SENATE MEMORIAL 116

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE APPROPRIATE INTERIM LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE INVESTIGATE ISSUES SURROUNDING BIASED-BASED POLICING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, events of the past year in Ferguson, Missouri, Brooklyn, New York, and elsewhere in the nation involving police shootings of minority citizens has heightened national awareness of issues surrounding biased-based policing, particularly racial or ethnic profiling and community policing; and

     WHEREAS, the crises that have enveloped high-profile crime-fighting initiatives such as New York City's "stop-and-frisk" policy show how racial or ethnic profiling by law enforcement can undermine efforts to protect and serve communities; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico prides itself on being a remarkably diverse state; and

     WHEREAS, according to the United States census bureau, New Mexico is one of five majority-minority states or their equivalent in the nation, making it on the cutting edge of demographic change in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, incidents of biased-based policing in New Mexico would be particularly destructive to police-community relations given the demographics of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature enacted the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act in 2009; and

     WHEREAS, the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act prohibits law enforcement agencies or officers from relying "on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, language, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, physical or mental disability or serious medical condition" unless there is a specific or relevant reason when investigating a crime; and

     WHEREAS, the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act also requires law enforcement agencies in the state to have written policies and procedures, to provide training concerning biased-based policing and to have a complaint process and complaint form so that members of the public can report alleged incidents of biased-based policing; and

     WHEREAS, according to the 2012 Somos Un Pueblo Unido and New Mexico state conference national association for the advancement of colored people (NAACP) report, Biased-based Policing at a Glance: An Evaluation of Compliance with the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act, "75% of the 97 agencies surveyed do not have updated policies with a correct definition of bias-based policing that includes all protected classes"; and

     WHEREAS, compliance by the state's law enforcement agencies has increased largely in response to the publication of the Somos Un Pueblo Unido and New Mexico state conference NAACP report; however, the state's law enforcement agencies are still far from being fully compliant with the requirements of the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act; and

     WHEREAS, numerous residents of the state have filed administrative complaints alleging that they have been victims of biased-based policing by their local or state law enforcement agency; and

     WHEREAS, the state's law enforcement agencies also have received numerous complaints about excessive use of force; and

     WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the attorney general to ensure that law enforcement agencies in the state are performing their duties in a lawful manner and in a manner that increases the public trust; and

     WHEREAS, the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act states, in Section 29-21-4 NMSA 1978, that "[t]he attorney general may publish a report or summary of the attorney general's findings regarding violations of the provisions of the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act";

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the attorney general be requested to investigate whether the state's law enforcement agencies, officers, or departments have established the procedures required under the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act and whether they have engaged in the use of excessive violence and biased-based policing; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the attorney general be requested to publish the report contemplated in the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act, including in the report the names of which law enforcement agencies in the state are noncompliant with the act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of the attorney general be requested to report to an interim legislative committee that is concerned with criminal justice matters on the number and status of complaints that have been submitted to law enforcement agencies pursuant to the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that an interim legislative committee that is concerned with criminal justice matters address the lack of action on the part of certain law enforcement agencies to comply with the requirements of the Prohibition of Profiling Practices Act and the issues of biased-based policing in the state; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the attorney general and the New Mexico legislative council.

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