County Hoping To Get Deputies Patrolling in Alamo
SOCORRO, New Mexico (STPNS) -- Socorro's Board of County Commissioners is waiting for a few signatures on an agreement that would allow Socorro County sheriff's deputies and other non-tribal law enforcement officers to patrol on the Alamo Navajo reservation.
Commissioner Stanley Herrera said the agreement to "cross commission" officers is crucial to the Alamo Chapter because crime has become abundant there, and the nearest Navajo Nation police station is over two hours away, in Crownpoint.
"Hopefully we can get something going to get some protection out there," Herrera said. "There's no enforcement because there's no Navajo police station. ... Response time is about two or three hours."
Socorro County Commission Chairman Jay Santillanes said the commission approved the agreement a few meetings ago.
It is modeled after an almost identical agreement in McKinley County that was signed by Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. on Dec. 17, 2007.
McKinley County Sheriff Frank Gonzales said the county and the tribe had an agreement prior to that one, but had to start all over again, and the new one went into effect April 1. Gonzales said the main advantage of cross commissioning is the tribal police and sheriff's deputies can support each other in their law enforcement efforts.
"It just gives us the authority to go out there and either do something about it or wait for the Navajo police to show up," Gonzales said. "I don't know if it will reduce crime, but we'll be seen out there (on the reservation) a lot more often. We're just sort of helping each other out."
Herrera said methamphetamine use and trafficking has become a major problem at Alamo, which is a rural area with a population of about 2,000 people, located 30 miles away from Magdalena.
He said aside from meth, drugs in general, underage drinking, alcohol abuse and domestic violence are problems that need to be addressed.
In an example of the need for law enforcement, Herrera cited a recent incident in which a small airplane landed on a road in Alamo and no one seemed to know what it was doing there.
"I got up the next morning and it was still sitting there," Herrera said. "I called the sheriff and he said he would go up there and check it out."
Deputies would attend 16 hours of special training on Navajo law before they are allowed to patrol on the Alamo reservation.
"They have to be trained under some of the Navajo laws and will have authority to enforce those laws as well," Santillanes said.
Herrera said he doesn't see any disadvantages in cross commissioning officers to patrol on the reservation, but he said it is important that those officers thoroughly learn Navajo law, which he said is quite a bit different than state law.
The agreement will be given to Alamo Chapter President Buddy Mexicano on April 23 for his approval. It also will need to be signed by Shirley Jr., as well as the governor, the secretary of state and several other tribal leaders.
A meeting by the Socorro County Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Task Force will include a discussion about cross commissioning officers and other law enforcement issues between Socorro County and the Navajo Nation.
The meeting will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 17, at the Socorro Public Library, 401 Park St.
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