Amid Calls to Defund Police, Albuquerque Creates an Alternative Department [washingtonpost.com]

Rafael Maravilla(PACEs Connection Staff) 6/16/203:22 PM

By Austin R. Ramsey and Meryl Kornfield, The Washington Post, June 15, 2020

As calls to defund law enforcement reach a fever pitch nationwide, New Mexico’s largest city is answering concerns about its police department by forming an alternative.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller (D) announced on Monday the formation of a new public safety department designed to relieve stress on the city’s police. Instead of the police or fire departments responding to 911 calls related to inebriation, homelessness, addiction and mental health, the new division will deploy unarmed personnel made up of social workers, housing and homelessness specialists, and violence prevention coordinators.

The department, called Albuquerque Community Safety, may be the first of its kind, experts say. A spokesperson for the mayor told The Washington Post the new department was partially the city’s response to the “defund the police” movement.

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