Raul Robles discusses campaign for Otero County Sheriff

Susan Morée: 
Tell us about how your background has prepared you to serve in this office. 
 
Raul Robles: 
So I have 23 years of experience. I started with state police and been part of different organizations, different divisions with state police, which, I did DWI, I've been on street crimes, gang task force, public corruption, and then did regular patrol around the state of New Mexico. Then I was blessed to be hired with Otero County Sheriff's Office where I was in patrol and was moved over to public relations and in public relations I became the undersheriff. I became a sergeant and the undersheriff where I oversee the operations for the state I mean for the whole Sheriff's Office, which includes, you know, first line supervisor. I'm a master instructor. I concentrate in training and also do grants. 
 
Susan Morée: 
Second question, why are you running for this office? 
 
Raul Robles: 
The reason I'm running for Otero County Sheriff, I believe that I have still a lot to offer from being a part of training and recruiting and being part of the organization and seeing it evolve. I'm able to train, like I said, being an instructor, being part of the hiring process, I believe that still having the old school and the new school of law enforcement, I'm able to give that knowledge to the new cadets or applicants that are applying with us. And I'm able to give that information so that we continue public safety and make sure that the community is, you know, has a good, you know, feels safe while they're here in Otero County. 
 
Susan Morée: 
What are the top issues in your district for this office? 
 
Raul Robles: 
The top issues, so one of the biggest things that we've seen is the drug problem, which we’ve encountered the drug problem. The other thing that we've tried to do is community engagement. It's not a problem, but those are things that help us with getting things done to have better communication with the community. Now in reference to the drug problems, we do have a narcotics unit that goes out and is actively out and doing that, and performing their duties, to try to, minimize that effects of drugs. And the sheriff's office does have programs after schools, like the DARE program, which we're able to also engage the youth before you get, and give them the advice they need to make sure that they make the right decisions as they grow up. 
 
Susan Morée: 
How would you successfully address those issues? 
 
Raul Robles: 
Being proactive, being proactive on dealing with all of the drug problem by being hard on crime and knowing if they are committing crimes and there's drugs we are going to arrest. And if they, you know, if they need help, then once they, I'm a believer that they get, they are able to get help, you know, once they go to the court system, I know that they'll be able to get help, one. Two is, you know, is to continue to have that partnership with the schools and the community so that we could work together as a team to make sure that we're able to get everybody on the same page and start solving these problems and what's the best way to address the issue so that we could get out of the drug problems or any kind of crime. 
 
Susan Morée: 
Last question. What else do you think is important for voters to know about your campaign? 
 
Raul Robles: 
Just, I want everybody to know that the sheriff's office is, you know, continues to evolve and continues to work hard for the community and we're going to continue doing that. And myself running for Otero County Sheriff, I'm a very proactive, you know, law enforcement officer and you know, deputy and sergeant and even undersheriff. I want to make sure that the community feels safe and we're going to continue working hard to make sure that we're able to address all the issues that are within Otero County. So, we will have the technology, we'll have the training, we'll have the recruitment and involvement with the community so that we are best able to address all the problems.