DPS asks Legislature to fund intelligence data hub, fleet replacement and website rebuild

Department of Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Jason Bowie presented the agency's FY27 funding priorities to the Legislative Finance Committee, asking for maintenance funding to sustain a statewide intelligence‑led policing (ILP) data hub, a special appropriation to replace worn patrol vehicles and a technology rebuild of the agency's public website.

Bowie said DPS is seeking a $1,900,000 base increase to maintain the ILP program's recurring licensing and maintenance costs and expects the system to bring 34 agencies online by the end of FY26 and to expand toward 47 agencies if additional support is approved. "By the end of FY26, we're hoping to have 34 agencies, data sharing," Bowie said, adding that the platform will provide officers better situational awareness across agencies.

On fleet needs, Bowie asked for a $6,000,000 special appropriation to replace high‑mileage units. He described typical costs for outfitted marked patrol cars at about $90,000 and specialty upfits as high as $125,000 and said reliance on annual specials has left the department vulnerable to shortfalls in replacement cycles. "Our preference would be to replace them at 100,000 miles," he said, noting that many vehicles are running well past that threshold and generating higher maintenance costs.

The secretary also requested $1,100,000 to rebuild the DPS public website. Bowie said the current site is antiquated and cannot host critical features the agency needs, including an updatable law enforcement memorial and a missing‑persons portal. He said the vendor identified for the rebuild is LocalShift, a New Mexico company that has worked with State Police recruiting systems.

Committee members pressed the department on staffing and cybersecurity. Bowie said DPS has an overall vacancy rate of 9% and acknowledged particular gaps in the Law Enforcement Records Bureau. Representative Garrett and others raised a Section 7 cybersecurity flag from the state cybersecurity office. Bowie replied that DPS is audited under the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) standards every three years (last audited in 2023) and that CJIS found no cybersecurity deficiencies; he said the DoIT finding stems from restrictions on allowing outside scans of CJIS‑controlled systems and urged the parties to find a workaround so both standards can be satisfied.

Lawmakers also asked about a request to build a regional real‑time crime center and how it would work with Albuquerque's existing center. DPS staff described a regional model and cited pilots at the state fair and UNM football games where temporary real‑time operations improved safety and integrated newly upgraded camera feeds.

Bowie highlighted an executive request to establish a statewide DPS honor guard following a July helicopter crash that killed four public servants, calling the program intended to standardize training and equipment for honoring fallen officers.

Next steps: committee members said they will continue questioning the agency and the fiscal staff; any appropriation would still need committee recommendation and full legislative approval. The department provided detailed line‑level costs and cited recurring rate increases (GSD, DoIT, health premiums) as principal drivers of the agency's budget movement rather than program expansion.