The Associated Press
ESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) - State police say they’ve taken more calls since Torrance County eliminated a dozen deputies’ jobs.
The County Commission cut the jobs in July to help the county’s tight budget. The cuts left the sheriff’s department with half its original staff to patrol the central New Mexico county east of Albuquerque.
State police Lt. Robert Cook said there’s been a definite increase in calls to state police since. Cook said calls between September 2003 and September 2004 rose 15 percent in Torrance County and parts of nearby counties.
The loss of deputies requires state police officers to answer additional calls from Mountainair to Clines Corners, he said.
The department is transferring three state police officers to its Moriarty office and is shuffling other officers to meet the demand, Cook said.
Undersheriff Roy Dennis said the cuts have meant greater frequency of cooperation with other departments.
“It’s all communication; that’s how we survive,” he said.
Dennis said the number of arrests made by the sheriff’s office since the deputy cuts has gone up.
He also said September’s rebirth of a police department in Mountainair has helped the sheriff’s ability to cover the county by limiting the number of calls for deputies in that area.
Moriarty Police Chief Bobby Garcia said his department receives about 100 calls a week and has made more than 270 arrests this year. He said those numbers are normal and that his department hasn’t seen much effect from the Torrance County deputy cuts.