City Councilor Klarissa Peña and APD Updates on Community Policing Efforts and Upcoming Community Policing Conference
August 10, 2021
Today, City Councilor Klarissa Peña joined Deputy Police Chief Joshua Brown, Southwest Area Command’s PRT Team, and members of Albuquerque’s lowrider community including Lorenzo “House” Otero, Rob Cardenas, and Rob Vanderslice to give updates on Community Policing efforts and preview an upcoming conference with Police Departments from Olathe, KS, Tucson, AZ, and National City, CA.
In promoting the Youth Leadership Lowrider, APD has partnered with Olathe Police Department to start the #CopCarChallenge on social media. Both departments have shared posts showing off their lowriders and have invited other departments to share their specialty vehicles.
“Community policing is at the forefront of our mission at APD, and the Youth Leadership Lowrider has been a huge part in bridging the gap between police and the community, especially our youth,” said Chief Harold Medina. “I’m glad our efforts have been well received by other agencies across the country, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to Albuquerque and having meaningful conversations with them and the citizens we serve.”
Olathe Police Department is one of the departments that will be traveling to Albuquerque to participate in a Community Policing Conference with APD, Tucson Police Department, and National City, CA Police Department from August 19th to 22nd. Councilor Peña and APD are hosting this gathering with the mission to create a National Community Policing Blueprint in collaboration with municipalities throughout the country who are educating and empowering their youth about motor vehicle safety through the implementation of innovative community policing projects. During this Conference, communities throughout the country will have the opportunity to present their current work and also receive feedback. This Conference will also be valuable for bridging the gap between Albuquerque’s lowrider community with other lowrider communities around the country. All of the discussions and lessons learned during this Conference will be used to help inform the formation of the National Community Policing Forum moving forward.
“The APD lowrider and other community policing efforts have picked up great momentum here in Albuquerque,” said Councilor Peña. “Other departments around the country have reached out to us and we thought it would be valuable to get all these departments together and move these community policing efforts forward on a national scale.”
The Olathe Police Department is bringing their own lowrider and lowrider bicycles to Albuquerque to bridge these community efforts together. The lowriders will participate in a cruise and other activities throughout the four days. Concluding with APD and Olathe PD displaying both of their lowriders at the Albuquerque Lowrider Super Show on Sunday, August 21st at the Albuquerque Convention Center. This is the largest lowrider car show in New Mexico and will be displaying the APD and Olathe PD lowrider vehicles and lowrider bicycles.
Since 2019, the Albuquerque Police Department's Southwest Area Command has partnered with a wide variety of local businesses and entities to provide automotive mentorship opportunities to retrofit a police vehicle. APD also held a contest open to local students to create a design to be painted on the vehicle’s hood. Winners of this contest were provided scholarships for school as well as local recognition. APD is using this community oriented approach to be able to use their vehicles as a tool for building relationships between the lowrider community and law enforcement, while also providing mentorship opportunities for local youth.