Bernalillo County sheriff outlines technology-driven accountability plan, compliance-officer interviews and drone expansion

Bernalillo County Sheriff Allen told the county's advisory board on March 14 that his office is implementing technology and personnel changes aimed at preventing repeat oversight failures after a DWI-related scandal.

Allen said the sheriff's office has built dashboards to track metrics across units ' including missed court appearances, body-camera activation and case outcomes ' and that the tools will let supervisors and a forthcoming compliance officer spot trends and intervene. "We have a dashboard up where we can see what people have turned in their body cams on and off," Allen said, adding that the compliance officer will help coalesce data and audits across commands.

The sheriff asked advisory-board members to participate in the interview panel for the compliance-officer position, calling for interviewers who can spot conflicts of interest and help restore community trust. Allen said Major Burke and undersheriff Holly Anderson will be involved in the hiring and that Major Burke will arrange interview dates.

Major Burke, who described his background running the sheriff's training academy and later working at the University of New Mexico Police Department, said the dashboards will set individual benchmarks for deputies and enable supervisors to identify and address problems earlier. "As an individual deputy, I can look at a dashboard ' I can see what I'm expected to do," Burke said, adding the system will make accountability and metrics more transparent to the public.

Allen also described plans to expand a drone-first-responder (DFR) program. He said the program will require Federal Aviation Administration approval to operate beyond visual line of sight and that deputies designated as drone pilots will be tightly screened. "Once we get permission from the FAA, we'll be able to expand our program," Allen said. He told the board a forthcoming media release may detail a recent incident in which a drone "saved a lot of lives," and that the office expects to publicize that story in the next two to three weeks.

On court attendance and case outcomes, board members urged coordination with external partners. Dr. Layden asked how the sheriff's office coordinates with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) and local prosecutors to detect patterns such as repeated dismissals tied to the same attorneys or judges. Allen said he is working with the CJCC and with District Attorney Sam Brenkman on extradition and related efforts, and that the dashboards will flag attorneys and patterns to allow further review.

The sheriff also addressed staffing and overtime: he said the department currently has about 25 vacancies and described plans to overhire and create a rotational staffing process to reduce overtime. Allen said the office will continue training and administrative remedies where dashboards show problems such as missed court appearances.

Board members pressed for external coordination. A member who monitors court processes recommended integrating courtroom check-in data to reduce dismissals when deputies are present in multiple courtrooms. Allen acknowledged judges with higher dismissal rates will come under scrutiny as part of accountability efforts, and said he expects to see measurable improvements by summer into fall as dashboards and training take effect.

No formal board action was taken on these items during the meeting; the discussion was informational and focused on next steps for hiring and technology implementation.

Ending: Allen closed by reiterating the sheriff's preference for transparency and measured, sustainable partnerships with other agencies. He declined to deputize National Guard troops or to accept large temporary activations that could introduce liability, saying he gave the governor "a hard no" on large-scale National Guard deployments in local neighborhoods and prefers sustainable, accountable approaches to public-safety support.