More than 50 uniformed agencies and numerous undercover officers on Sept. 21 joined the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office in Albuquerque for a Gang Recognition and Intelligence Patrol, or GRIP operation.
BSCO Sheriff Manny Gonzales told KOB that the operation was an opportunity for law enforcement to touch base with the people they vowed to serve and protect.
“This is an opportunity for us to interface with the public and the businesses that are concerned and get information,” Gonzales said. “Just recently we had a homicide out here at the Smiths and people are feeling very unstable right now in this area, business owners, and this is exactly why our deputies and federal partners come out.”
It was not just state police agencies that participated, but a few federal departments had boots on the ground as well. KOB reported that the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals Service were among attendees.
“Any investigation we can take a state or local matter and make it a federal violation and make a federal case, that is what we are going to do,” Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division told the station. “Ultimately the main goal is to develop a relationship between us and the public, so we gain their trust, they share information with us, then we can use that information for their benefit.”
The GRIP operation area will stretch from Four Hills to Eubank and from Lomas down to Gibson.
The last operation netted ten felony arrests and numerous drug and firearms confiscations.