By T.J. Wilham
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque’s reserve police officers will be back on the streets next month, but they will no longer be allowed to make arrests and they will have to undergo more than twice the amount of training.
Police Chief Ray Schultz said he will reestablish the department’s reserve program by Thanksgiving with a new 11-page set of policies.
Schultz suspended the program in August after a Journal investigation revealed that the volunteer reserve officers had made 23 arrests and issued 42 traffic tickets since 2003.
Reserves are not legally permitted to make arrests or conduct traffic stops, according to the state’s law enforcement academy.
The state law enforcement academy last month adopted new guidelines that would allow reserves to make arrests if they go through the same amount of training and testing as regular officers. The new guidelines are expected to go into effect at the end of next month.
Schultz’s policy, however, will prohibit reserves from making arrests even if they meet the new guidelines. Because there are conflicting state laws about who can make arrests, Schultz has said he prefers to play it safe and allow only full-time, salaried officers to make arrests.
Reserves will be allowed, though, to help other officers take a suspect into custody. The department has about 40 reserve officers.
“This policy shows that when issues of concern come to our attention, we will do a thorough investigation, correct the deficiencies and follow up with good, solid policy,” Schultz said. “We are coming out of this with a very professional program.”
Also, under Schultz’s policy, reserve officers will be:
Required within the next few years to go through 920 hours of training - the same amount as regular officers - up from 450 hours.
Prohibited from signing criminal complaints or traffic citations.
Required to wear special badges and shoulder tags indicating they are reserve officers.
Required to meet the same hiring standards as regular officers.
Required to be with a regular officer at all times, and they will not be allowed to work independently.
Evaluated once a year.
Previously, APD reserves had worked under a four-page policy that was apparently in violation of state law because it allowed reserves to have the same powers as other officers as long as they were with a regular full-time cop.
But, the Journal investigation found that some reserves were making arrests by themselves.
The Journal investigation also found that reserve David Young, who is also an APD civilian employee, was getting paid overtime to work as an undercover officer and arrest prostitution suspects.
Six of Young’s arrests have been dismissed, and city attorneys are considering asking Metropolitan Court to overturn several convictions.
Schultz said an internal affairs investigation into Young and his superiors is still under way. Once it is completed, he will decide whether to take disciplinary action against anyone.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal