Requirements to Serve as a Council Member
Membership: Apply Today
Everyone is welcome to participate in the Community Police Councils and the processes of creating recommendations, no matter their backgrounds, residence within the city, or previous criminal records. It is vital that these councils represent many different perspectives within our communities and reflect diverse cross-sections of our City. If you feel that you may be interested in serving on your Albuquerque Community Policing Council, please peruse the information attached below as well as on the rest of the page to get a better idea of our mission, projects, and supplementary information. Thank you.
Click here to view Community Policing Council Welcome Packet
About CPC Members
Council Members: Members who take final voting action on policy issues and recommendations brought forth from the members and through public participation. The number of council members differs between each council based on their own determinations. It is commonly around eleven.
Members: Everyone in attendance is considered by the independent councils, the City and Albuquerque Police Department as members.
Requirements to Become a Council Member
Per our Settlement Agreement (Paragraph 267 - Page 81)
- Moving forward, the CPA will not be required, but recommended. This requires an amendment to the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA), and until that is done the agreement to suspend the requirement will remain in place.
Ride-alongs are not required but recommended.
Background Checks (which are required for ride-alongs)
- Not required - However, if one chooses to conduct a ride-along, a background check will be conducted.
- Criminal history – a criminal history will not exclude a person from serving on a CPC. However, current active felon warrants or criminal charges will disqualify a person from membership.
Applicants:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Must pass a background check
- Cannot have any current warrants
- Cannot have any felony convictions (Applicant may appeal to the Chief of Police)
- Cannot have any misdemeanor or DWI arrest within the last 3 years prior to application date
- An excessive pattern of criminal history may be a disqualifier
It is vital to note that even individuals who may not pass the background check requirements are still highly encouraged to attend CPC meetings and make suggestions and formal recommendations to the boards. They are also encouraged to actively participate in all steps of the recommendation process, except for the final vote.
Council Member Selections
How are Council members selected?
Council Members are asked to submit a written (provided at each monthly meeting) or online application. The applications are then passed on to the Chairperson for the applicant’s councils. Original council members were selected by an independent task force established by the Mayor’s office, but now the independent, established council members interview, vet, and select new council members.
This helps ensure the process is community-based and impartial.
Requirements to Serve as a Council Member
Review the current Community Policing Council Guidelines
Review the CPC Ordinance
The Albuquerque Community Policing Council is looking for caring, community-oriented, and engaged city of Albuquerque residents, looking to improve policing in their communities.
- Our mission statement is To Communicate, cooperate, and collaborate to build trust, leading to safer, community-oriented policing.
We are tasked with taking voting action on APD policy issues and recommendations bought forth by the public and through council participation, organizing a monthly meeting that keeps the local community engaged with policing issues, and fulfilling stronger ties between APD and the City of Albuquerque.
The only requirements for membership are that prospective Councilmembers must be over 18 at the time of application and live, or work within the boundaries of one of the 6 APD Area Commands. There is no education or employment pre-requisite to serve on one of the six local councils*. As we are an agency tasked with promoting change, a progressive outlook is helpful, and the position calls for a minimum of roughly 8-10 hours per month.
Prospective council members are asked to submit a Statement of Interest which will be considered by the local Council chairperson, and he/she will then be invited to meet with council members. Prior participation in the monthly meetings is looked upon favorably, as is a passion for helping institute closer ties between APD and the community, a positive work ethic, new ideas, and a desire to institute positive change.
*There are opportunities for supplemental education through the Albuquerque Community Policing Councils, such as ride-alongs with APD, and attendance in the Community Policing Academy, which will necessitate a background check for active felony warrants, active criminal charges, an excessive background of criminal history, or misdemeanor or DWI arrests in the past three years.