The moment is here for true police reforms

Reforming the police is a long-term project, with body-worn cameras and eliminating no-knock warrants first steps in increasing public safety and forging greater trust between cops and the people they have sworn to serve and protect.

The push to change how policing works is growing out of the understandable frustration among communities of color over years of encounters with the law that have led not to justice, but to brutality and oppression. The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May was just the latest trigger to outrage, but out of subsequent protests, lasting change that is better for both police forces and communities is possible.

The Legislature likely will consider the issue of qualified immunity — ensuring that bad actors can be held accountable through civil lawsuits — in January at the regular legislative session. That’s one potential reform.

State Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas also will be promoting changes to the 1991 Peace Officers Employer-Employee Relations Act, which prohibits public disclosure of internal police investigations and disciplinary actions. A lack of transparency fails to build trust or accountability.

At the same time, cities need to explore other potential improvements. Santa Fe last week announced the formation of a nine-member task force Mayor Alan Webber wants to examine “the intersection of public health and public safety.”

Led by former fire chief and City Councilor Chris Rivera and Councilor Renee Villarreal, the task force will work for three months to examine public safety and how policing can be strengthened — everything from training, workload and ways to collaborate.

One area to examine is the role of union contracts, both in improving the workplace for cops but also in hiding the records of officers — making it impossible for citizens to know about potentially violent cops on their streets.

As The New Mexican’s Amanda Martinez recently reported (“Police union contracts act as shields for officers”), the union contract — in effect until June 30, 2022 — guides relations between city bosses and officers.

It deals with pay, training, transportation, all the details of employment, in other words.

However, the contract also allows officers to hide troublesome portions of their records. Internal affairs investigations are highly confidential, the contract states — neither employees nor the department can release information about examinations of an officer’s behavior. Officers, under the contract, have the ability to remove certain disciplinary records from the files.

We support Maestas’ legislative push to examine just how much of an officer’s record can be kept from the public, but also want to see more done at the local level. Police officers are important contributors to the public safety and health of Santa Fe. We want them to be respected, paid well and honored for their work. They risk their lives daily. But we also believe officers must be accountable and that those with a record of misconduct allegations face legal penalties, if called for, and find other careers.

The task force, as it looks at accountability, also must examine recruitment. Who becomes an officer? Santa Fe has difficulty keeping jobs on the force filled, which has led to commuting cops who don’t live in the community they serve but drive back and forth to Rio Rancho or Albuquerque on the taxpayers’ dime. While that might work as a benefit to attract recruits, it doesn’t build a community force of people who are invested in Santa Fe. We repeat past suggestions — start a criminal justice concentration at the high school level, coordinate with the community college and grow officers raised in Santa Fe who are committed to being here. That would have the added advantage of bringing in college-educated officers, which research shows can lead to reductions in misconduct accusations.

So many possibilities exist for healthy, positive reforms — we look forward to seeing solutions from the task force, which will include voices from the community as well as city government. The state has its role to play, and at the city, we want to see work toward policies that hold police accountable but also improve their working conditions. Everyone wins, especially the people of Santa Fe.