Officers maintain 24-hour patrol coverage on foot, bicycles, motorcycles, and in motor vehicles. All officers with the NMSU Police Department are fully certified by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, completing the same training as all police officers in the State of New Mexico. The department’s officers regularly graduate in the top 5% of the academy, and are frequently designated as the valedictorians of their classes. Upon completion of the law enforcement academy, officers must complete an extensive field training program before they are ready to be on the streets by themselves. In the past few years, the department has also been successful in attracting officers from other departments like the Milwaukee Police Department, the New Mexico State Police, the Farmington Police Department, the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Department, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the Deming Police Department. These officers have brought over 100 years worth of experience to the department in a wide variety of specialty areas.
Traffic
Officers in the NMSU Police Department’s Traffic Unit are patrol officers who receive specialized training in strategic traffic enforcement, crash reconstruction, and police motorcycle operation. They respond to most crashes that occur on campus, especially the more serious crashes. Their training and expertise helps to paint a picture of what happened before, during and after the crash.
K-9
In 2004 the NMSU Police Department started the program with K-9 Rio who was trained on narcotics detection, suspect and evidence tracking and body recovery. The program expanded to add a narcotics detection dog with K-9 Miki in 2006. Shortly after, the department moved toward explosive detection canine teams, of which there are now 3 in the agency. Our K-9 officers and their partners are available around the clock to serve not only the university community, but the entire region. The K-9 teams receive extensive training in explosives detection, and regularly work with other local, state, and federal agencies in both preventive and emergency response roles.
