ALBUQUERQUE, NM—The ACLU of New Mexico issued strong condemnation of the Albuquerque Police Department today following revelations that undercover officers from the department’s criminal intelligence unit had attended last Saturday’s demonstration to gather intelligence on protesters. This morning The ACLU of New Mexico filed a public records request, demanding that the APD release any surveillance data they collected at the June 21 protest.
“Unless the APD had evidence that a crime was taking place during Saturday’s protest, they had absolutely no business gathering intelligence on protesters,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “It not only shows a shocking disregard for free speech rights, but also a numbness to the community’s distrust of the APD and the need to rebuild public confidence in the department. Instead of trying to win back the public’s respect, the APD reminded the community that it broadly views civilians with disdain and distrust.”
At least one undercover officer was recognized in the crowd at the protest in Robinson Park, filming speakers at the protest and panning his camera through the crowd, documenting which citizens were in attendance. This incident may be in direct conflict with the Albuquerque Police Department’s own policy governing the Gathering of Criminal Activity Information. The following is an excerpt from that policy (1-21-6 [D], emphasis added):
D.  Unless the information is necessary and relevant to the investigation of criminal wrongdoing, information will not be collected on any individual or organization based on any of the following:

1. 1.     Ethnic background or race;
2. 2.     Support of unpopular causes;
3. 3.     Religious or political affiliations; or
4. Personal habits or lifestyles.

“We’re filing a public records request to get at the heart of this matter: is APD conducting a legitimate investigation, or is it surveilling innocent civilians because of their political viewpoints?” said ACLU-NM Legal Director Alexandra Freedman Smith. “We know that the APD has spied on political activists in the past, it appears that we’re seeing more of the same.”
Past ACLU of New Mexico cases have identified two separate instances where APD inappropriately gathered data on innocent civilians because of their political activities:

• In the late 80s, hours after the ACLU of New Mexico obtained a court order to preserve 1,362 APD files containing 10 years’ worth of intelligence on Albuquerque citizens that may have included evidence of unconstitutional police investigations, APD destroyed the files by burning them in the street.
• In 2003, the ACLU of New Mexico’s lawsuit against APD for the violent suppression of a peaceful protest against the Iraq War revealed officers had infiltrated activist groups, posing as protest supporters to gain intelligence on citizens’ constitutionally protected activities.

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Report Shows Federal Bureau of Prisons Incentivizes Mistreatment, Shields Immigrant Prisons from Scrutiny

 
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, NM, is one of the 13 little-known CAR (Criminal Alien Requirement) prisons for immigrants in the United States. For the new report Warehoused and Forgotten: Immigrants Trapped in Our Shadow Private Prison Industry, the ACLU and the ACLU of Texas have investigated one CAR prison in Texas run by the Corrections Corporation of America, the same private prison company that operates the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico. The report reveals inhumane conditions and egregious mistreatment of immigrants in prisons that enrich the for-profit prison industry at tremendous costs to taxpayers.
 
“Every year we incarcerate thousands of immigrants at the cost of millions of tax-dollars that line the pockets of for-profit prison corporations like the Corrections Corporation of America,” said ACLU-NM Regional Center for Border Rights Director Vicki Gaubeca. “These are not dangerous criminals, they are simply people who entered the United States without authorization in the hopes for a better future for their children. Yet, we allow prison corporations to warehouse these people in facilities rife with abuse and neglect.”
 
The culmination of a four-year investigation, the report shows how the federal Bureau of Prisons incentivizes private prison companies to keep CAR prisons overcrowded and understaffed. The companies provide scant medical care that is often administered incorrectly, if delivered at all. CCA,
 
As Carl Takei, Staff Attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project, explained, “The shameful conditions inside CAR prisons come from the government’s decision to allow the suffering inside these for-profit prisons. For instance, 10% of the bed space in CAR prisons is reserved for extreme isolation—nearly double the rate in normal federal prisons. I spoke to prisoners who spent weeks in isolation cells after being sent there upon intake—simply arriving at prison was the reason why they were locked in a cell and fed through a slot for 23 hours a day.”
 
CAR prisons hold non-citizens who have been convicted of crimes in the U.S., mostly for immigration offenses (such as unlawfully reentering the country).
 
Read the report: https://www.aclu.org/warehoused-and-forgotten-immigrants-trapped-our-shadow-private-prison-system
 
 

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ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, Albuquerque community leaders and a broad spectrum of New Mexico-based organizations announced the launch of the APD Forward campaign, a community-driven effort to hold the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) accountable for implementing reforms of the city’s police department. APD Forward will serve as a powerful, targeted platform for Albuquerque communities to press for sustainable reforms of APD policies and procedures.

 
“The time has come for communities across the city to join together in pressing for crucial reforms so APD officers can safely and responsibly protect the people of Albuquerque,” said ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson. “This is our best opportunity in decades to move the APD and our city forward so that the people of Albuquerque can believe in their police department again.”
 
In recent weeks, a Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation confirmed that longstanding deficiencies in oversight, training and polices have allowed a culture of aggression and a sense of impunity to thrive within the Albuquerque Police Department. APD officers frequently use excessive force against people who pose a minimal threat, including those who are unarmed or suffering from mental illness. To help fix these serious issues, the APD Forward campaign will use advocacy, community organizing, and public education to accomplishing the following four objectives:
 

1. Achieve a court enforced agreement between the Department of Justice and the Albuquerque Police Department that ensures that the reforms we need are fully implemented.
2. Obtain the appointment of a qualified, independent monitoring team to oversee compliance with the court-ordered agreement.
3. Ensure that the City of Albuquerque dedicates adequate resources to fully fund the necessary reforms.
4. Obtain sustained evidence that the City of Albuquerque and APD is complying with the reform agreement and taking real, concrete steps to address the problems uncovered by the Department of Justice investigation.

 
“Right now, many Albuquerque residents are justifiably angry that the political process has failed to bring about long overdue reforms to our police department,” said Strong Families Field Director Adriann Barboa. “The APD Forward campaign is dedicated to addressing the systemic problems within our police department that were highlighted by the Department of Justice. These problems are daunting, but we know they can be fixed if we work together.”
 
For more news and campaign updates, visit APD Forward online at www.APDforward.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/APDforward, and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/APDforward.
 

APD Forward Partners

 
Organizations
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless
American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
Disability Rights New Mexico
Equality New Mexico
La Mesa Presbyterian Church
League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico
National Association of Social Workers – New Mexico Chapter
Native American Voters Alliance
New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Strong Families
 
Individuals
Fabrizio Bertoletti – former Police Oversight Task Force member
Rev. Susan Allison-Hatch – Missionary to the Homeless, Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
 

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