ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Different groups came together this weekend to talk, listen, and work toward positive change.

A community group, meant to work alongside Albuquerque police, held a town hall. The purpose was to share ideas and find solutions to problems.

A rep for the Community Policing Community says at this meeting alone, neighbors were able to share major concerns they had about street racing in their area to the APD commander in charge of patrolling it. 

“When people come, they genuinely attend to keep coming, maybe not every month, but periodically,” said Kelly Mensah, a CPC liaison. 

Mensah is talking about monthly meetings where the CPC meets with the public. 

On Saturday, a larger town hall was held with reps from offices like the district attorney’s office and the court system. 

“It’s not impossible to find solutions to work for us, but we need to problem-solve together from multiple perspectives,” said Judge Cindy Leos. 

The main goal of the CPC is to create an open line of communication between police and the public they protect. 

“I can tell you, just in my experience as an area commander, we can do so much and accomplish so much when there’s communication and information sharing,” said APD Southeast Area Commander Luke Languit.   

The council was created around the same time APD came under a federal consent decree for unconstitutional use of force. 

Eric Garcia is the superintendent of police reform at the department. At the town hall, he said a lot of changes have happened within the department since then. 

“Our use of force policy is as you would expect has expanded to one of the most stringent and detailed use of force policies at any police department in the country,” said Garcia. 

According to APD, as of January 2024, the department is now at 94% for operational compliance. 

Mensah says any recommendations gathered at CPC meetings can be enacted, so he urges you to participate. 

“If you’re a community policing council member, you can raise a recommendation, sending them in officially through the Department of Justice consent decree. Then within 45 days, you have to get a response from the chief or as someone in the administration there as to why it would work, why it would not work,” said Mensah. 

Mensah says the council meets with each APD area command monthly. Adding, things can’t change unless someone speaks up. 

For more information on the CPC, click here.