Leon Spearheads Constable Reform

One of the biggest challenges for county government is the fact that 80% of the department heads are elected officials. That means they think about their own careers/reelection before they think about the good of the county.

Maybe thats a bit of a blanket statement but when I'm proven wrong I will rethink that statement. 

I know most of the Constables here in town on a personal level. Not all of them, but most of them. They all seem like great people.

But lets be honest, there have been some real problems with their offices and their inadequacies cost taxpayers a lot of money. But, they are constitutionally mandated, despite the inadequacy of some of them.

I've written about constables before and just for a refresher they are each elected officials. So they each sorta think they are mini-sheriffs. They aren't, but a lot of them think that. None of them have the same uniform so it can be very confusing as you make your way around town and see a series of different uniforms.

Some look tactical with military khaki-colored uniforms, others look a little old west, many where just a t-shirt and jeans, and at least one constables' office actually looks like a legitimate law enforcement agency.

First, lets talk about what they do. For the most part, their primary duty is to serve as a bailiff for the Justice of the Peace, serve and collect on warrants, and kick people out of rental units. Others like Constables Garcia and Sommers do much more. They augment the patrol division of the sheriff's office in the unincorporated areas.

And according to County Commissioner Carlos Leon, those are two of the stand-outs among the constables.

When Commissioner Leon took office he indicated that he'd heard a lot of complaints about the constables.

"We either help them succeed or watch them fail", said Commissioner Leon in an interview earlier this week. 

Commissioner Leon invited all the constables to sit down and work out best practices in order to hammer out some guidelines, rules, regulations that all their offices could adhere to. As you know Commissioner Leon is the Courts' subject matter expert when it comes to law enforcement considering he served as Chief of Police for the City of El Paso. After 16 months of work, they came out with some policy reforms that make sense. 

Problems

This portion of the blog entry could get pretty long if I went into detail so I'll just stick to the major stuff.

One big problem, shooting people in the ass. Which isn't really about shooting people in the ass as it is bad hiring decisions and lack of training. The constables hate hearing about it but it happened and its the thing people remember most about constables in this town. Sorry but it is what it is.

Lack of uniformity when it comes to policies and procedures. Operational procedures can vary greatly from constable to constable. All the offices being on the same page is key. 

Qualification is another area that needed improvement. Law enforcement are required to qualify annually with a weapon. The problem is to be proficient at anything you need practice. The constables and their deputies had to come out of their own pocket to pay for ammo. They need ammo to practice. They need practice to qualify. That isn't an issue for PD or the SO and is a challenge and expense unique to constables. The location of their qualification was also something that wasn't uniform. Some would qualify at community college, some out in the desert, and some with other law enforcement agencies. Commissioner Leon worked it out so that they could all qualify with the SO office at the same location. 

Hiring of personnel is something that has ultimately been an expense for the tax payers because many of the problems of the constables (collectively) have centered around bad hires. Commissioner Leon worked with the sheriff's office to conduct background checks on potential employees. They will present the information to the constables who will ultimately make the final hiring decision. That change alone will be a major cost-avoidance for taxpayers. 

One settlement because of a bad hire cost the tax payers a bill to the tune of $600,000. 

Discipline among the constable offices varies greatly as well. On the one hand, they are elected officials and should be empowered to make their own decisions. But on the other hand taxpayers are the ones on the hook. Yes, other department heads and elected officials screw up. But people aren't getting shot in the ass in other departments. So clearly uniformity in discipline policies is also important. Leon has suggested that all the constable offices use an independent law enforcement agency when investigating their employees.

These changes might be subtle to the public but the increased professionalism among the constable offices will ultimately be a benefit to taxpayers through cost avoidance and better overall service from their offices. 

There is more work to be done. Two major issues still need to be tackled. One of them seems pretty simple and I'm honestly not sure why its a sticking point. 

Uniforms. If constables want the credibility they seem to desire so badly they have to look the part and everyone be on the same page. The various uniforms create confusion for the public. They don't know who they are or what their jurisdiction is. 

Constable Javier Garcia, who was singled out by Commissioner Leon as running one of the better offices, has uniforms that look like regular police officers. Their units are well-maintained and always look sharp. The deputies look like real law-enforcement.

Some of the other offices have constables in t-shirts in jeans. Hard to earn the credibility of the public if you don't look the part. 

Why a single uniform is such a sticking point I don't know, but for whatever reason it is. 

The area yet to be dealt with that needs the most attention is something many of them find rather lucrative, moonlighting. This was an issue long before two of them were actually supposed to be pulling security at the location of the big tailgating brawl recently.

Commissioner Leon points out that while Constable Sommers maintains full time employment as a teacher in addition to her duties as constable, she maintains one of the most productive offices. 

However the public has made several complaints about the extra-curricular employment of constables. Its become pretty lucrative for them as well. I know that there is at least one constable who has so many side jobs pulling security at events that he farms out some of the work to other constables. I don't fault him for wanting to make an extra buck, but ultimately the voters will be the ones who decide if the production of their offices is impacted by their side jobs. 

Other law enforcement agencies allow their officers to take side jobs pulling security. Its common place. You can see them all around town at the mall, the movies, or Chihuahua games. But the taxpayer isn't on the hook for their salary. The people who hire them pay that money. And if an official vehicle is used, the taxpayer is also compensated for the wear and tear on the vehicle. 

The same isn't always true of constables. The moonlighting issue needs to be addressed. Taxpayers have a right to be concerned and expect compensation. 

Kudos to Commissioner Leon for leading improvements to the constables' office. The cost-savings to the taxpayer has the potential to be great.