Records Specialist

Bernalillo County opens center to turn recovery into a career. The new center will help people turn lived experience with recovery into careers supporting others Published October 13th, 2026 at 9:52 am By Jesse Jones, The Paper. - For people who have gone through recovery, that experience can become more than a part of their past. It can shape their future and become a career helping others navigate mental health and substance-use challenges. Bernalillo County, in coordination with the Albuquerque Center for Hope and Recovery (ACHR), has launched the Peer Empowerment Center at 913 Second Street NW to help people become certified peer support workers and give current workers tools to grow their careers. According to ACHR, peer support workers use their own experiences with mental health, substance use and recovery to help people navigate services, recognize their strengths and pursue their recovery goals. The center is part of the county's effort to strengthen its behavioral health workforce. "This center is a beacon for our community - a place where hope is cultivated, recovery is strengthened, and empowerment grows through shared experience," said Dr. Wayne Lindstrom, deputy county manager of behavioral health. According to ACHR, the center has three pathways for people interested in the peer profession: building a foundation, becoming a certified peer support worker and growing their careers after certification. Support includes help addressing barriers to certification or employment, connecting with training, preparing for the certification exam, continuing education, job searches and interviews. ACHR also offers mentorship and early employment support for certified peer workers, including help during their first 90 days on the job. The center also provides training and assistance to organizations that employ or are preparing to employ peer support workers, helping them develop peer-support programs and support their staff. The Peer Empowerment Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. An open house is scheduled for Oct. 16, when community members and partners can tour the center, meet staff and learn more about its services. The center expects to add online and hybrid offerings in 2027. For more information, email [email protected].

Sheriff details Flock shutdown, Axon switch. Published September 8th, 2026 at 1:00 pm By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen laid out, in detail Tuesday, how his office is expanding its Axon partnership to replace the Flock Safety camera network it's dismantling. Allen said in a press release the expanded partnership builds on Axon technology BCSO already uses through body-worn cameras, digital evidence systems and its Fleet 3 mobile ALPR units. "The public should know who controls the information, why it can be searched, how long it is kept and how every use is reviewed," Allen said. Allen said Axon's model gives BCSO control over its own ALPR data, retention settings and sharing decisions - information isn't automatically pooled into a national database, and sharing with other agencies is off by default and revocable. Access is restricted by user role, he said, and system logs track who accessed information, when and why. The rollout includes Fleet 3 mobile units, fixed-camera options and integration with BCSO's existing crime center systems. Allen said the department aims to have the expanded system running before the end of 2026, pending contracting and training. Last week, a Rio Rancho man was arrested after he filmed himself dismantling Flock cameras across Bernalillo County saying he was returning them to Allen, as The Paper. reported. He had previously been charged with vandalizing Flock cameras in Rio Rancho. Public safety and privacy BCSO policy limits license plate searches to active criminal investigations, Allen said, with access restricted, searches logged and activity cross-referenced against case numbers. He cautioned that an ALPR alert is a lead, not proof of a crime - deputies still have to verify it and establish lawful grounds before taking action. The department has used a 30-day retention window and plans to stay within 30 to 60 days, subject to final policy and state law. How ALPR has assisted investigations Allen said ALPR helps investigators connect vehicles to locations and timelines in serious cases, though it doesn't close cases on its own. He pointed to a recorded jail call in which a homicide suspect described the cameras' deterrent effect: "...they take pictures of every license plate in the area and then they catch the f***ing killer... There aint nobody getting away with that." Allen said that reaction, not a vendor's pitch, is the real evidence the tool works. Accountability No BCSO deputies have been disciplined for misusing ALPR data to date, Allen said, calling that a sign the department's audit controls are working rather than an absence of oversight. He noted his support for Senate Bill 40, the Driver Privacy and Safety Act, which took effect July 1 and set restrictions and penalties around ALPR use, though it left retention limits undefined. Allen said he plans to push for statewide retention standards in the 2027 legislative session. The expanded partnership follows Allen's decision earlier this year to end the county's contracts for its 21 regional Flock cameras, citing trust and data-privacy concerns. Axon also uses what the department calls a Responsible Innovation Framework and an external Ethics and Equity Advisory Council to weigh in on how the technology is developed and deployed.