NEWS
ACS addresses safety and efficiency in wake of 2025 audit
With updated trainings and resources, issues remain with response delays
Albuquerque Community Safety department headquarters.
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Last year an audit was released that found Albuquerque Community Safety responders 鈥渃onsistently expressed鈥� safety concerns and struggled with an inability to provide immediate housing to the homeless while dealing with delayed response times from lags in the 311 system and communication gaps with fire department dispatch.
The city鈥檚 Office of Internal Audit released the findings in July 2025 and suggested improving protective equipment and training for responders, working with 311 dispatch to ensure calls are appropriately prioritized and developing a process with Albuquerque Fire Rescue to ensure ACS receives 鈥渢imely and accurate鈥� updates if firefighters respond to the same calls.
Additionally, the audit recommended that ACS should remind responders they 鈥渄o not always have to respond to calls for service if they feel it is unsafe.鈥�
One year after the audit, in an interview with department leaders and subsequent email correspondence, ACS said it had updated safety training, adding scenarios that police are put through, and integrated an alert system for responders dispatched to problem areas or difficult subjects.
Announced by Mayor Tim Keller in June 2020 amid a reckoning over police violence after the killing of George Floyd, ACS was proposed as a third public safety arm focused on handling behavioral health and homelessness calls instead of using armed officers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always consistently evolving 鈥� we鈥檙e only 5 years old 鈥� we didn't know the situations we鈥檙e going to come across,鈥� said Walter Adams, ACS deputy director of field operations. He emphasized that all ACS encounters and transports are voluntary.
鈥淲e really trust our responders to make that decision on if they feel safe. They don't have to, they can call a supervisor 鈥� they don鈥檛 have to put those people in the car,鈥� he said.
ACS spokesperson Jorge Hernandez said the department sends about 1% of its calls back to the Albuquerque Police Department due to safety concerns. APD, in general, responds to a higher number of suicidal ideation and behavioral health calls than ACS.
Nearly 80% of ACS calls are for an unsheltered individual, wellness or welfare check, while 7% and 4% of calls are related to behavioral health or suicidal ideation, . While the department鈥檚 call volume has increased, quarterly reports showed the amount of behavioral health and suicidal ideation calls it responds to have not grown at the same pace.
In an email, Hernandez said, 鈥淣ot every behavioral health-related 911 call is appropriate for an ACS response鈥� as it may involve weapons and other 鈥渟ignificant safety concerns.鈥�
To address issues with delayed calls, he said ACS 鈥渃ontinues to collaborate with 311 and 911 to optimize call triaging and dispatch efficiency.鈥� While ACS has done 3,200 transports this year, three times as many 鈥渦nsheltered individual鈥� calls have gone nowhere due to delays and other reasons.
With updates to training and equipment in the rearview, Hernandez said the department 鈥渄oes not anticipate making any major changes to policies or processes unless operational needs dictate a change.鈥�
Since its inception, ACS has seen its budget balloon from $2.5 million in 2021 to $23 million in 2026, while its annual call volume has more than quadrupled, with the department taking 45,000 calls in 2025 鈥� a year that marked its 100,000th call for service after operations moved from daily hours to 24/7 service.
The audit
The audit reviewed ACS records and operations between 2020 and March 2025 and went on three ride-alongs in mid-March 2025. The ride-alongs were spurred by ACS responders鈥� 鈥渃onsistently鈥� expressing safety concerns in 2024 and 2025 through anonymous surveys.
The ride-alongs 鈥渃onfirmed鈥� those concerns, according to the audit, finding a responder can never be certain if someone is unarmed and remains on alert due to a lack of protection barriers between seats. In some calls, responders enter homes or encampments without police or fire.
The audit found ACS provides responders with training to de-escalate 鈥渨ith empathy and compassion,鈥� but responding to people in crisis and unpredictable situations 鈥渃an expose employees to high-stress and potentially unsafe conditions.鈥�
鈥淭his perceived lack of safety, coupled with the emotional demands of crisis intervention work, creates an elevated risk for employee burnout, low morale, and diminished job satisfaction,鈥� according to the audit. 鈥淥ver time, these factors may contribute to increased absenteeism, lower performance, and ultimately higher staff turnover.鈥�
ACS said in an email that the turnover rate has dropped from 35% in 2023 to 28% in 2026, and the department has 31 vacancies, including four administrator roles and 12 field positions. A spokesperson said the department has added reflective vests and biohazard cleanup kits to responders鈥� inventory.
ACS Director Jodie Esquibel said the audit pushed the department to implement the 鈥淎CS Field Safety Information鈥� platform 鈥� a dashboard that shows safety alerts for specific areas or subjects that can be used by responders, calling it 鈥渁 huge safety net.鈥�
In addition to safety issues, the audit found responders expressed challenges with finding shelter for those in immediate need, but have no authority to determine shelter placement, relying on partner agencies.
鈥淲hen ACS responders are unable to secure immediate shelter for individuals in need, it increases the risk of continued exposure to unsafe or unstable environments, potentially worsening physical or mental health conditions,鈥� according to the audit. 鈥淭his gap in service can lead to repeated crisis calls, strain on emergency resources, and a missed opportunity to provide timely, stabilizing support.鈥�
ACS said the department 鈥渋s fully committed to ensuring that if an individual needs a place to stay, a placement will be found.鈥� A spokesperson said responders can 鈥渆scalate any placement issues to their supervisors to ensure the department finds a swift solution.鈥�
The audit also found communication issues that led to 311 calls holding for hours, 鈥渃reating bottlenecks that delay the ability of ACS to clear a scene and become available for the next call.鈥� Additionally, according to the audit, a lack of updates from AFR 鈥� which uses separate radio channels to protect health information 鈥� means ACS responders sometimes duplicate resources with fire crews.
ACS said in September 2025 the department partnered with APD to launch the 鈥淧riority 1 call type,鈥� which prioritizes critical incidents, like suicidal ideation, behavioral health crises and officer requests.
The audit found in a sampling of calls, responders did not find the subject of the call on several occasions. The response times in those calls, which came through 311 and 911, stretched from a few hours to over 19 hours.
ACS said responders went to 10,000 calls so far this year 鈥渨here the subject of the call could not be located.鈥�
鈥淭his is often related to the high number of calls for unsheltered individuals that come in via 311,鈥� a spokesperson said. 鈥淚n many cases, the unsheltered individual is not aware that someone has called on their behalf and leaves the area prior to ACS arriving.鈥�
Another issue, according to the audit, is delayed updates on calls from AFR as the dispatch systems do not interface with APD. As a result, ACS responders may go to a call where AFR was already en route to take someone to the hospital, 鈥渞esulting in duplicate resources and miscommunication.鈥�
The audit recommended collaborating with AFR to avoid the issue, but ACS responded that decisions about communications between APD 鈥� which routes ACS calls 鈥� and AFR 鈥渁re the responsibility of those two organizations.鈥�
An AFR spokesperson did not respond to questions on whether such a conversation had occurred but in an initial response, said they were unaware of any such discussion since the audit. AFR firefighters spoke with the Journal during recent ride-alongs, with varying opinions on the service ACS offered to the community.
One firefighter said sometimes ACS 鈥渁dds an extra step to something that was already going to be done.鈥� He said ACS will go to a call but then request AFR anyway due to a medical need. Another firefighter said ACS 鈥渨as necessary鈥� on a recent call where a man had no emergency or medical complaint and ACS took him to the city鈥檚 sobering center.
鈥淭hem being able to give people rides to the shelter has been helpful,鈥� one firefighter said. 鈥淛ust because 鈥� in the past 鈥� the default would be, 鈥榃ell, I want to go to the hospital.鈥欌��
