Real Solutions for Making

Albuquerque Safer

Paid for by Keller for ABQ, Democrat. L. McMaster Treasurer.

Printed in House
Produced by Rio Strategies, PO Box 40578, ABQ, NM 87196
 REAL SOLUTIONS FOR MAKING ALBUQUERQUE SAFER
Its time for Albuquerque to aim higher when it comes to our expectations of safety
and security. We cannot have a safer city until we own our problems and hold our
leaders accountable for reducing crime and that begins with the mayor. The mayor
is ultimately responsible for how well a city can keep its citizens safe and the current
Mayor has neglected his responsibility in this regard.

As mayor, I will take on Albuquerques unacceptable crime epidemic head-first

with a crime-fighting agenda that gives our police the tools they need to succeed,
re-establishes trust between the city and the community, and seeks to end the
generational cycles of crime that have bedeviled our city for decades.

Below is an outline of my comprehensive and detailed vision for fighting crime and
making our city a safe place to live, work, and play. I want to thank the many current
and former law enforcement officials and leaders from our citys diverse communities
who have informed this plan with their direct and indirect input. Additionally, thank you
to the officers and investigators who have been kind enough to take me on ride alongs
so I can experience first-hand what they go through on a nightly basis. Like all aspects of
our shared vision, I believe a mayoral candidate should put forward a thoughtful starting
place for plan, which will be refined, and can actually be implemented.

LEADERSHIP, STRUCTURE & ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Its not personal: any mayor with management experience knows that when you have
a department producing the results we are seeing at APD, you simply have to bring in
a new leadership team and change the tone at the top from day one. Additionally, a
lot of the root challenges facing the department stem from the culture at the top, and
the current leadership approach continues to be a driver of low morale and is hurting
recruitment and retention. I will replace the current team with interim new leadership
on day one so we can stabilize the department and undertake a proper broad search
for longer-term leadership.

2. In this search, we will focus on identifying innovative public-safety leaders with

proven track records of turning around troubled jurisdictions and who have a
dedicated commitment to the full notion of community policing. The new leadership
team will also make a distinct turn away from the defensive, bunker mentality that
has been a hallmark in recent years. Historical favoritism, inconsistent promotion and
discipline standards will no longer be tolerated. Additionally, my focus will be on a
leadership team committed to excellence in everyday policing rather public safety
experiments and fads. Albuquerque deserves the best and we are going to find the
right chief and senior police leadership team for the job, with a focus on familiarity
with our diverse and unique city or state.

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 2

 3. The city will recommit to a community policing model in full, and will implement
department-wide training to root out the culture and policies that directly led to
the DOJ consent decree. Effective policing depends on public trust and shifting the
department from an adversarial culture to one of protection. This approach is critical
to restoring public confidence and will be implemented from the academy to the
highest levels of the department.

4. I will streamline the leadership structure and remove layers of bureaucracy so there is
a more direct line of accountability between the officers on the street and the Mayors
Office. Weve had too much head-in-the-sand lack of accountability from Mayor Berry.
This stops the day I take office. These strategies include:

a. Flattening the organization into three divisions: Administration, Investigations,

and Field Services.

b. Streamlining the command structure:

i. Discard the position of Major, which unnecessarily adds centralized

bureaucracy to the current force.

ii. Recognizing that the first line of supervision is critical to officer success in
the community, create a new rank of Corporal to bolster the on-the-ground
command structure and provide more flexibility and leadership who can step
in for Sergeants when necessary.

iii. Include the status of Senior Sergeant to recognize those who remain
at that rank for an extended period of time.

5. Albuquerque will have a civilian-led Department of Public Safety to coordinate

reforms and oversee all aspects of public safety including police, fire, emergency
management, training academies, and the 911 dispatch center. Our citizens must be
assured that services are highly coordinated and that the right hand knows what the
left hand is doing when it comes to safety and emergency response.

6. I will stand up for our front-line officers and provide the kind of backup and support
they need by prioritizing getting more officers out from behind their desks and
into the community. I will put more police on the streets and increase the use of
mobile commands in high priority neighborhoods. Officers from the chief on down
will be required to take on uniformed field shifts to increase police presence in the
community while we work to get crime under control and shore up the department
with more officers.

7. I will develop a multi-agency Safe Streets Task Force for targeting high-crime areas
with saturation enforcement. The interim chief should immediately meet with the
local heads of federal law enforcement agencies, the Bernalillo County Sheriffs
Office, the Sandoval County Sheriffs Office, the Valencia County Sheriffs Office,
and the State Police commands serving central New Mexico. We must recognize
that criminals dont pay attention to jurisdictional boundaries. Our crime problem
demands a cross-jurisdictional approach. The more we can coordinate with our local
partners, the better positioned we will be to root out organized criminal activity.

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 3

 Cross-jurisdictional collaboration will be a huge force multiplier. If each agency were
to assign just two individuals to this task force and cross-commission officers, they
would be able to saturate high-crime hotspots anywhere in the metro area.

8. I will order the expansion of the heretofore drastically cut task forces dealing with car
theft, burglary, sex crimes, homicide, gangs and organized crime, and property crime;
and I will establish a special unit on opioid-abuse related crimes.

9. I will restructure Internal Affairs so that citizens and officers can be assured of a fair
and accountable process and reduce arbitrary and disproportionate conclusions.
This starts with moving Internal Affairs outside of main chain of command. We will
also include retirees and officers from other jurisdictions to help ensure consistency,
proportionality, and objectivity when it comes to discipline.

10. We will utilize Department of Justice grants to fund overtime and equipment costs
as we ramp up our crime-fighting efforts, including capturing hundreds of thousands
of dollars available for community oriented policing.

11. We will enforce quality of life ordinances regarding liter, public defecation,
intoxication, vandalism and others designed to make public spaces safe again. By
enforcing what some would consider minor laws, police can establish a proactive
presence in troubled neighborhoods to send a signal to criminals to get out of the
area. We will follow up with saturation patrols in all areas on a random basis which
catch criminals off guard. This method seeks to eradicate criminal activity in high
priority areas and will be employed as a near-term strategy to lower crime rates and
make neighborhoods safer while the department staffs up.

12. We will add teeth to the Police Oversight Commission when it comes to making
policy recommendations for training, resource allocation, review, academy curriculum,
and recruiting and promotional practices. While final disciplinary actions should rest
with the chief, I will restore chain of command discipline and require them to present
actions to the Police Oversight Board to provide transparency and accountability.

13. Police Oversight Board members without previous law enforcement experience will
go through the Citizens Police Academy and all members will participate in at least
one ride along each year.

14. Whenever possible we will have police on your corner with locations around the
city where officers can hold shift change meetings, fill out paperwork, and conduct
other activities out in the community rather than inside their car, City Hall, or a police
station.

15. We will increase recruitment and fully staff 911 dispatch and 242-COPS call centers
to ensure that every call is received by a person and not placed on hold.

16. Our substations will once again be working centers for safety in our community,
staffed with not only law enforcement, but other support services with the goal
of keeping each open 24/7.

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 4

 IMMEDIATE ACTION ITEMS TO BRING CRIME RELIEF TO ABQ
1. I will immediately schedule a meeting with the Albuquerque Police Officers
Association to address imminent changes in APD actions that will be expected
of all union members.

2. We will publish daily and weekly performance objectives for APD personnel with
respect to officer initiated contacts. This will not be a quota, as enforcement action
will not be mandatory.

3. We will pool overtime funds for the chiefs overtime funded tac-plans for officers
to do saturation patrols, closely supervised by field sergeants, at various times and
locations throughout the city in 4 6 hour time blocks.

4. All plainclothes detectives will engage in officer initiated encounters at least one day
during their weekly work schedule.

5. All sworn personnel not engaged in criminal investigative work will engage with
detectives or officers at least two days of their work week in support of officer
initiated encounters.

6. All ranks of officers will be required to participate in officer initiated encounters,

including sergeants on up, and will schedule a time to commit to such activities
immediately.

7. All officer initiated encounters will be documented with at least a logged out call,
citations or arrests, and reports where required.

8. We will increase use of APD video monitoring vehicles at various locations

throughout the city on a rotating basis to bolster presence in high property crime
areas.

9. We will increase use of decoy APD units at various locations throughout the city.

10. We will flood officers in high traffic areas in support of increased officer visibility.

11. One new civilian and one new sworn Public Information Officer will be installed.

12. I will work with Independent Monitor Dr. James Ginger to prioritize recommended
changes in APD actions.

13. Visibility will be increased (sirens and lights) on all priority 1 & 2 calls for service.

14. I will initiate weekly, in-person meetings with the chief and area commanders to
review the data of the previous week, including detailed summaries of efforts for
each day.

15. We will immediately discontinue the use of acronym-named units or plans

fundamental community policing is what we need.

16. We will immediately identify the citys most prolific property and violent crime
offenders followed by meetings with applicable federal agencies to address cross
jurisdictional issues.

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 5

 17. APDs Junior Police Academy will be reconstituted.

18. We will implement a process of 360-degree reviews of chain of command staff by

officers and detectives.

19. Officers will be able to use their discretion and make arrests for all types of crime.

20. Address auto theft not just through policing, but also by holding auto chop shops
and pawn shops accountable through the citys permitting and inspection process.
For too long we have not engaged the buyers of illicit vehicles to help in the fight
against auto theft.

ENDING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SHORTAGE

1. The city will undertake aggressive recruitment efforts to attract well-trained officers
from other, perhaps nearby, jurisdictions to get more officers out into the community
at a faster pace with a goal of at least 1,000 officers on the street within 2 years.
At one point our city had 1,200 officers; today with roughly 850, we need to be very
direct about this issue. There is simply no way we can adequately police our town
with an officer shortage regardless of the method, technology or who is in charge.
To solve the shortage, we have to work the problem through the law enforcement
recruiting, retention, and retaining pipeline.

a. First, we must begin at the start of the pipeline, at the application process for
the police academy, by filling it with more well-qualified candidates. We can do
this by working with APS and CNM on the establishment of memorandums of
understanding on the creation of educational pathways in law enforcement, so
that Albuquerques youth can enter an educational track in policing that will create
a direct line to a law enforcement job with their hometown police force.

b. Next, to help with recruitment and provide a career path, we have to restore a
merit based system that enables a clear promotional path for frontline officers
that includes competitive pay grades, in-pay band compensation, and special
assignment opportunities.

2. I will also explore the establishment of academic alternative programs in law

enforcement. Such programs allow well-qualified students to receive police training
and achieve many necessary certifications before entering a police academy. This will
increase the pipeline of potential officers who know our local communities.

a. Academic alternative programs in law enforcement have been incredibly effective

in other jurisdictions. In Central Texas, for example, an Academic Alternative Law
Enforcement Program has supplied that region with more than 400 officers to
local departments, and has been a large source of cultural, economic, and ethnic
diversity in local police forces, as many students in these programs were able to
participate because of the availability of night and weekend courses.

b. Similarly, by following state academy entrance standards we can enable more

candidates to attend the academy without getting held up by ineffective CABQ
criteria that screen out to many candidates who may be able to play a positive
role in public safety.
TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 6
 3. We will supplement junior officer recruiting with mid-level well qualified lateral hires.
We will use best practices for recruitment and retention as outlined in a RAND study:
Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millennium. Such practices include:

a. Bring back our best officers, from around the metro area, with strong track
records who have left APD in the wake of the challenges the department faced.
This means reaching out, targeting, and hiring back the hundreds of officers
who have voluntarily left APD, who are now in Rio Rancho, APS, UNM, Bernalillo
County, Los Lunas, and the east mountains.

b. Providing referral bonuses for officers who successfully attract candidates

to APD.

c. Better engaging with current officers learning their needs and struggles
so the overall culture can be improved for them and for officers we will be looking
to recruit.

d. Developing a retention and recruitment working group made up of current and

retired officers to better understand APDs attrition challenges. Understanding all
the causes of why we lose officers will help us implement strategies to retain and
attract new ones. Knowing employees and their needs is a hallmark of a strong
organization.

4. We will retain our best officers by enhancing and better utilizing the alumni officer
program, crime response specialists, and public private partnership programs.
By developing graduated steps of retirement, we can get the most out of our quality
officers. These assignments could include variations on chiefs overtime, special
events, public transit, and high-crime pedestrian areas like downtown in cooperation
with local business partners.

5. My public safety budgets will prioritize the hiring of new officers and providing
them with the latest and best technology to do their jobs. We need more officers
on the street plain and simple and that will be my priority. At least 1,200 officers
working in the community is what we are budgeted for and we must make it happen.

TOOLS AND SUPPORT FOR OUR CRIME-FIGHTERS

1. I will not hide behind the usual budgetary excuses and will push for raises, retention
bonuses, and signing bonuses for proven top notch lateral transfers to keep the best
and brightest officers we have and attract quality officers from other jurisdictions.

2. In addition, I will champion a program of student-loan repayment support so that we

are attracting officers with higher levels of education, and I will increase recruitment
efforts at our colleges and universities. I will also incentivize additional educational
attainment by current officers, who will be compensated for increased training.

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 7

 3. I will not keep the Justice Department at arms length (as the Mayor and Chief have
done). The Justice Department has tools, training, expertise, and grant opportunities
that can all be brought to bear in the effort to improve the department and keep our
citizens safe. I will actively engage with the DOJ monitor in this regard, complete the
reforms, and then take back our police department.

4. I will provide use of force clarity based on the Seattle model of proportional use of
force and associated reporting requirements. This will provide a fair and appropriate
system that balances the need for accountability and individual discretion of an
officer and ends unneeded paperwork that is currently pulling officers of the streets,
creating a moral hazard when it comes to promptly responding to calls.

5. Use of force incidents will be reviewed in an efficient and timely manner; I will create
a streamlined committee review process and force review board to properly enable
officers to be in the field and still provide appropriate public accountability in a timely
manner.

6. I will restore arrest protocols to the discretion of the officer within the bound of the
McClendon guidelines so officers have clear rules of the game when it comes to
the fundamental authority we as society bestow upon them in order to protect our
communities and to combat the revolving door criminal problem.

7. APD will show up and support our District Attorney and judges in no bail violent
crime offender situations to reduce revolving door criminals.

8. I will prioritize the deployment of innovative technology and data-driven policing to

assist our officers in the field. This approach does not need a study it has worked
to reduce crime in similar-sized cities. We can get started here with well-tested
programs by employing the strong IT tools and brainpower already in Albuquerque
to better manage our deployment of officers and put more resources into high-crime
hot-spots.

9. We will enhance academy training with local cultural and community education,
including civic groups and neighborhood leaders into the police academy and
ongoing training that reflects and complements the diversity of Albuquerque.

10. We will improve recruitment efforts with fair and equitable opportunities for all so
that we are developing a future force that reflects our city and is made up of officers
who want to work in their neighborhoods.

11. We will better engage retired officers, through great usage of the reserve program,
with creative opportunities and positions that enable mentorship, community
involvement, and public safety support for officers
on the frontline.

ENDING THE GENERATIONAL CYCLE OF CRIME

1. We will increase funding for teen drug courts and other diversionary programs,
including the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program that is already
showing results in Santa Fe, that have a proven track record of turning around the

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 8

 lives of young people who are on a path to becoming criminals. The sooner we can
intervene, the more quickly we can keep teens away from a life of escalating crime
and violence.

2. I will establish an Albuquerque Youth Corps to be made up of high-risk, non-violent

troubled youth age 14 20 and will work collaboratively with local businesses,
nonprofits, and government partners on establishing meaningful internships and
mentorships to get these kids off the streets and onto career pathways.

3. I will use the bully pulpit of the mayors office to kick-start a collaborative effort
among the city, county, DA, APS, local service-providing nonprofits, UNM, and CNM
to better share resources and intervene (on an individual basis) with troubled youth
before they become professional criminals.

4. Our police department is already understaffed and overworked, I do not believe we

need to spread our citys resources thin, or pull critical officer time needed to address
violent crime to support any Washington, DC agenda. Immigrant communities will feel
unsafe reporting crimes to police or assisting in investigations, making it even harder
for APD to address our homicide and auto theft epidemics. Put simply, you cannot
have actual community policing when the people are afraid to engage the police
about drugs and crime. As Mayor, I will stand up to the arm-twisting from Washington
and will not be blackmailed into bending on our values, when it comes
to attacking our crime crisis, we also must own our solutions.

TAKING ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND HOMELESSNESS

1. We will create 911 diversion teams consisting of a paramedic and social worker to
provide onsite services on the streets and at homes to treat substance abuse and
homelessness. These community paramedicine and engagement teams will bring
aid directly to street corners, homes, and public spaces throughout the city, without
clogging up the 911 and first responder systems. Instead of law enforcement taking
the thousands of house calls for the sick and elderly and mentally ill, we are going to
send trained professionals in those areas, and save our emergency rooms and first
responders for where their training is needed most.

2. I will prioritize anti-poverty, behavioral and mental health, diversion, and more
housing first programs in coordination with the county and local housing authority,
including supportive-housing units for addicts and the chronically homeless.

3. We will support other agencies and service-providing non-profits on addiction-

treatment, poverty-alleviation, and anti-domestic violence programs to reduce
recidivism so we can reduce drug-related crime.

4. We will step up like most cities in America, and will partner with the county, to
create a city diversion and treatment center to provide facilities and programs for
mandatory addiction treatment instead of incarceration, and transitional treatment
for prisoner reintegration.

TIM KELLER FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE 9