The New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC) is a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(c) organization whose mission is to act as a united governing body, through its Board of Directors, by equally representing the interests of all 33 New Mexico counties. NMAC serves as an umbrella organization of county elected officials and professional staff and of 20 affiliate organizations.

NMAC has had oversight of several accreditation programs for more than a decade, serving as the accreditation body for detention, emergency 911, and misdemeanor compliance programs. This experience has given NMAC the capacity to enhance the accreditation programs it offers with a new law enforcement program for county sheriff’s offices.

In New Mexico, each county has a sheriff’s office, as allowed by state statute; these offices are fully functioning law enforcement agencies, although they do not operate the county jails. As such, there is a need to provide an accreditation program for sheriff’s offices. Although the New Mexico Municipal League has a law enforcement accreditation program, it did not offer a program that engaged county sheriffs. Addressing this unmet accreditation need provides increased accountability, professional excellence, a demonstrated commitment to the communities across the state, and continuous policy and practice improvement for the sheriff’s offices.

In August of 2021, NMAC worked with the New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association and the Sheriffs’ Affiliate to develop the accreditation program. First, the New Mexico Sheriffs Professional Standards Council was formed and adopted bylaws for the governance of the council. The council comprises three elected or appointed county sheriffs, four sheriff’s office sworn members, and two representatives from NMAC. The Professional Standards Council has authority and responsibility to adopt standards, review applications for accreditation, and ultimately grant accreditation status.

During the Fall of 2021, the council worked to establish the standards for the accreditation program. The standards are broken into four categories: administration, operations, personnel, and training. The standards were finalized and adopted by the council in February of 2022. NMAC utilizes PowerDMS for its accreditation programs and worked with them to publish the standards.

On April 7, 2022, the standards manual went live and NMAC opened the program to start accepting applications. There have been two applications received so far, and NMAC is expecting several more in the near future. It is the goal of NMAC and the New Mexico Sheriff’s Professional Standards Council to enroll eight more agencies in the program over the next year.

Accreditation will consist of the following steps: application, self-assessment, on-site assessment, council review, and continued compliance. Technical assistance for sheriff’s offices and accreditation managers enrolled in the program will be provided by the NMAC Accreditation Program Manager at no cost. Additional information on the program can be found on the NMAC website at Resources | NM Counties under the Law Enforcement Accreditation tab.

For more information, contact Jessica Tyler, Accreditation Program Manager.

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