The Attorney General of NM introduced the team which has been created to review the criminal justice system of the state in Albuquerque. Called the Multidisciplinary Violent Crime Review Team, the task force will live up to its name by including members from various factions of the law enforcement community along with state and local leaders who are in a position to amend existing laws and introduce new ones.
The step was taken in response to the fatal shooting of a Rio Rancho police officer, Greg Benner which fuelled wide spread outrage among community members. The officer was shot by a repeat offender who had a long history of violent crimes but continued to stay out of prison owing to faults in the existing criminal justice system of the state.
The team has been created for the express purpose of reviewing violent criminal incidents and how the perpetrators of these crimes are dealt with under the current criminal justice system of the state. The task force will identify problems and discrepancies and offer advice on how these can be handled. While introducing the team, the Attorney General clarified that the process would not be easy but it is the need of the hour.
Echoing his sentiments on the matter was Julie Benner, wife of the slain police officer, who said that her husband would often get back home frustrated. She said, Benner would frequently complain that many violent criminals had found their way back into the community, despite a continual history of being involved in heinous felonies. In fact, Ms. Brenner went ahead and blamed the failure of the system for her husband’s death.
The team is expected to furnish its report to the office of the Attorney general by early next year, and based on their findings, a call to action will be taken to control growing instances of violent acts committed by those who should have been locked up a long time ago.