Geier touts police reforms at event
Recruitment, crime rates, DOJ compliance part of presentation
Albuquerque is close to graduating the first full police academy class under the direction of a new training staff, which the police chief said has overhauled the curriculum to focus more on community policing.
Albuquerque police Chief Michael Geier gave a presentation on the status of the police department to local business and community leaders during an Economic Forum breakfast on Wednesday morning.
Geier touted the department’s work in the past year: trying to come into compliance with a court-approved settlement between the city and the Department of Justice; a small decrease from historically high crime rates in the past year; and recruitment efforts and crime-fighting operations that have been launched in different police area commands. He said the latter was done after meeting with residents and business owners in those areas to address specific crime concerns.
In the latest report, the independent
monitor overseeing the police reform effort found that Albuquerque police have completed the early requirements outlined in the settlement, which aims to correct a pattern of excessive force. Geier said the department is gaining momentum and is closer to the beginning of the end of the yearslong project. The project will go on until police have achieved compliance and stayed that way for two years.
“We need to start thinking about the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “We’re close, and I can tell you that we’re gaining momentum.”
Geier also said that the department is projected to have about 980 police officers by next summer. That will mark a significant increase for the department, which at one time in recent years had been whittled down to about 854 officers. The department has a goal of growing to 1,200 officers in coming years.
“That’s huge news for the city to have that much more protection out there,” he said.