No Room at the Inn

We've been hearing for some time that our relatively new west side jail is filling up and filling up fast. There are a number of reasons behind the occupancy problem - a major one being that the state often fails to pick up prisoners sentenced to stays in the state penitentiary. Overall the Metropolitan Detention Center has been receiving high marks for its operation since the city pull-out (ABQ Journal - Subscription). But the fact remains that we're putting them in faster than we are building new space to house them in.

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Just to be clear, the primary function of a jail or a prison is not punishment - nor is it rehabilitation. If a would-be criminal views prison as punishment and is deterred from committing a criminal act, great! Likewise, if by some miracle a prisoner is "rehabilitated" while serving as a guest of the state, it's an unexpected benefit. But... the primary function of a detention facility is to protect the rest of us from those who would do us harm by keeping them separated from the general public. That's it and that's all.

We believe that building and operating jails with sufficient capacity to meet the detention needs of the community is a matter of public safety and therefore, a core function of government. Build more, build often and find ways to keep criminals away from the general public.
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Last night a call went out from MDC - there's no room at the in. Our Eyes tell us that APD dispatch informed officers that the Metropolitan Detention Center was full and could not take any new prisoners. A little while later, officers were told that MDC would be processing out some prisoners to make room but that it would be 3 to 4 hours before they could take any new prisoners.

The first thing that ran through our mind was "who the heck are they kicking loose?" Assuming that there's a reason for a prisoner's detention, letting them go is a cause for concern. Apparently the "no vacancy" sign was only lit last night. But it underscores the on-going crime problem that we've got in the Albuquerque metro area and the dangerously high occupancy of the MDC.

If there are times when there's no room at the inn, it's time to build a bigger hotel - even if the addition is a tent city. Jail officials shouldn't be forced to release their "guests" early simply because they need the space.

Game On!

Now that we've got those pesky primaries out of the way and we know who's facing who, we can get down to the business of choosing who's going to represent us in all of the various levels of government. Of course there were a couple of surprises like Commissioner Theresa (my son really didn't get an F did he?) Cordova falling to Art De La Cruz (unofficial results here), but by and large there weren't any huge surprises around the Albuquerque area.

So... it's game on for the general election! To kick things off we're going to start with an Eye Poll of the 1st Congressional District. Who do you think will best represent the people of Eyeland, a law and order sheriff or a far left former Albuquerque city councilor? That's this week's Eye Poll - the first of the general election season. Don't forget to vote!

Bad News

We've been watching the story of APD officer Daniel Guzman as it developed over the weekend and this week. If you haven't heard about the story or had the opportunity to view the raw footage of the incident you can view it here.

Obviously, the video doesn't show all of the events leading up to the incident so there's probably a bit more to this than can be seen on the tape. We also know that the media (including certain bloggers - just ask the 5th floor) can be pushy and obnoxious.

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It turns out that Foley had two incidents with APD officers in just two days. The first was an assist where he found a vehicle wanted in connection with an ATM smash and grab. The second was the incident with Officer Guzman (ABQ Journal - Subscription).
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However, the incident shows an alarming lack of training and understanding when it comes to dealing with the media. Officer Guzman is a lateral officer from APS police. There's little doubt that he has little or no experience dealing with media and his 13 months at APD obviously haven't significantly added to that experience.

One thing to always remember, if there's a camera around, you better assume that the thing is recording everything you say and do. The other thing to remember is that if that camera is connected to a media outlet and happens to record the type of incident that Rick Foley's camera recorded, you can bet that it'll be played until the tape falls apart.

Look, news photographers and reporters can legally go anywhere that the public is allowed to go. Further, photographers can shoot anything in view and that includes you if you happen to be in their field of view. If an officer needs them to go to a specific location (or get out of one) - the order needs to be clear, concise, and respectful. Otherwise you're just looking for trouble.

Like anyone else, the media is required to obey lawful orders from an officer. In fact, it's in their best interest to follow these orders as their life may quite literally depend on it. When a member of the media crosses the line, they deserve to be treated just like any other person. But remember, that camera is rolling and everyone is watching.

In our opinion, this could have been handled better by both parties. KOB's Rick Foley could have been more diplomatic as he was a bit "cheeky" popping off to Officer Guzman saying "was that so hard?" On the other hand, Guzman should have been smarter than to take a photographer into custody by attacking him as a first course of action. If an officer keeps their head about them, that camera can be their friend too.

We don't know what fueled last week's confrontation... Poor training, APD's lowered recruitment standards, fatigue from the Chief's 5/8 schedule or just an overzealous news photographer pushing too far and crossing the line. What we do know is that the incident makes the department and Officer Guzman look bad and that it never had to go down that way. In other words, it's just bad news.

Separation of Powers?

Like our Federal Constitution the Albuquerque City Charter contains a separation of powers. The mayor exercises executive authority and the city council is the legislative body that among other things authorizes spending, taxation, and city indebtedness.

From a budget perspective, the mayor's job is to spend the money appropriated by the council for the uses approved by the council. The council's job is to create the legislation authorizing the expenditures and collection of revenue. The charter provides for very specific roles with the idea that each branch would work with the other.

Apparently, the mayor and the council have decided that their opposite coequal branch isn't fit to perform the duties assigned to by the charter and have jumped over the barrier separating the two. The council empowering Council President Brad Winter to purchase land on behalf of the city (ABQ Journal - Subscription) and the mayor signing a budget with specific spending instructions vowing to spend the money how he sees fit (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

We can almost understand the council's frustration with the Chavez administration. The Almighty Alcalde doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation for truth and his attitude toward the council has become increasingly hostile since his election in 2005. His most recent announcement that he intends to spend council appropriations without regard to council approved budget provisions is a direct violation of the city charter and can only lead one place... court.

What's going on here? What happened to separation of powers? Marty's arrogance may have frustrated the council but it doesn't justify their dabbling in executive authority. Likewise, The Almighty Alcalde has a legal obligation to implement the provisions of the council budget that he signed into law.

Calling All Cars

Chief Schultz's move to 5-8s is starting to reap benefits... at least for those officers looking for overtime and even less sleep. May 17th the SOS went out in the form of a memo from the Valley Command asking for officers to volunteer for overtime Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

It seems that calls are stacking up causing response times to increase. Our Eyes tell us that it's not uncommon for domestic violence calls to wait for an hour. To make matters worse, the gas crunch has the 5th floor considering replacing regular motorized patrols with bike patrols.

The move to 5-8s was supposed to improve response times. Instead calls are stacking up, officers are being asked to work even more overtime, and now APD is considering bike patrols.

Look, law enforcement is the first and most important function of government... period. Without security, businesses cannot function. Without businesses we don't have goods, services, jobs, and eventually people. Without people there is no government.

Our police and fire departments should be the last government agencies to cut back their services due to fuel costs. When your life is in danger you don't want to wait for a horse drawn fire engine or a pedal powered police officer. There are a lot of other city programs that can and should be cut before you endanger the public by choking the fuel to emergency responders.

One way to reduce the amount of gas used by the city's police officers is to return to 4-10s. The move would eliminate 2 trips - to and from work - for every officer in the field services bureau. More importantly, the savings wouldn't increase the risk to the public by increasing response times.

Get Out and Vote!

If you're a Democrat or a Republican, today's the day that you get to choose the ones that we all get to choose from in November. If you're a Democrat, you've already participated in the boondoggle that was the Democratic Presidential Caucus (may it rest in peace). But today is the day that you get to choose the rest of the ticket.

Unfortunately, primaries tend to attract the participation of party activists and special interest groups while the general public watches from the bleachers. This is especially true of today's primary where the presidential question has already been decided for both parties.

However, down ballot races are important. Local government officials can rob you of your money and your freedoms just as quickly as a President, Senator or Congressman can. In fact, in may ways your local officials are far more dangerous because they often work below the radar of public notice.

There are a number of races that will be decided in the primary as there is no opponent for the general election. Today could be your only chance to weigh-in on the election's outcome. So get your butt off your Barcalounger and go vote!

Decision White

There really weren't any big surprises in last week's Eye Poll. Sheriff Darren White ran away in the voting for the GOP nomination to the congressional race by almost 20 points. The only real surprise was that it was inside 20%. The Journal's poll of likely Republican voters put the spread at 59 points (ABQ Journal - Subscription).

In our unscientific Eye Poll of anyone that chose to participate, 31% chose Senator Carraro, 48% Sheriff White, 1% didn't know, and 20% didn't care (read the full results here). We're a little concerned about the high number of participants indicating a lack of interest, but that could be an indication of participating Democrats who just want to beat a Republican no matter who they are.

Our guess is that Tuesday's primary will result in Sheriff White becoming the Republican nominee. The Sheriff is a formidable candidate with considerable fund raising ability and huge name ID. Unlike the Senate race, Democrats do not have a candidate with same favorables and they've been spending their cash fighting each other during the primary race.

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to vote in the primary this coming Tuesday!