I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A bill spurred by last year’s discovery of the mass burial of 13 Albuquerque women who had been reported missing years earlier passed the Legislature Wednesday night. Sponsored by Sen. Sander Rue, (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval), SB 55 resulted from a task force that was convened after the mass grave was found. The bill requires quicker response times to missing persons reports, increased training for law enforcement personnel, and increases data collection and reporting.
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish convened a task force in March of 2010 to beef up law enforcement response to missing persons cases, because of the length of time that had passed between the reports by families that the women were missing and the discovery of the burial ground. The task force made recommendations that led to the legislation.
“This bill contains crucial tools that will assist law enforcement tracking and sharing information regarding missing persons cases,” Denish said in a statement after the legislation was approved by the House. “This is about helping law enforcement keep New Mexicans safe and stopping predators before they strike.”
The fiscal impact report for the report includes rationale from the Department of Public Safety for why the bill is necessary:
Currently, NM law enforcement, by and large, are unaware of many of the specific provisions of the Missing Person’s Act, including their requirements under the law. Mandatory training can and should mitigate this issue. Having a central statute to refer to is both logical and efficient for officers investigating missing persons.
The capturing and reporting of additional information, coupled with automation, should prove to result in better access for law enforcement, the public, and family regarding missing persons. In total, the ultimate goal is the eventual recovery of missing person(s). Without enacting the bill, the “status quo” will continue; statutory requirements not being met, data capture and sharing shortfalls, and below average missing person
investigations.
