Answers to a readers questions.

In the last post a reader posed some excellent questions. Here is the post and then I will answer the questions.

Anonymous said...

The view is now that the jails are money maker's there was a grab to take control...all the warning signs were there and fielded. The set-up was unavoidable.

We'd like to know who hired the standing facility director, who has so much support, and who is this person? We realize that you wish to continue to work with the facilities, so we're acknowledging this is a reach for a disclosure.

It's also not clear where the main issues lay, at both jails? Is the Administrator in charge of both jails? Do the employees have all the necessary tools to prepare the proper papers required when doing intakes or releases? Isn't there a computer program required and do both jails have that program and are the employees trained on how to use it?

One or two final questions, are there only certain designated persons who report to you when there may be a problem at the jails and why is that? Why can't anyone report who may be involved in an incident or do they? That's not clear because of claims that you received reports too late to investigate and it boils down to a he said, he said.

Someone put it best, 'by standing back and watching you may be able to assess the situation much clearer as to remainders and details.'

Wonder who the new Sheriff will be in three years, that won't want the responsibility of handling the jails?

Saturday, April 14, 2007 9:26:00 AM

There are some very good questions in this comment, looks like you spent some time thinking about this. The Corrections Director, was hired by the County Manager at the direction of at least some of the Commissioners.There was no national or local search and no one knows who else or even if anyone else was considered. Doubts exist that any background check or references were checked.Rumors persist the choice was a political one. As to jails being money maker's, in many places they are. Santa Fe's high cost of living, and the lack of people to work at the jail causing high wages to be paid to obtain workers makes our jail non-profitable for private companies and government run facilities in Santa Fe. Not to mention that the County is so far behind on even billing other government entities that we could never make a profit the way it is run now. Santa Fe County has not billed the city of Espanola for their inmates housed in our jail since October of last year. Espanola is concerned because it hurts their ability to plan and budget when Santa Fe County does this.


The Corrections Director oversees the Administrators of both the Juvenile and the Adult Facilities. Those Administrators oversee the bulk of almost 500 employee positions.

Any employee should be able to call the Sheriff's office to report a crime. Currently the Corrections Director put in place a policy that all alleged crimes are to be investigated by her staff and a report made to her, she will then decide if and when to call law enforcement. In the meantime valuable evidence, suspects and witnesses could be lost. I have issued a written order that this cease immediately however I have little faith at this time that the order will be carried out. The Resolution passed by the county allows for the practice of waiting to call law enforcement to continue.

A system to stop or at least greatly reduce bad releases was put in place by the former Corrections Director and myself which included the courts, probation and parole, jail officials and law enforcement. The new Corrections Director cut ties with those partners and has allowed employees to not follow procedures previously put into place. This has allowed inmates who should be in jail to be accidentally let free. Law enforcement is not being notified when these inmates are set free which would allow us to find them and return them to jail.

Finally the voters decide who the next Sheriff will be, New Mexico is one of only a handful of states which limit Sheriff's to two terms. I will go on to other things. It is my hope and in all likelihood the current Under-Sheriff Robert Garcia will run for Sheriff. He would be an excellent choice but it is early and he needs to make that announcement, He is as committed as I am to having safe well run correctional facilities.

Thanks to supporters on Jail Issues.

I want to thank all those who have called, emailed, written letters, and editorials of support for my stance on the jail issues. It really makes a difference in my family's life and in my life and spirit to get these words of encouragement. Almost a hundred different people have let me know that they support me and thanked me for my efforts. To top all that off was the editorial in todays New Mexican which was the icing on the cake for me, Thank you New Mexican. Sometimes you wonder if charging the windmill is worth it but this time I have no doubt. It was for a good cause and it was worth it. On the other hand I have begun to reach out to the Commissioners and the County Manager and will continue to do so as far as getting the rest of the county business done. We still have to work together for 2-4 years depending on when each of our terms of office end.

By the way, had to look up the word putsch that was used in the New Mexican Editorial if any of you need it here is the definition:

putsch \PUCH ('u' as in 'push')\, noun:
(Sometimes capitalized) A secretly planned and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government.

Resolution to remove sheriff from jail chain of command passes

It was a done deal days ago and today the Santa Fe County Commissioners only had to give some semblance of listening to the public before taking a vote to remove the Sheriff from jail operations. The 5 page resolution filled with legalize will take a team of attorneys to go through and understand but it is summed up at the end with a few basic sentences that say the Sheriff will not do anything at the jail but investigate crimes and even then the document says the jail will decide whats a crime and what is not and then make the decision on whether to call the Sheriff's Office.

I will probably have an attorney review this and then decide where to go from there. I have received many calls of support and several jail employees have called thanking me for trying to fight for them. One lady was near tears as she said she was afraid to speak out about how bad things are for fear of losing her job. She vowed that once she found a new job she would speak out. I felt for her but the truth is the county is not at a place right now where they would listen.

I will continue to try and advocate for a safe and well run jail and hope that I can make a difference from the outside. The resolution passed today is so far reaching and encompassing that the county commissioners may have overstepped their bounds. Some say I should just stand aside and let the house of cards fall, that is an option. The truth is I do care and don't want to see failure even if the County Commission has absolved me from blame should failure occur.

In recent weeks one thing I wanted was to stop all the back door shenanigans and just get this out in the public. At least now everything is out, I have had my say and reported the problems I was seeing at the jail. The County Manager and Commission were still in denial today and maybe they will always see things differently than I do. I do want to thank Commissioner Mike Anaya for his courageous support. Being the lone voice against your peers can be difficult and it took a lot of guts. Chief Eric Johnson and Deputy Chief Benjie Montano both showed up to voice support and without my calling them or asking. I really appreciate their taking the initiative and the time. I am reading this blog post and it kind seems like I have given up, I have not and hopefully that is not the impression you get when you read it.


This quote has hung in my office for about three years now, it is one of my favorite quotes.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

Why I have been preoccupied-Or the Jail, the Commission and the Sheriff

As you read tomorrows newspapers you will see why I have been so preoccupied that I have blogged very little in the last two weeks. The County Manager, the County Commission and myself have been in a battle behind closed doors the last few weeks. Tomorrow that battle becomes a public spectacle. I may be just as much to blame that things got to this point. On the other hand I tried, tried and tried again to deal with these issues in a sane and rational manner. Each time I tried I only found myself facing a brick wall. Most of the time I found my back against that wall.

In the papers and on T.V. you will find all the rhetoric and allegations so I wont go much into them here. Here I will talk about the not so sensational things that got us into this mess. Years ago after dealing with private corporations running the jail and not doing a great job I pushed for the county to take over the jail. The time was right, private companies losing so much money in Santa Fe that companies either did not want to come here any longer or they wanted to charge so much money that the county finally had not only the fact that taking over was the right thing to do but they now had a financial reason. It was no longer cheaper to have a private company run the jail. I knew all along we needed to take over because the out of state prison companies could not run a local jail. They just did not care. So I pushed for the county to take over, the first six months showed remarkable improvements at the jail. Only medical was a constant problem. We were unable to hire and keep medical staff which stymied growth and meaningful change.

Then I first got an inkling things were going awry when around March of 2006 the County Attorney and then County Manager Gerald Gonzales asked for a meeting. They said the County wanted the Sheriff out of the chain of command in the Jail. When the county agreed to take over the jail the Corrections Director was placed under the Sheriff and the County Manager. This allowed the Sheriff to have the ability to have some input in issues at the jail. I did not agree to change this and I did not hear much else about this for a while.

In about May Annabelle Romero was brought in as a highly paid consultant to the jail. She was later moved up to Corrections Director. All without my input, prior to this I took part in hiring decisions on high level positions in corrections. When she was hired as a consultant a committee to review the applicants (at that time it was to be a contracted position and not a hired employee) which included the Under Sheriff, placed Annabelle Romero last of those interviewed as possible consultants. None the less she was hired as a full time highly paid employee. Once she was moved up to corrections director all cooperation and communication with the Sheriff's office ended. When I got calls from people with concerns or complaints about the jail I used to call then Corrections Director Greg Parish relay those concerns and they were always handled.

Now with Annabelle Romero as Corrections Director my phone calls were not returned, issues were not handled and it was not just me. Many of the calls I got were from community members, government entities and non-profits asking for help in getting calls returned and issues handled at the jail. Their calls were not getting returned either. I later learned that thousands of dollars were being stolen from inmates at the jail. Simple procedures devised by former Corrections Director Greg Parish and myself were no longer being followed. Crimes were going unreported at the jail for weeks. By the time my investigators were called the victims, witnesses and suspects were long gone from jail. Inmates were being releases that were not due to get out of jail yet.

I had meetings with the Corrections Director, the County Manager and County Attorney over these months that did no good. When prisoners were being released by mistake, and crimes went unreported I had to take more serious action. I began putting things in writing, recording conversations for evidence and pushing for the county to take action. The County Manager told me that Commissioners wanted me out of the loop at the jail. In a public vote at the time the county took over the jail the Corrections Director was put under myself and the County Manager. I told the County Manager that I felt that was still in effect. It was then that the County Commission decided to have a new vote which takes place tomorrow, to remove me from the chain of command at corrections. In other words kill the messenger.

Rather than deal with the problems at the jail they choose to deny the problems and get rid of the one who says there are problems. Some have told me I am better off and I should just let them remove me from oversight of the jail and then it will all be their headache. My thing is I pushed to have the county take over the jail and now I should just walk away and leave the taxpayers with this mess? Things were getting better before politics got involved and now the jail has never been this bad. If I am to be pushed out of Santa Fe County Corrections I need to go with a clear conscious. If I go quietly into the night I have no doubt nothing will change. The current Corrections Director is making very bad decisions and continuing the same types of public service that resulted in the loss of her law license years ago. Tomorrow is just day one in what I am sure will be a long few weeks if not months. One quote sticks in my mind.

‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’

I have decided, I will not be that man....

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter.
May God bless all your families.

The Solano Family

Friday Funny- New Policing Techniques

New Policing Techniques are introduced all the time. Here is a police training video on the newest fad in policing.

Washington Newspaper Roll Call mentions Sheriff Solano for Congress

I ran across my good friend Javier Gonzales the former County Commissioner in the Smiths Grocery Store and he let me know about a story in the Washington Based Newspaper Roll Call. Apparently the paper was reviewing possible scenarios for the different congressional districts and I was mentioned along with Javier and others as possible candidates for Congressional District 3 race should Pete Dominici retire and Rep. Tom Udall run for Pete's Senate seat.It was flattering and interesting to see my name come up in a Washington based Newspaper. While I am considering a Statewide Race I had not even considered a Congressional Seat.

Here is a link to the Roll Call story although a very expensive subscription is required in order to read it.

I did receive a copy of the story and here is the excerpt that mentions me as a possible candidate.

Politics in Northern New Mexico a Family Affair
March 20, 2007
By Josh Kurtz,
Roll Call Staff

The first name mentioned when a vacancy in the 3rd district is discussed is former Santa Fe County Commissioner Javier Gonzales (D). Gonzales was a political wunderkind who was elected to the county commission in 1994 at the age of 27. He is now the president of the Board of Regents at New Mexico Highlands University, works for a national lobbying firm and also runs a popular bilingual radio station. He father is a former mayor of Santa Fe.

But Gonzales is unlikely to have the Democratic field to himself. Two other ambitious young Hispanic politicians in northern New Mexico are Public Utilities Commission Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, son of state Speaker Ben Lujan (D), and attorney Geno Zamora, a former aide to both Udall and Richardson who lost a Democratic primary for attorney general last year.

Political observers also would not be surprised to see the media-savvy Santa Fe County Sheriff, Greg Solano (he has his own blog), run for Congress. And ex-state Sen. Roman Maes (D) always has expressed an interest in the 3rd district seat.

As I said it was interesting and flattering but the scenario had a lot of if's, If Dominici Retires, if Udall runs, etc. etc. and 2008 is still a ways off. State races in 2010 are even longer off and my committment to Sheriff does not end until 2010.

Return to Blogging

I am back after a short break from blogging. First off my condolences to Julia Goldberg on the loss of her dog Kita. My wife and I have 4 dogs, (yes that is four). We really enjoy them all though I was happy with just two but my kids keep bringing more. We absolutely have to stop at four. Dogs quickly become part of your family and when you lose one it can be devastating. My wife and I will pray for you and Kita.

I am dismayed to learn the Governor vetoed the Red Light Camera Bill. The good thing is that all this attention has brought some light on the downfalls of Albuquerque's Red Light Camera Program and may bring about needed change. Marty Chavez has hung his hat on this program and the amount of discontent it is brewing in Albuquerque could affect his poll numbers in his own district when the Democratic Primary for Governor comes around.

Deaths involving Alcohol continued to mount in the Santa Fe Area in the last few weeks. This even as all the publicity over the Pabst case, and as we have just increased the number of D.W.I. officers at Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office from two up to six. I am at a loss for why all of this does not scare anyone into not driving drunk.

The Friday Night Rapist

I ran across a post from fellow Blogger and Writer Paul Huebl in which he chronicles his movie script about rookie Chicago police woman Ann Leybourne.

Officer Leybourne was a rookie police officer who found herself face to face with Robert Ellis dubbed the Friday Night Rapist in 1972. Paul shows his writing skills as he tells the story in short version on his blog. The story will make a great movie and I look forward to seeing it someday. I was definitely in awe of his writing skills as I read this story.

Politicians and the Media

I thought I would write today about the relationship between politicians and the media from an insiders point of view. I believe in the media, it plays an important role in our democracy. Nosey reporters have made the difference between a thoroughly corrupt America and one that for all its faults works, in fact it works well. So what am I getting at? Sometimes the media crosses the line. Its at these times that those who deal with the media on a daily basis get sour. Its at these times that the attitude of making them (the media) fight for anything becomes an option for some in government. This is how some of those in government look at the media as the enemy. I still don't feel that way, only because deep in my heart I know that the system America has is integral with the freedom of the press.

Where am I getting with this? Well my life has always been an open book. It becomes an open book when you decide to run for political office. But when is something personal and not news? Last year my family had some financial trouble based on unexpected expenses and some hard times. I am not a rich man, not with dollars anyway. I am blessed and rich with a loving wife of 23 years and two children whom I love very much. Some legal papers were filed on a bill I was behind on. I got caught up and the legal proceedings have been dropped. Happens to millions of people in our nation every day. The two local papers were notified. One of them by running across the legal action during their normal digging for news, the other was probably called by someone who found out and decided to call the papers.

One of the papers decided it was not news. The sheriff was behind on a bill and it was eventually paid, not a part of his official duties and no evidence that official duties were affected in any way. No attempt to not take responsibility and to pay the bill when arrangements could be made. The other paper decided it was news, why I don't know and no excuse I was given made any sense. As I weighed the embarrassment of having my bills discussed in public with my knowing that when I ran for office this is what I signed up for I was more disgusted than angry. Reporters often blame their editors when a story is edited in such a way that skews a story, they also blame editors when a decision is made to make news out of something that isn't or shouldn't be news. It's probably usually true, editors probably do make the decision on what to cover.

When government officials make a mistake the press makes them answer to it. Who makes the press answer to mistakes they make? If newspapers decide to cover things that are personal and not news would advertisers not advertise to make them pay? Probably not, many times the media hurts people when they recklessly report items or try to sensationalize items. It's what gives them the reputation they have when it comes to people truly trusting the media. We should all strive to do our jobs the best way we can and should do whats right. When we don't people can get hurt.

I ran for Sheriff because I wanted to make a difference not to get rich. I am a public servant and my $65,000 salary is not enough to ever get rich. I once met Burt Reynolds when he was in Santa Fe filming the movie The Longest Yard. His father was once a Sheriff and we had a long conversation about being Sheriff. He asked me " do you know how you can spot an honest Sheriff ?" I did not know how to answer that question so I just shrugged my shoulder and said "no." He smiled at me and said "he's a broke Sheriff". Well sometimes I am broke but we are happy and my wife sticks with me through thick and thin. Don't get me wrong, alot of people get by with much less than my salary and I am not complaining.

Maybe I am talking from the heart and not the head but that is what I have always tried to make this blog about. Not giving readers what I think they want to hear but rather saying it like it is and giving me an outlet for my writing and my sanity.

More on the Albuquerque Red Light Camera Saga

There is much more on the Albuquerque Red Light Camera Saga. Numerous bills are flying through the legislature aimed at changing if not killing the Red Light Camera's in New Mexico. The first was a bill to force the installation of flashing warning beacons at intersections with Red Light Camera's. This morphed into a bill which would lower fines cities could charge to equal State Fines for a red light violation. This would kill programs as we know them because in Albuquerque's case the fines which are now $100 for a first time offense, would drop to $15. This would definitely take any profits out of the programs and would cause ticket revenues to be much less than the cost of the program. The third bill being considered would force Cities with red light camera's to fork over a majority of the fines collected to the state. All of these bills are flying though the legislature with uncanny speed. They are also going through committee and floor votes on unanimous or near unanimous votes.

The pressure from complaints at Albuquerque City Hall have caused the city to have a Town Hall Meeting tomorrow to allow those for or against the Red Light Camera's to have their say. I can't imagine the ratio of those against the program as it is now being implemented to be less that 10 to one against the camera's.

At the same time Las Cruces has decided to be a glutton for punishment by beginning to look at the program for its city. The town council will have a presentation from RedFlex, (the company making millions from Albuquerque running its program), and a representative from the Albuquerque Police Department.

As my regular readers know I began keeping track of the red light camera issues when Santa Fe City Police began looking at placing the cameras in the city. This seems to have been put on the back burner in Santa Fe. I posted a few entries about this in my blog and since that time it is the number one reason visitors come to my blog. A minimum of 20-30 visitors per day come here after searching for information on Red Light Camera's on popular search engines. Still I don't want to make this just a blog about red light camera's so I am going to try and balance this issue with other posts on my blog.

What to do when your pulled over, People I have seen get out of tickets.

I ran across this great article for telling people what to do when they are getting pulled over for a traffic violation. I thought it would be great to pass this info on. It also reminded me of some ways which I have seen others get out of a ticket so after this article from "the car connection.com" I thought I would tell you some of the ways I have seen people get out of a ticket.

Sorry Officer, What to do when you're pulled over
By BENGT HALVORSON, from www.thecarconnection.com

As you coast to a stop on the shoulder of the roadway, you know that sick feeling -- you've been busted. And now, it's time to pay.

We thought it might be a good idea to share with you some advice on how to behave once you're pulled over. So, we asked a few state troopers for their list of do's and don'ts. Here's what we gathered:

Pull over as soon as possible. As soon as you even think that you might be the one who the highway patrol car is after, pull over. This shows that you have proper respect for emergency vehicles' right of way, and doesn't necessarily mean to the officer that you're admitting guilt.

Always pull over to the right. Always pull over on the right side of the roadway. On divided highways, signal and safely move over to the far right lane, and then to the shoulder. When you come to a complete stop, choose a section of roadway that has a full shoulder, without guardrails if possible. Pulling over on the left may obstruct traffic, and pulling over next to a guardrail may make it difficult for the officer to safely approach your car. Both are mistakes that won't win favor.

Know where your paperwork is. Normally, when a police officer first pulls you over, he/she will ask for your license, registration and insurance. If you're not well organized and keep the officer waiting while you dig through your possessions, the officer may be less likely to sympathize.

Make the officer feel safe. Turn your dome light on at night. Always keep your hands in plain sight. Don't make any sudden movements. Roll your window down all the way. Stay in the car. Use common sense and don't put the officer in an uncomfortable situation.

Let the cop talk first. Don't blurt out things that could incriminate you. Keep your calm, even if you're upset about being stopped. Don't volunteer information, like how fast you thought you were going. The officer may not be pulling you over for what you think he is. Let him talk to you first. React kindly and you may have more of a chance to be sent on your way without a ticket.

Don't argue with the cop. Challenging the officer is a recipe for disaster, and likely means that you will be written up for the full offense and the officer will be less likely to opt for a compromise in court. So is asking to see the officer's radar-gun calibration records. If you are issued a ticket and wish to contest it, set a date in court.

So all great tips and as I stated earlier this reminded me of ways people have gotten out of tickets. The first and easiest is to be the nicest person you can be. I have had people apologize for their mistake, thank me for pulling them over and tell me how they really appreciate the work officers do. Unless the reason you pulled them over is really egregious it is hard to give someone a ticket or at least not cut them some slack when they start out the conversation like that.

One friend of mine told me how she got pulled over for speeding (just a little, she says) and when the officer walked up her young child in the back seat started crying and begging for the officer not to take her to jail. The officer got so freaked out he spent most of the time reassuring the kid her mom was not going to jail and sent them on their way with out a ticket.

I listen to comedy on XM radio a lot when I am in my car and I think it was Carlos Mencia who told a great story of how he was caught speeding and was recognized by the officer. The officer went back to his car to run his license and registration and he decided to make the officer laugh in hopes of getting out of a ticket. As the officer is walking back to his car he puts on the theme from COPS. Then he and the passengers start cracking jokes. One of them was " hey officer its cool you got a computer in your car, I got stopped in Mexico and the cop there had a Rolodex." They got the cop laughing and he sent them on their way, with out a ticket.

I have only seen this one work with male cops and female drivers, Cry. Males hate to see women cry and I not sure if it was real or not but in all my years I have always had a hard time giving tickets to crying women with minor infractions. Keep in mind many drunks cry when stopped and cops do not let anyone get away with driving drunk, not even other cops. So if you do cry don't look drunk when you do it!

Honesty can get you far. Officers will give some latitude to respectful, honest drivers. I can't tell you how many times we walk up to cars and people just go off on a screaming tangent. Do they really think that's going to help? Those people get every ticket the officer can give them and get no breaks.

Anyway, really did not intend to give a lesson on how to get out of a ticket, I just wanted to pass on some funny and other ways we often see people get out of minor traffic infractions. Keep in mind if you are committing a major infraction or say speeding in an area we have received numerous complaints or accidents you may get a ticket no matter what. Kids not in seat belts will pretty much always get a ticket. Automobile accidents require citations go to anyone at fault due to the litigation that can often occur.

One last tip, if an officer asks you if you have been drinking because your eyes look red don't answer with: " No officer, have you been eating donuts because your eyes look glazed ! "

Senate Bill could put halt to Red Light Camera's

As reported by KOB TV, the New Mexico State Senate passed legislation limiting the ability of cities to profit from the use of red light cameras. Senator William H. Payne (R-Albuquerque) originally introduced a bill to place beacons at intersections, but the Senate approved a version limiting the price of photo citations to those already established by state law by a 41-0 vote. According to Senator Payne "They are a guise for making money for the city of Albuquerque".

This would put an immediate halt to the Red Light Camera Programs anywhere in New Mexico. The State fee schedule would barely cover the costs of running a red light camera program. It would still be cheaper than putting officers at these intersections every day. However Albuquerque and other cities currently considering Red Light Camera's (Santa Fe) would not make the enormous amounts of money that they once thought they would.

Albuquerque charges $100 the first time the registered owner of a vehicle is mailed a photo ticket. A second mailing brings a $250 plus 30-day car seizure and on the third occasion, a $500 fine plus 90-day car seizure is imposed. State law provides a $15 first-time fine that rises to a maximum of $200. Albuquerque has raised over Five Million Dollars in the short time they have had the camera's. The Mayor claims all but a small amount has been used to fund the program. Unless Redflex Traffic Systems is way over charging Albuquerque then it seems unlikely that the program has cost over five million dollars.

It will be interesting to see how this bill now does in the House and then if the Governor would sign it. The Camera's could still be used and if the cities who want to use them really care about safety and not making profits, then they might still use them and try to just break even or perhaps subsidise them from the General Fund. My objection to these camera's all along is the involvement of for profit companies and the use of them across the nation to make huge profits for municipality's and the private companies involved.

Click here for more on my blog about red light camera's

NBC Dateline "To catch a Predator"

Tonight I watched the latest episode of the NBC Dateline popular series "To Catch a Predator". Since 2004 over 200 men have been arrested responding to decoy children who chat online and over the phone with unsuspecting men. NBC pays a group called Perverted-Justice to assist with these online sting operations. What never ceases to amaze me is that men still respond and prey on these children even after all the publicity this has garnered. In one case the same guy appeared on two shows when he repeated his crime after bonding out of jail and then re-offending a few months later.

In this latest installment the show moved to Murphy Texas where for the first time the show and the police received a lot of heat for the latest sting. In the latest sting they snared Assistant District Attorney Louis “Bill” Conradt Jr.who upon faced with arrest shot himself in the head and died. The family of the Assistant D.A. was upset because they felt he was set up and the film crews combined with the sting caused him to kill himself. The townspeople were upset because a home in a residential neighborhood was used in the sting in which 25 men were ultimately arrested. The residents felt that the sting put the rest of the neighborhood at risk. Many had children and the street had one sex offender after another driving into the neighborhood at a time to meet their prey. Murphy residents also feared people would get the wrong idea about their town and property values would be affected.

The Shows producers claim this is the first time neighbors expressed a problem with the stings in residential neighborhoods. Their were protests at city hall and counter protests supporting the police chief. In the middle of the sting a City Councilor showed up with neighbors to protest in front of the house while the sting operation was still going on. They were given an explanation and asked to leave so the operation could continue and they agreed.

As I stated in an earlier blog we recently opened our Computer Forensics Lab which will make a big difference in cases like these. Confiscated computers and gathering electronic data is essential in these and other computer related cases. What do you think? I would like to see comments about this show and the concerns of the residents of Murphy Texas.

I believe this show has done a lot of good. Local arrests of Online predators like these would never garner the publicity this show has garnered. Along with that publicity comes the chance that at least the numbers of online predators are less than they would be other wise. Yes there are still those that will offend anyway and we need to do our best to catch them. However, when you watch these shows it has to make some people think twice. Leave your comments on this story. Do you think this type of sting is good, but maybe not in my backyard? Do you think this lures men who may not have done this other wise? Would you loan your home for a sting like this or even not mind if another home in your neighborhood was used?

Some clips of the shows are located here if you have not seen them.

Go here to read transcripts of chats suspects had with decoys (note some contain obscene language)

Go here for information on keeping your kids safe on the Internet.

New Mexico Sex Offender Informaton Web Site

Kudo's to KOB TV

I want to give Kudos's to KOB TV for this story on it not being illegal to video tape someone in a bathroom. The reporter made an excellent point when he pointed out that while the New Mexico Legislature has passed laws on things like the State Bolo Tie and official State Cook Book, they have yet to take care of unsuspecting females who are video taped with out their knowledge in public bathrooms. This really should be a law that should fly through committees and be passed by both the House and the Senate with record speed. The stunt of putting a fake camera in the restroom was a great attention grabber and the legislature should take immediate action.

Usually the media reports things that have happened rather then taking part in making things happen. This was a great case where they did both.

On another note the New Mexican, The Journal, and KOB TV reported on The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office new Computer Forensics Unit. I am especially proud of this achievement as it was years in the making and puts the Sheriff's Office in the forefront of New Technology and puts in place the ability to gather and preserve digital evidence.

on a final note I am very upset with This bill moving through the legislature.
The House voted Wednesday to allow counties to raise taxes aimed at jail funding. That measure now heads to the Senate. This is in response to counties who are going broke housing state prisoners in an unfunded mandate. Rather than just pay their bill to the counties for housing these state prisoners, legislators are trying to have individual counties raise taxes locally and then use the money to pay for the bills we are incurring on state inmates. This forces local County Commissioners to face local constituents with a tax increase and then somehow explain to them that we are raising taxes on them to pay a bill the state refuses to pay. What is wrong with this picture? Come on legislators just agree to pay the bills for state prisoners. One of the problems is there is no definition of just who is a state prisoner, that is also contained in a bill the legislators can and should pass. Counties are literally going broke paying jail bills and a huge majority of these prisoners either are state prisoners or should be state prisoners.

State District judges, State Prosecutors and defense attorney's try to keep prisoners who are sentenced to prison out of the prison system by having prisoners sentenced to say five years in prison but deferring all but 364 days. What this does is burden the county jails with hard core prisoners who belong in prison and whose bill should be paid by the state but because of the deferred sentence they end up with the bill for their incarceration being paid by the County. These are prisoners charged with State Criminal Statutes, convicted of crimes in a State Court and sentenced to State Penitentiary's, Their incarceration costs should be paid by the State.

Anyway its Friday and I have talked enough. Have a good weekend.

Happy Valentines Day!

Today I want to take the liberty of using my blog to wish my wife Antoinette and my Daughter Sylvia as well as all my readers Happy Valentines Day! My wife and I met when we were 16 years old at Santa Fe High School. She will deny it when she reads this but she used to have a crush on me when I would walk past her aunts house where she used to spend a lot of time.

I would walk by in my platform shoes (or roller skate by), along with my John Travolta bell bottom pants and a silk shirt. I would top it off with a leather jacket and a huge boom box. The Boom Box made today's Ipods seem almost invisible. We had to carry them on our shoulders not to have them closer to our ears but instead to carry the weight of the 10 D-Cell batteries those things held. Anyway Disco aside we have had a great 27 years together.

My daughter is 14 but she thinks she is 21. Unfortunately she will probably be 21 in what seems like the blink of an eye. Tonight its dinner with friends and then a comedy show at the lodge in Santa Fe featuring Steven Michael Quezada. He is a great comedian so if you don't have plans you might want to check him out. Anyway, Happy Valentines day again to all of you!

P.S. I tend to exaggerate when describing my early years with my wife. LOL

Meth as an Education Tool?

When I read this I could not make up my mind whether to laugh or shake my head in disgust. I ended up doing a little of both. Really though it is no laughing matter.

From the Santa Fe New Mexican 02-10-07

Math teacher makes bad move

A Moriarty High School teacher "made a misjudgment" on an algebra test by using a question about a fictional methamphetamine dealer, principal Wayne Marshall said.

The question reads: "Smoky J. sells meth. Smoky's source says he has to sell a G's worth of meth by the end of the month. If Smoky sold $240 the first week and $532 the second week, how much money must Smoky make if he wants to avoid the beat down from his connection?"

Teacher Will Klundt is a good teacher who tries different methods, but the question was a poor choice, Marshall said.

"He's a hardworking member of the staff, and this is not the norm," the principal said. "This is a fine young man who made a misjudgment. And he understands that, and he's better for it."

Marshall would not say whether disciplinary action will be taken against Klundt.

I realize that teachers try to reach students by sometimes speaking to them in their terms. I remember at De Vargas Junior High I had a math teacher that was good at relating to students on their terms. He was a hispanic teacher with an Afro and a mustache and he kind of resembled Gabe Kaplan of "Welcome Back Kotter". Because of this many of us called him Mr. Kotter, he had a great knack for making the students feel they could talk to him and relate to him. You did not feel as though he was talking down to you. I ran into him years later and I was dismayed when I learned he had quit teaching and became a plumber. This was back at a time when teachers really could not make a living in Santa Fe. I know things have gotten better but we still need to do more to attract and keep good teachers.

So maybe this teacher was trying to relate on the rap music type level with these kids. It was still wrong and in bad taste. Even though each generation has their own style of music and each generations parent usually don't approve, I.E. Elvis, the Beatles, Ozzy Ozborne, Metalica, then on to Tu Pac Shakur for today's generation, We can't condone the use of drugs and violence as teaching tools. There is a huge difference between my old math teacher "Mr. Kotter" and this Math Teacher Will Klundt. I hope he really is a good teacher and this was just a momentary lapse in judgement. If not maybe we can trade one plumbers job for one teachers.

President Bush continues attacks on Local Law Enforcement

President Bush in his newest budget proposals continues to attack state and local law enforcement. When President Bush took over from President Clinton the Community Policing Programs (C.O.P.S) had a budget of 1.5 billion dollars. This money was used by police and sheriff's across the nation to fund more police on the streets, drug resistance training in the schools, Cops in the schools programs, prosecution and apprehension of career criminals and many other great programs to keep our families safe. Last year, the budget was stripped down to $500 million. This year President Bush is proposing $32 million for the C.O.P.S. programs. Basically killing the C.O.P.S. program in its entirety.

The proposed President Bush budget also eliminates funding lines for a wide variety of law-enforcement programs: drug courts, prison rape prevention, cannabis eradication, mentally-ill offender programs and more. The money that once went into these programs is being put into one pool and each of these programs will have to compete with each other for the money.

Crime has been on the decrease nationwide for some time now. I and other law enforcement leaders truly believe that it was the efforts of the Clinton administration and the C.O.P.S. programs that made this a reality. It is only a matter of time before these cuts start to bleed. Many of the officers once hired under the C.O.P.S. funding are long gone and the funding was not kept up by the local governments. Santa Fe County once had 3 deputies funded by the federal government. When that funding ended the county did not continue to fund the positions and they were lost. At that time there were 72 deputies in Santa Fe County. When I took over as Sheriff in 2003 the number of funded positions was 69. Only this year did we get back to the 72 deputies we had prior to my administration.

Torrance county had 12 deputies at one time with the assistance of the C.O.P.S. programs. In 2005 the county had to let go of 6 deputies after the C.O.P.S. funding ended. Imagine a county losing half its police force in one day! The State Police had to be asked to come in and assist. Lately the State Police has been so short handed that their ability to assist other agencies is stretched. It is only a matter of time before crime statistics grow in response to lack of adequate law enforcement and criminal justice programs.

What never ceases to amaze me is that the Republicans still campaign and present themselves as the party who believes in good law enforcement yet it is the democrats who have a record of supporting law enforcement and its programs. The Santa Fe New Mexican recently did a story on drug and DWI courts and their effectiveness. For years we have heard of the effectiveness of drug courts. It is one of the most successful programs outside of Law Enforcement and incarceration and it bridges the gap between enforcement and treatment. Yet here is the Bush Budget cutting money for these programs once again.

I urge all Americans to contact your legislators and oppose the decimation of these programs.

Traffic lights to be timed. Preparation for Red Light Camera's ?

Russell Simon of the Albuquerque Journal reports that the State will begin a traffic study and synchronize the lights on Cerrillos and St Francis Drive. Although Red Light Camera's are not mentioned in the press release one of the big issues with the City of Santa Fe's consideration of using Red Light Camera's has been the timing and synchronization of lights on Cerrillos Road. Residents who posted to the New Mexican's Comments section on the issue actually timed the lights and compared the timing with national recommendations and found the yellow lights were well below the recommended length of time to be on before turning red.

I feel the timing and synchronization is very much needed. According to According to the Santa Fe's traffic operations engineer, Rick Devine, the timing for traffic signals on St. Francis hasn't been updated in at least a dozen years. Neither has the timing for the signals on Cerrillos Road. Studies have shown that proper timing is the most effective way to reduce accidents caused by red light runners. I also feel this is probably being done as a precursor to actually installing red light camera's at Santa Fe's intersections. Regular readers of my blogs know I have concerns over the use of red light camera's to raise income for cities. If we did have red light camera's installed I would like to see it be a fair program that is not overly excessive in fines and is not run by a private for profit company and rather run by the city itself. The city is considering going into this venture with a private company which provides the cameras and administers the program in exchange for a hefty cut of the fines generated.

In another Albuquerque Journal story

Sen. William Payne, R-Albuquerque, introduced legislation Monday to force the city to post flashing yellow beacons at 15 intersections where cameras are mounted to catch motorists running red lights or speeding.
The beacons, if flashing, would alert the motorists that the traffic light would turn red before they passed through the intersection, Payne said."Using public safety as a profit center is bad policy," Payne said.
His measure to warn motorists was met with strong bipartisan support Monday. Almost every senator endorsed the legislation by signing on as a co-sponsor.
"It was not a hard sell, and it won't be on the House side, either," Payne said. "Everybody I've talked on the House side says, 'Go get 'em.' ''

As of last month, Albuquerque has collected $5.2 million in fines on nearly 80,000 citations issued to motorists since May 2005.
But Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez said the city doesn't make a dime. He said the city funnels the collected fines back into the program to expand it.
For example, the proceeds recently paid for cameras at two additional intersections around the city to supplement the 13 already on line.
And Chávez argued that speeders and people who run red lights actually pay for the program, not taxpayers.
"It's just unfortunate that the senator doesn't have his facts straight," the mayor said.
Payne said that, while the fines go toward the program now, it is only a matter of time before they will be diverted to the city's coffers.
"How much will that raise if they double the number of cameras?" the GOP lawmaker asked.
Payne's legislation would require the city to post and synchronize the flashing yellow beacons with the traffic signal on all roads leading up to the camera-mounted intersections.
If the beacon was flashing, a motorist would know the traffic light would turn red before they got through the intersection.
The beacons would improve on the signs the city has already posted roughly 100 yards or so from each camera-mounted intersection, Payne said.
But Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said the flashing beacons could "cause more harm than good" by encouraging motorists to speed up to clear the intersection.

The interesting thing about this story is that the company Albuquerque uses for the Red Light Camera's is Redflex Traffic Systems. This company has contracts in 106 cities* world-wide and, with 90 USA cities under contract, is the largest provider of digital red light and speed enforcement services in North America. It is also the same company who is proposing to supply them to Santa Fe. In most cities the company provides the camera's and administrative support in exchange for a cut in the revenues provided from the fines. I don't know what kind of contract the city of Albuquerque has with Redflex and the city does have to review all citations and photo's before they are sent out as well as provide for hearings on protested citations. This all cost the city money in salaries etc. but it almost seems impossible to me that the costs were 5.2 million dollars. It would be interesting to have one of our news outlets review the contract with Redflex and compare the costs of the program to the income. Although keep in mind that Redflex takes a hefty cut in most states that they have contracts.

I still have yet to see any data on rear end collisions at the intersections in Albuquerque where camera's are installed. Many other states have seen an increase in rear end collisions at intersections where camera's are installed. In some area's the increase was so bad that the camera program was ended. Here is a link to a previous blog post that refers to some of these studies.

This Article "Senator calls Red-Light Cameras traps" was posted by the Albuquerque Tribune as I was writing this blog post.

Finally to see all my blog posts on Red Light Camera's Click here.

Benjie Montano joins City Police as Deputy Chief.

Former Santa Fe County Sheriff Benjie Montano has accepted a position as Deputy Chief of the Santa Fe City Police Department. It was a great choice, Benjie is a real experienced professional who will do an excellent job. When I became Sheriff in 2003 I attended a meeting with sheriffs both newly elected and re-elected Sheriff's from through out the state. There was many a story about the disarray the various Sheriff's offices were in through out the state. Many new Sheriff's were trying to dig the offices out of financial, morale, or various other problems. Sheriff Ray Sisneros and Benjie Montano who was the Under-Sheriff at the time (Benjie was the Sheriff before Ray then became his Under-Sheriff) left the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office in great shape.

Employees at the Sheriff's office still talk about Benjie's great sense of humor and ability to make coming to work fun. I am a much more serious person and often struggle to show my sense of humor (I think there is one in here somewhere). My wife often tells me I need to smile more and over the last few years I think I have gotten better. Benjie and I have very different management styles however I think they both work for us individually.

The challenge Benjie faces is the very different management structure at the City. The City has a Mayor, eight City Councilors and a City Manager all hanging over your head when you are a Chief at the City. Technically the City Manager over sees the employees but historically the Council and Mayor have very seldom been able to keep from micro managing the departments. To Mayor Coss's credit I think he is trying to change that part of the city's history. Benjie has spent his management career at the Sheriff's Office where the Sheriff and Under-Sheriff have wide latitude to mange their shop. The boss is the voters who every four years deliver their evaluation and decide to re-hire or fire. This is why all but one other state does not have term limits for Sheriff's. The Voters decide when a change is needed. New Mexico needs to re-evaluate the term limits for Sheriff's. Counties, especially the smaller ones, lose valuable experience when good Sheriff's cannot run for more than two terms.

I think Benjie will adapt and overcome, Chief Eric Johnson made an excellent choice and I wish him and Deputy Chief Benjie Montano well and look forward to working with them.

Albuquerque Journal Link to this story.