APD NEWS

APD to Receive Top Honors from the International Association of Chiefs of Police

Three of the Albuquerque Police Department's (APD) private/public partnerships were recognized this October at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Chicago.

APD competed against thousands of police agencies worldwide. The awards are some of the most prestigious in law enforcement. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is the world's oldest and largest non-profit membership organization of police executives, with more than 20,000 members in more than 100 different countries.

"We are quite honored to receive this kind of recognition," Police Chief Ray Schultz said. "The partnerships we have formed with the business community are some of the strongest police/community partnerships in the world."

APD received the IACP's "Excellence in Victims Services" Award in the Extra Large Agency Category for its Family Advocacy Center's victim centered service provision program.

In 2007, The City of Albuquerque opened the Albuquerque Family Advocacy Center, where APD partnered with several other government and non-profit service providers to provide victim services and to address the problems of domestic violence. Since that time, the department's Domestic Violence and Stalking Unit has worked closely with advocates under one roof to provide complete services for victims.

"These awards illustrate the hard work being done every day by the Albuquerque Police Department," Mayor Richard Berry said. "It is well deserved recognition."

Additionally, APD received recognition from the IACP as a finalist in two additional award categories.

APD was recognized as a finalist for the IACP Community Policing Award for Cities with a Population Over 250,001 for the development of its Hospitality Partnership with Albuquerque's Hotel/Motel industry. At the IACP conference the work linked to this partnership was profiled as a "Best Practice in Community Policing."

"This public/private partnership gives Albuquerque innkeepers a means to promote crime prevention and awareness by building a crime watch partnership between APD and Albuquerque's hotel industry," said Mike Chesley, with the Greater Albuquerque Innkeepers Association (GAIA).

APD was also honored as a Top 10 Finalist for the Webber-Seavey Quality in Law Enforcement Award for its work linked to building the Construction Industry Crime Alliance (CICA) with Albuquerque's Construction sector.

The two public/private initiatives seek to address crime and public safety through community partnership and joint crime fighting efforts. CICA and the Hospitality Partnership also use the CONNECT website to communicate as a crime watch system for their industries.

"This partnership is 'taking care of business' by combating crime in a whole new way," said Marcus Perea, a CICA Construction Industry Representative. "We are thrilled our hard work is paying off and others are starting to take notice."