SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) The Santa Fe Police Department's ranks will be full after 18 new recruits are sworn in as new officers Tuesday as they prepare for training at the New Mexico Law Enforcement beginning Jan. 20. The department says 12 of the new officers live in the northern New Mexico city and that only two are from outside New Mexico. Eight are military veterans.
The cadets will be taking a new, shorter 16-week academy. Upon graduation they will hit the street in a supervised training officer program that lasts 14 weeks.
The department has 166 sworn positions, and the department says full staffing means decreased response time, reduced spending on overtime and the increased ability to conduct patrols and investigations.
