H.W. Bush when he said “Read my lips, no new taxes!” and lost to Bill Clinton.

FINAL COMMENTARY AND RECOMMENDATION

For the City Council, the enactment of the tax is what is called being damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Had the council called for a special election to get voter approval, without any guarantee of the outcome of the election or of a guarantee revenue flow to deal with the deficit, the Mayor and the City Council would have to enact a budget by July 1, 2018 based on speculation of the outcome of the public vote on the tax and hopes that there would eventually be more revenues.

For Mayor Keller, it is called your own words coming back to haunt you.

Mayor Keller is learning, no doubt the hard way, it is a lot easier to campaign for office and make all sorts of proclamations and promises as oppose to governing and making the hard and difficult decisions that will have an impact on popularity.

The tax hike in now on Mayor Keller’s desk.

He can sign off on the tax, veto the tax or ask that it be placed on the ballot as he promised.

Preliminary indications are that the Mayor intends to sign off on the tax thereby breaking his political promise.

Given the magnitude of what happened, it would be appropriate for Mayor Keller to request time before the next full city council to explain his actions and respond to questions, not only from the City Council but as well as the general public.

Mayor Tim Keller conducted his second news conference since taking office on the status of the $175 million ART bus project.

http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/progress-being-made-on-remedying-art-but-questions-on-missing-federal-funds-linger/4815693/?cat=500

Keller again reported that the project is still has a long way to go before the project will be fully functional and it may not be functional until the end of the year.

THE CONSTRUCTION

According to Keller, progress has been made on fixing and rectifying the construction problems along the bus route, including work on the intersections, problems with heights of the bus stop stations and work to ensure disability compliance with federal regulations.

Problems originally identified by the Keller administration with the bus stop platforms include:

1. Inconsistent height levels on some of the bus stop platforms creating problems for wheelchair accesses ability which is mandated on Federal funded transportation projects such as ART.

2. The Atrisco bus stop platform is at an angle which creates problems of accessibility for people in wheelchairs.

3. Major concerns about two of the bus stations have been raised because of the distance between the intersection and the actual platforms.

4. The Washington and Central platform is so close to the intersection that a bus coming from the east side going west can’t make the approach without taking up the entire intersection.

5. The mirrors on the ART buses are slamming into the pillars that hold up the fabric awnings at the bus stations constructed in the middle of Central and the stations will have to be
altered so the mirrors are protected from damage.

6. The ART bus station at Central and Washington is too short and in order to get the 60-foot-long articulated buses into the station, bus drivers must make an “S” maneuver, which swerves
the buses into regular traffic lanes increasing the risks of traffic accidents.

7. The station at Atrisco and Central is too long resulting in the ART bus going into the station tilted at a three-to-four degree angle resulting in the bus floor being a few inches
higher than the station platform increasing the risk of injury to passengers boarding and exiting the buses.

8. There are gaps of at least three inches at some stations between the platform edge and the bus floor resulting in unsafe boarding and unloading conditions for people with disabilities.

According to Keller, the goal is to have all the construction problems corrected by the end of spring, but it is doubtful ART will be fully functional by the end of the year.

It turns out that the ART Bus Stations were designed around the busses ordered as opposed to busses being designed for the station platforms.

THE BUSES

Twenty buses were ordered and all 20 were to have been delivered on or before October 3, 2017, but the City received only nine of the buses.

When the original buses were delivered, the city found issues associated with the buses, everything from serious mechanical failures to some inconsistencies in how the buses were constructed.

Among the problems identified with the buses include:

1. Some of the buses could not be charged because the charging system did not work.

2. Axles on some of the new buses delivered were leaking oil.

3. One of the ART buses put through the certification process did not pass inspection.

4. A third-party certification officer would not certify the electric battery chargers that have been installed for the reason that the chargers themselves were not operable because what
was used were equipment parts manufactured in China that used different standards for how the equipment was built.

5. Fully charged batteries on the buses were supposed to last for 275 miles but testing by the city did indicated that the charge was only good for 200 miles.

6. Cracks in the frames and rear portion have developed on seven of the 10 buses.

7. Radio systems have been delivered in pieces.

All the remaining buses were to be delivered by February, which again did not happen.

There are still significant issues relating to the buses that have been delivered to the point that seven of the buses will now be returned for further repairs.

City officials sent a letter to the bus company and developer notifying them that Albuquerque was sending back the seven buses because of serious issues like cracks, axle problems and complications with charging.

THE FEDERAL FUNDING

There are continuing problems with the federal funding.

The city is still waiting on the federal government for the $69 million grant to reimburse the city for the project.

Keller went so far as to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet and try to work with federal authorities to try and secure the funding.

Mayor Tim Keller in his second report on the ART project is quoted as saying:

“To be clear, funds were never guaranteed. … That was simply never the case.”

What was simply the case is that former Mayor Richard Berry, former Chief Operations Officer Michael Riordan and former Transit Director Bruce Rizierri repeatedly lied to the public that the federal money was forthcoming because the city had received a “letter of no prejudice” from the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) on the funding expressing support for the project.

During the update, Keller said “I think that this notion that somehow we’re just waiting for guaranteed funds is factually inaccurate and it always was.”

Michael Riordan in particular said that he felt certain Congress would approve the $69 million-dollar grant and the withholding of such federal monies on such approved projects has never happened in the past.

The truth is House and Senate Congressional committees cut $20 million dollars from the grant with no guarantee that it will be made up in this year’s budget resulting in Albuquerque having to identify additional funding sources to make up for the shortfall.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Keller said he intends to give another update on ART in the next four to six weeks.

While he is at it, Mayor Keller should ask for a meeting with Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torres so Keller can give him an update on the project and ask him to convene a special grand jury to investigate what happened, if anyone illegally benefited from the project and if anything, criminal happened justifying prosecution.

For more commentary please see the following articles:

January 10, 2018 article: “The Lemons And Lies Of Berry’s ART”:

The Lemons And Lies Of Berry’s ART

January 22, 2018 “Mayor Keller Should Scrap Art And Find Alternatives”:

Mayor Keller Should Scrap ART Bus Project And Find Alternatives

January 23, 2018 article: “District Attorney Should Convene Special Grand Jury To Investigate Art Bus Project”:

District Attorney Should Convene Special Grand Jury To Investigate ART Bus Project