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Bernalillo County sheriff outlines 2026 plan: AI testing, drone expansion, staffing and accountability
Summary
Sheriff Allen told the Sheriff’s Office Review Board the office will expand AI tools, delay a records-management rollout for additional testing, grow staffing toward 92–95% by March, extend drone coverage in unincorporated areas and build out behavioral-health and juvenile-intervention partnerships in 2026.
Sheriff Allen told the Sheriff’s Office Review Board that his office will roll out several operational changes in 2026, including wider use of an artificial-intelligence reporting tool, an expanded drone program and stepped-up accountability measures. “There has been no bias to be found at all,” he said of initial AI tests, and added the system was tuned for local speech patterns before broader deployment.
The sheriff said his office planned to switch to Axon reporting but delayed full rollout to allow more testing after past problems with a Motorola records-management system. He said the hold was intended to ensure “we're running smoothly” and to secure buy-in from deputies.
On drones, Allen said the county will expand automatic drone coverage from rooftop pods in unincorporated areas and will not publish the locations because of tactical concerns and vandalism risk. “It's saving lives,” he told the board when summarizing results from test deployments.
Staffing and operations were central to the presentation. The sheriff said the agency expects to be “92 to 95% staffed here by about March,” and that he plans to increase sworn ranks gradually over his term, with targets he described as a phased approach rather than a single large request for funding. He said he prefers adding five deputies at a time rather than seeking larger immediate increases.
Allen emphasized internal accountability and early-intervention measures. He credited newly hired accountability staff and data collection for surfacing past problems and said the office is building systems to catch concerning behavior earlier. He signaled ongoing federal cooperation on some investigations, and said the office would be transparent when possible while withholding certain operational details for investigative integrity.
Juvenile intervention and behavioral-health work were highlighted as priorities. Allen said the sheriff’s office has partnered with ACS and the city on violent-intervention programs for juveniles and that clinicians and peer-support managers are already overwhelmed with demand. Speaking of the behavioral-health unit, he said it may be among the most developed in the region and that expansion will be needed to meet requests.
During questions from board members, Allen described juvenile detention pressures: routine detained counts generally ranged in the high 20s to mid-30s but at one point approached 65, putting strain on local capacity and prompting coordination with other counties and CYFD. He said he was pursuing juvenile-code changes and working with state lawmakers on bills addressing juvenile crime, license-plate-reader rules and other public-safety measures.
The sheriff also told the board he would confront a prior DWI-related scandal and was working with federal partners on accountability steps. He requested the board’s support as he pursues further internal reviews and training adjustments.
Allen offered to give board members a field trip to the county academy and to bring the operations center online so members can view real-time data feeds — license-plate readers, drones and body-camera integrations — to inform future policy recommendations.
The board did not take any formal vote on sheriff-specific policies during the meeting; Allen’s remarks were given as an informational update and the sheriff indicated additional operational announcements will come in 2026.
