SENATE MEMORIAL 1

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first special session, 2020

INTRODUCED BY

Antoinette Sedillo Lopez

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF LAW TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO STUDY MODEL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CURRICULA FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT CURRICULUM AT THE NEW MEXICO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY AND IMPROVE IN-SERVICE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

 

     WHEREAS, trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential in a democracy; and

     WHEREAS, recent events have exposed rifts in the relationships between police officers and the communities they protect and serve; and

     WHEREAS, recent events have shown that when police officers do not engage in de-escalation techniques during an investigation, they can fatally injure those individuals subject to investigation, causing unnecessary, tragic and brutal deaths and further promoting distrust between New Mexico law enforcement agencies and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve; and

     WHEREAS, advocacy groups representing the viewpoints of communities that have traditionally had adversarial relationships with law enforcement have a vital role to play in the development of training curricula for law enforcement; and

     WHEREAS, training on critical thinking, social intelligence, implicit bias, fair and impartial policing, historical trauma and other related topics has the potential to build trust and legitimacy for law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, yet this training has not been a meaningful part of the curriculum at the New Mexico law enforcement academy; and

     WHEREAS, training on interactions with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and intersexed individuals, known by the acronym "LGBTQI", including issues such as determining gender identity for arrest placement, has the potential to build trust and legitimacy for law enforcement agencies and LGBTQI individuals, yet this training has not been a meaningful part of the curriculum at the New Mexico law enforcement academy; and

     WHEREAS, training to improve interactions between law enforcement and minority communities, immigrant and non-English speaking groups has the potential to build trust and legitimacy for law enforcement agencies and Native American, Latino and African American communities, yet this training has not been a meaningful part of the curriculum at the New Mexico law enforcement academy; and

     WHEREAS, training on the appropriate investigation and response to interpersonal violence, including child abuse, sexual violence and domestic violence, has the potential to build trust and legitimacy for law enforcement agencies and victims of those crimes, yet this training not been a meaningful part of the curriculum at the New Mexico law enforcement academy; and

     WHEREAS, training on the special needs of persons with mental health challenges or physical challenges has the potential to build trust and legitimacy for law enforcement agencies with vulnerable persons and their families, yet this training has not been a meaningful part of the curriculum at the New Mexico law enforcement academy; and

     WHEREAS, the curriculum at the New Mexico law enforcement academy has not kept pace with the extensive body of research on effective training techniques; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature has the duty to enact a program of basic law enforcement training and in-service New Mexico law enforcement training for police officers that is appropriate and effective; and

     WHEREAS, the following organizations can provide valuable insight and experience in considering the curriculum at the law enforcement academy: a civil rights organization, an organization representing criminal defendants, an organization representing prosecutors, an organization representing the African American community, an organization representing the Native American community, an organization representing the Hispanic community, an organization with experience organizing political demonstrations, an organization representing the immigrant community, an organization representing the mentally ill, an organization representing people with physical disabilities, an organization representing victims of domestic violence, an organization representing victims of violent crimes and an organization representing gay and transgendered individuals; and

     WHEREAS, references in this memorial to "police officer" mean any commissioned employee of a law enforcement agency that is part of or administered by the state or any political subdivision of the state, and includes any employee of a missile range civilian police department who is a graduate of a recognized certified regional law enforcement training facility and who is currently certifiable by the New Mexico law enforcement training academy, which employee is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal or traffic or highway laws of this state. The term specifically includes deputy sheriffs. Additionally, "commissioned" means an employee of a law enforcement agency who is authorized by a sheriff or chief of police to apprehend, arrest and bring before the court all violators within the state;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the university of New Mexico school of law be requested to convene a law enforcement academy curriculum task force; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor be requested to appoint professors, law enforcement training experts, community members and representatives from geographically diverse law enforcement agencies to participate in a collaborative process to review the current curriculum and make recommendations for improvement; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor, in consultation with majority leadership in the house of representatives and senate and minority leadership in the house of representatives and senate, appoint seventeen members to the task force to review the current curriculum and make recommendations for improvement; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the law enforcement academy curriculum task force be requested to meet between the 2020 special legislative session and the 2021 regular legislative session to devise a plan for implementation of its recommendations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to report its findings and recommendations to the governor, the interim committee dealing with courts, corrections and justice issues, the standing house judiciary committee and the standing senate judiciary committee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the dean of the university of New Mexico school of law, the interim committee dealing with courts, corrections and justice issues, the standing house judiciary committee and the standing senate judiciary committee.

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