Standard Operating Procedures

The following details describe the status of the policy while it goes through the policy development process:

• Being Edited/Revised: The policy owner, alongside Policy and Procedure Unit (P&P) (formerly Office of Policy Analysis (OPA)) personnel are editing/revising the policy by incorporating policy recommendations from internal stakeholders (e.g., Department personnel) and external stakeholders (e.g., community members and organizations). They are aligning the policy with best practices and current laws, including federal, state, and local laws and case laws. They are also ensuring the policy reflects what currently is practiced within the Department.
• Presentation at P&P (formerly OPA) Meeting: The policy owner will present the draft policy at a regularly held, Department P&P meeting.
• Commentary by Department Personnel: OPA personnel have made the draft available to all Department personnel through its document management system for a 15-day commentary period for staff to review the policy and give their feedback. The policy owner incorporates any meaningful feedback they received during this period.
• Presentation to PPRB: The policy owner will present the draft to the Department’s Policy and Procedures Review Board (PPRB) for the members to vote to approve the draft. If the Board does not approve the draft, they will table it, in order for the policy owner to make revisions and to re-present the draft at a future PPRB meeting.
• Commentary/Review by CPOAB or by APOA/DOJ/IMT: Once approved by the PPRB, P&P personnel submit both Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) and non-CASA policy drafts to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency Board (CPOAB) for a 30-day period to allow the members to provide their recommendations on the policy. Fifteen days after the CPOAB begins its review, P&P personnel work with the City’s Legal Department to submit all CASA-related policies to the Independent Monitoring Team (IMT or Monitors), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association (APOA) for a 15-day review period.
• Chief of Police’s Approval Process: Once a policy has been through the various review and commentary periods, P&P personnel provide the draft to the Chief to be reviewed and approved.
• Published: After the Chief approves the draft, P&P personnel publish the policy and implement it Department-wide through its document management system, as well as publish the policy on the City’s public-facing website. Scroll down to review the Department’s published SOPs.

Please refer to the policy development process map for an illustration of the process.

About SOP Numbering

To ensure efficiency and accountability, the Department has restructured some of its Divisions to align them with the Department's mission and vision, namely to follow through on its commitment to community policing. In this process, several SOPs have been renumbered, which is reflected in the list below. The list includes, if applicable, the policy’s old number in parentheses, and the current policy number, which should assist in locating the SOP.

General Orders

Procedural Orders

Administrative Orders

General Orders

Procedural Orders

Administrative Orders

These policies will be reviewed annually based on the published date.

Policy Process Map Illustration

Disclaimer

The Albuquerque Police Department's website was developed to provide general information. Data contained at this location is generally not reviewed for legal sufficiency. Albuquerque Police Department documents displayed are for reference purposes only. Their completeness or currency is not guaranteed. Links or references to other information or organizations are for reference only and do not constitute an endorsement.