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 nonprofit membership organization of police executives, with more than 20,000 members in more than 100 different countries.
Last month, APD also won top honors from the International Association of Law Enforcement Planners (IALEP) at its annual conference in Vancouver. APD was recognized for having the best designed annual report and for the construction of the department’s sixth area command facility.
“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 will receive 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 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 the victims.
“These awards illustrate the hard work being done every day by the Albuquerque Police Department,” Mayor Richard J. Berry said. “It is well-deserved recognition.”
Additionally, APD will receive recognition from the IACP as a finalist in two additional award categories.
APD will be recognized as finalist for the IACP Community Policing Awards for Cities with a population over 250,001 for the development of Hospitality Partnership with Albuquerque's Hotel-Motel industry. At the IACP conference the work linked to this partnership will be 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 will also be recognized 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.”
The Michael R. King-Richard W. Smith Jr Memorial Substation was recognized as the project of the year by the IALEP. The $5.1 million police substation was opened last April and services the city’s Northwest Side. It took more than a year to construct the state-of-the art facility located near Coors and Ellison NW.
The International Association of Law Enforcement Planners consists of people working in the area of planning and research for criminal justice agencies. IALEP has nearly 1,000 members from around the world. APD completed against agencies worldwide.