After more than seven years of scrutiny, the Albuquerque Police Department may soon welcome changes in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) oversight through a court-appointed monitor.
City officials, police and top department union leaders are all welcoming the news, with the latter having long been critical of DOJ’s oversight, including the hefty cost it has come at for state taxpayers.
“I’ve commonly said I wish there was a book called ‘The DOJ is Taking Over Your Department for Idiots,’ right, because I don’t believe anybody understands how bureaucratic it is and what is going on,” Albuquerque Police Officers Association President Shaun Willoughby told KRQE.com.
The department has been under oversight after federal investigators pointed to a pattern of excessive force. Right from the start, the union has been a vocal critic of the job done by DOJ, blasting it as a heavy burden on an already short-staffed department.
“This process goes into every tentacle of the police department, and it’s not like the DOJ comes in with four policies that they consider our best practices and a team to train the trainers, you know, that we can be successful, and a million dollars, millions of dollars in a purse to try to help reform your police department,” Willoughby added. “It’s not what happens at all.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland explained the changes that include government monitors being given a set term that can only be renewed after an assessment of the monitor’s performance and cost-effectiveness, according to KRQE. In addition, monitors will also be pressed to minimize the cost to jurisdictions.
Over the last four years alone, Albuquerque taxpayers have been forced to shell out upwards of $25 million as monitoring has continued under Dr. James Ginger through a third-party company known as Public Management Resources.
“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” Willoughby added. “I’m glad they’re reviewing this monitoring process. It is highly bureaucratic and problematic in its conception but we’ll see what it means. Maybe it’s a day late and a dollar short and it doesn’t impact Albuquerque, but we’re hoping that it does.”
While Garland’s comments were pegged at future situations, Mayor Tim Keller said the city will do everything it needs to in order to make sure the same standards are applied to APD’s settlement agreement.
Over time, union officials have pointed to DOJ’s oversight as part of the reason morale among officers has waned and more of them are leaving the job.