The federal monitor overseeing reform of the Albuquerque Police Department held his first public meeting in town this week.
James Ginger responded to skeptics who questioned his take on what successful police reform will look like and criticized him for not including anyone from New Mexico on his 10-person team.
“Cut us a little bit of slack,” Ginger said. “Let us get our feet on the ground. Let us do a reconnoiter. Let us figure out what it is we need to do, and then we’ll have meetings like this periodically throughout the year.”
Ginger said they will oversee the tweaking of APD’s training practices and the rewriting of key policies for the department that include discipline and officer accountability. It’s expected to be a four-year project. He said he’s confident they’ll be able to satisfy all of the changes outlined in the settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and the city.
He also acknowledged the importance of being transparent and promised that regular progress reports will be posted on an interactive website, which is still under construction.
