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NMSU Police Department

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NMSU - Police Homepage – About Us

ABOUT US

Overview of the NMSU Police Department

The NMSU Police Department is a full service, 24-hour a day police agency, complete with its own enhanced 911 emergency dispatch center, criminal investigations section, and training staff. The NMSU Police Department is responsible for all criminal and traffic law enforcement on just over 180 square miles of land owned and/or controlled by the Board of Regents of NMSU, serving a daytime campus population of over 32,000 and a residential population of around 6,000. While routine patrol is conducted on the approximately 5 square miles of the main campus, officers of the NMSU Police Department will patrol the college ranch and other outlying campuses and research sites as staffing allows. In addition, officers will travel to the branch campuses to assist with security surveys and investigate specific criminal incidents.

The NMSU Police Department is comprised of two main components, the Field Services Division (which includes the patrol shifts and the Criminal Investigations Section) and the Administrative Services (which includes the Police Chief, the Emergency Dispatch Center, and Records and Evidence). The department reports administratively to the Senior Vice President for Planning, Physical Resource, and University Relations.

There are 22 certified police officer positions and 7 certified emergency dispatcher positions in the department. These are assisted by 3 fulltime civilian employees, 9 part-time student employees, and 25 part-time reserve officers and dispatchers.

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, officer 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, and the Las Cruces Police Department. These officers have brought over 100 years worth of experience to the department in a wide variety of specialty areas.

All emergency dispatchers with the department are also fully certified by the State of New Mexico, and in many cases have significantly more training and specialization than their counterparts in other public safety answering points. The Emergency Dispatch Center not only answers 911 calls for the Las Cruces and Dona Ana Community College campuses, but also take care of all police, fire, and emergency medical dispatching. They manage the university’s Mobile Operations and Communications Center, and regularly assist other agencies in the area with on-scene tactical dispatching for major incidents.

(This site is maintained by the NMSU Police Department. Last updated October 5, 2009.)