New crime, law enforcement package emerges in Senate - Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE — A legislative package moving quickly in the state Senate focuses on law enforcement retention, training and hiring practices as lawmakers take aim at New Mexico’s high rate of violent crime.
The measure would also add three judges and make grants available for strengthening the supervision of criminal defendants who are released while they await trial.
Senate Judiciary Committee Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said the legislation is just a start given the constraints of a 30-day session and complexity of the criminal justice system. He unveiled the proposal, Senate Bill 231, during a joint meeting Monday of the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees.
The proposal cleared the judiciary panel without opposition after about two hours of debate and testimony.
“This is not a big bold change where big bold change is needed,” Cervantes said, “but it does some important things.”
Lawmakers also heard from the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, Michael Vigil, who said the judiciary plans its own changes intended to streamline court hearings for defendants and ensure law enforcement is alerted immediately if someone cuts off an ankle monitor or enters a prohibited zone.
The crime bill backed by Cervantes incorporates ideas from some bills passed by the state House and adds new ones as well.
Lawmakers are also considering a handful of proposals to stiffen criminal penalties, but they aren’t included in the legislation backed by Cervantes.
Instead, his proposal includes:
— Retention bonuses of 5% for law enforcement officers every five years they stay on the job through 20 years of service.
— Splitting the Law Enforcement Academy Board into two panels, one focusing on training and the other on officer misconduct.
— Establishing a statewide database on officer’s use of force, termination and civil judgments related to their work. Law enforcement agencies would be required to consult the database when making hiring decisions.
— Expanding the scope of what state crime reduction grants can be used for.
— Adding a District Court judge in the Albuquerque area and two others elsewhere in the state.
— Establishing a statewide violence intervention program modeled on a pilot program in Albuquerque. It would call for intervening with victims of violence who are likely to retaliate with their own violence.
The proposal, Senate Bill 231, would work in conjunction with the main budget legislation, House Bill 2, which includes raises of almost 16% for State Police officers and increased funding for pretrial services.
“It’s got to be a balanced approach that we deal with crime,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman George Muñoz, D-Gallup, said.
The Cervantes bill could move quickly. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, advancing in the final 3 1/2 days of the session.
Vigil, the Supreme Court justice, said the judiciary is hoping to expand around-the-clock monitoring of pretrial defendants who wear an ankle monitor and issue immediate law-enforcement alerts when needed.
He also said the court plans to consider rule changes that would consolidate pretrial detention hearings and preliminary hearings to determine probable cause “so the same resources don’t have to be coming in twice.”
source: https://www.abqjournal.com/2470017/new-crime-law-enforcement-package-emerges-in-senate.html
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