Members of the police auditing group OIR introduced themselves to the Las Cruces City Council during Monday’s work session. The council approved a contract with the auditing company, which will report findings on a semi-annual basis, in February.
Councilor Gabe Vasquez says he hopes that OIR will identify complaint trends and develop a clear narrative so that action steps can be taken when necessary.
“In our previous relationship with our police auditor, the presentations to council, I would say left a little bit to be desired, in terms of identifying the trends of just the types of complaints and whether they were substantiated or unsubstantiated,” Vasquez said.
OIR’s Michael Gennaco says he hopes the new contract brings increased transparency for both city staff and the general public.
“We hope to have a more robust feedback loop to you all to identify trends and also to tell the story about what it is that we're seeing,” Gennaco said. “I think we can tell the story without violating any confidentiality, as long as we don't name the officers, and just give you a better understanding of what it is that is being alleged by your community, what it is that’s getting into the system.”
An independent police auditor has not held a contract with the city since 2019. Councilor Kasandra Gandara encouraged OIR to review complaints made during the gap between contracts.
“I'd like to advocate for that gap year and a half, maybe two years, that some reports be sent to you if not all, to really get an idea of, you know, where we're at,” Gandara said. “I would say that you could hit the ground running by reviewing those past cases.”
The council also received an update from the City Art Board that highlighted some of the ongoing Las Cruces projects. One such project includes rotating temporary art installations on transit bus shelters, something Councilor Gabe Vasquez supports.
“I'm especially excited about things like the rotating artwork on the bus stops that could tell a QR code story,” Vasquez said. “I think that's the kind of innovation in public art that I like to see, right, because it goes beyond something at a bus stop to an actual storytelling feature that someone can pull up on their phone. And I think that really just enriches what two-dimensional art can actually do.”
Councilor Tessa Abeyta-Stuve asked that District Two be considered for future art projects, noting that the district has had few opportunities.
“There is not a ton of opportunities listed here in District Two,” Abeyta-Stuve said. “And so, this is more for my fellow councilors. We had this issue coming up with parks as well, there haven't been any new items for District Two it seems within public art. I just want to make a bit of an ask for consideration for that equity, especially since our district is one of our aging infrastructure areas.”
And Abeyta-Stuve wasn't the only one concerned with equity. Art Board Member Saul Ramirez says that continuing to cultivate relationships with local artists should be a priority for the city in order to ensure there are more equal opportunities for artists, and that communicating how to get involved is vital.
“As the city moves along and does its thing and make choices, artists aren't fully aware and fully plugged into those processes,” Ramirez said. “And so, it is often very specific people who get the chance to apply. Usually, artists that already have training in that kind of grant writing and that sort of application thing which actually is a skill that not every artist is going to have. I don't think every artist should have it to have that chance.”
