CABQ’s community safety department looks to expand, hiring new employees

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Albuquerque Community Safety Department is hoping to expand to help more people in the community. It was created in September 2021, and takes calls that would’ve gone to the Albuquerque Police Department.  

Since the department was created, it’s received tens of thousands of calls. 

“Since our inception, we’ve already fielded over 23,000 calls, and we know that there’s more for us to do. And so we want to make sure that we have the workforce to support Albuquerque,” said Jeffery Bustamante, ACS division manager for Organizational Growth and Community Relations. 

The division was created to help with calls that don’t necessarily require a police response, and they’ve been looking to expand. 

“We’re growing in a lot of key ways, responders and our supervisors. We currently have 54 responders out there. But we are continuing to grow that workforce and in particular, have behavioral health supervisors who will oversee those folks doing the work out in Albuquerque right now,” said Bustamante. 

Bustamante says they’re not short-staffed, but they want to increase the number of calls they respond to. 

According to the department’s monthly reports, in December, ACS responded to more than 1,500 calls – everything from wellness checks to behavior health issues. 

Bustamante says a lot of what responders do is connect people with services they may need.  

“That is one of the key parts of it is getting individuals in Albuquerque connected to services to help them, whether it’s through behavioral health situations or any number of things,” said Bustamante. 

There are different types of responder positions available, but every position puts you in a position to help the community.   

“It’s not only exciting because you get to serve your neighbors and your community, but also, in that you are doing something that is, been nationally recognized and on the front edge of really community safety itself,” said Bustamante. 

For information on how to apply, visit the City of Albuquerque’s website.