Bernalillo county sheriff's office will launch pathway to public safety: a high school-to-career law enforcement pipeline project

The Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program awarded Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office $147,633 on October 1, 2025, under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants program (CFDA 16.710) to launch Pathway to Public Safety, a high school-to-career law enforcement pipeline project.

The recipient will operate a semester-based after-school program engaging high school juniors and seniors from Bernalillo County high schools in a two-semester immersive curriculum introducing them to law enforcement careers across field services, criminal investigations, and specialized units including SWAT, K-9, and mobile crisis response. The program partners with local school districts and community organizations to create a direct recruitment pathway between secondary education and entry-level law enforcement positions, designed to address long-term staffing shortages by cultivating a homegrown, community-connected workforce reflecting the population served.

Performance occurs in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The period of performance runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. This is a project grant, an assistance type supporting discrete, time-limited initiatives within the COPS Office's framework of building law enforcement capacity through community partnerships and organizational transformation.

This innovative, semester-based after-school program is designed to create a direct recruitment pipeline between bernalillo county high schools and entry-level law enforcement careers. In partnership with local school districts and community organizations, the agency will engage high school juniors and seniors in an immersive two-semester curriculum that introduces them to the full spectrum of law enforcement careers - from field services and criminal investigations to specialized units such as SWAT, k-9, and mobile crisis response. The primary goal of this project is to address long-term staffing shortages by introducing a novel approach to cultivating a homegrown and community connected workforce that reflects the population IT serves.