Internal affairs training is continuing to support agency legitimacy and community trust among law enforcement in New Mexico, according to George Perez, lead instructor for the recent National Internal Affairs Investigator Certification course held at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy in Santa Fe from December 1-5.
Perez, a retired assistant director for the Miami Dade Police Department with national experience in internal affairs training, said that having a strong internal affairs unit is essential. “They (internal affairs) are an independent body of investigators who have a very high level of training, that are not directly assigned in the chain of command of the involved employee who is being investigated for misconduct,” Perez explained. “It’s important that they meet the very rigorous national standard of employee misconduct investigations because we need to uphold due process for the community. The community needs to have a feeling that, yes, this was looked at seriously, a comprehensive impartial investigation was conducted by the organization and if there’s an opportunity for growth, then the department takes advantage of that opportunity of growth through training and in some instances where necessary, holding the officers accountable through the due process mechanism.”
The certification course brought together 46 participants from different state and local law enforcement agencies across New Mexico. Attendees included civilians and dispatchers as well as officers. The annual course certifies officers for three years and includes scenario-based exercises, quizzes, and a capstone project focused on preparing an Internal Affairs Investigative Report.
During these exercises, students watched videos depicting potential misconduct scenarios before working in groups to analyze assigned cases involving specific allegations. Perez highlighted how collaboration between participants from various departments allowed for policy comparisons and real-time review. “The value is that it provides different perspectives; an opportunity for another organization to say, ‘we don’t have that policy, but we ought to have that policy,’” he said. “It allows for a real-time policy review.”
Scenarios covered issues such as improper removal of property during investigations or unprofessional conduct by officers. Students worked through whether each case required an internal affairs investigation or could be handled within their department's chain of command.
Perez noted that while he teaches similar courses nationwide—including at upcoming events like the Las Vegas National Internal Affairs conference—the Santa Fe class was tailored specifically to address New Mexico’s legal requirements alongside nationally accepted best practices from organizations like the Department of Justice and International Association of Chiefs of Police. He said: “The class here is specifically designed for employee misconduct investigations in New Mexico. Every state is different, so you want to make certain that you’re very specific to the state that you’re working in – curating with information and the laws specific to New Mexico along with nationally accepted best practices from Department of Justice and International Association of Chiefs of Police. Here we talk about the Peace Officers, Employee Relations Act, and due process specific to New Mexico.”
According to Perez, funding provided by the Law Enforcement Academy allows all agencies statewide access without cost barriers: “This provides an opportunity for agencies to receive training where normally it would be a reach for them,” he said. “It’s very special what they are doing here.”
He added: “I absolutely love this work. After serving my community for 25 years and retiring I knew that this was the capacity that I wanted to provide value to the law enforcement community. You have officers, command staff, sheriffs and chiefs of police who want to make certain that we call out bad behavior, but that we do so in fashion that upholds due process not just for the officer but for the community itself. A sound employee misconduct investigation is critical to maintaining agency legitimacy and community trust. We cannot do the work that we do as professional law enforcement organizations without the community partnership, so internal affairs investigations play a big role in establishing that community trust.”
The next session at New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy is scheduled for October 2026.
