Lengthy response times have long been a criticism much of the public have shared about the Albuquerque Police Department.
In order to address this, APD officials have begun taking steps to help speed up response time and better serve the community.
These efforts were discussed during a virtual press conference the department held on Friday morning.
The reforms with the Department of Justice settlement agreement, the emergence of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department and rerouting officers to urgent calls have all helped speed things up.
As far as efforts within APD, officers are now being cross-dispatched from different area commands to help get services to those in need. Area commanders are now being called as well when wait times exceed a certain amount of time.
This builds a chain of accountability within the command structure.
Police Chief Harold Medina said the group effort has helped make things more efficient for the department and better for the public.
“I’ve always said that when we work as a team and we focus on a certain project, that we are able to accomplish it.”
The department also said it will explore other options to help free up officers, including looking at hiring third-party contractors for prisoner transport and involving more professional staff in police business.