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Alamogordo police report higher call volumes and staff shortfall; mobile crisis team and animal-control programs expand
Summary
Police officials told commissioners the department handled about 34,000 calls last year, is 11 officers short of budgeted positions and reported increases in crimes against persons; the department’s mobile crisis response team and animal-control unit outlined programs intended to reduce unnecessary detention and improve adoption outcomes.
Alamogordo’s police chief told commissioners Tuesday the department handled roughly 34,000 calls for service in 2024 and remains short staffed, with 45 sworn officers filling 56 authorized positions.
Chief Kunehiro (full name not specified in the record) said the department logged more arrests and higher counts in several crime categories in 2024 than in 2023, including increases in crimes against persons and crimes against property. The department recorded five homicides in 2024 and reported 83 incidents in which officers were assaulted or battered last year.
Traffic crashes were also a frequent demand on the force: officers reported about 612 crashes last year, an average of about 1.6 crashes per day. The chief said the department is assigning traffic officers to reduce crash frequency and improve enforcement.
Animal-control staff reported higher shelter intake and a rise in adoptions after new grant-funded programs. Dwayne Martinez, who presented animal-control figures, described partnerships, grant-supported free spay/neuter and microchipping clinics, and a Trap-Neuter-Return program for feral cats that staff said reduced expected kitten births substantially. Martinez said the department now offers “positivity learning” classes (owner training and follow-up hands-on sessions) intended to reduce return rates for newly adopted animals.
The police department’s Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT), led by Janette Barunda, presented its co-response model and outreach work. Barunda said the MCRT responds with officers on mental-health calls to de-escalate crises, perform on-scene assessments and, with consent, arrange follow-up treatment. She said the MCRT averaged 11–13 client contacts per day, provided thousands of peer-support contacts in 2024, and helped reduce unnecessary criminal-justice involvement for people in crisis.
Barunda described the department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program, a 40-hour course used to improve law-enforcement responses to mental-health and substance-use crises. She said the city had trained more than 400 officers and partners since implementing its program and plans advanced CIT this year.
No formal police department policy changes were adopted during the workshop; commissioners heard the reports and will consider related budget requests in the follow-up session.
