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APD and Project ECHO launch violent crime reduction initiative

APD and Project ECHO Launch Violent Crime Reduction Initiative

New initiative will identify drivers of crime, and how technology and communication can assist partnering agencies

March 29, 2022

ALBUQUERQUE – This week the Albuquerque Police Department and Project ECHO hosted the first session of a new initiative to identify drivers of violent crime and discuss how partnering agencies can share technology to assist law enforcement.

 

After compiling input during the various Metro Crime Initiative sessions, one of the forty action items was to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies to identify statewide drivers of violent crime. Building off of the successful implementation of the ECHO model in both the Downtown and Nob Hill Public Safety ECHO programs, APD and Project ECHO hosted a statewide ECHO for law enforcement partners from across the region to discuss this key topic.

 

“This session is a result of Mayor Keller’s Metro Crime Initiative introduced last summer to propose ideas and solutions as immediate actionable items to assist our criminal justice system,” said Chief Harold Medina. “It is promising as we all come together for these sessions to discuss meaningful changes that are necessary to better protect our communities.”

 

The attendees discussed sharing of APD resources, specifically with the use of technology.  Also, a case study on a recent offender tied to several violent crimes was presented to look into best practices and successes from that investigation.

 

“We’re incredibly proud that the ECHO model will be used to support law enforcement and crime reduction across New Mexico,” said Dr. Sanjeev Arora, Founder and Director of Project ECHO. “When we bring people together to learn and solve problems, we can create real results and strengthen our communities.”

 

The intent for future sessions is to develop a series of monthly collaborative sessions to continue this meaningful work. APD is extremely thankful for the partnership of Project ECHO for assisting with their model and to all the partnering agencies that joined in today’s conversation.

 

About Project ECHO  

 

Founded at the University of New Mexico in 2003 out of a need to expand access to hepatitis C treatment to rural New Mexicans, the ECHO model has been adopted to create virtual tele-mentoring to support dozens of health conditions, childhood education, law enforcement, and more. The ECHO model uses videoconferencing and enabling software to connect people in underserved communities with teams of specialists and experts at regional, national and global expert institutions for long-term tele-mentoring, collaboration and case-based learning.

 

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