“It’s become more and more of a challenge:” Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to shut down Facebook page due to lack of resources

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- The Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office announced on Sunday that they would be shutting down their Facebook page at the end of January.

The announcement was made in a post on that very page.

In the post, the office said they hope it's not a permanent closure but added that they can't keep up with the page due to the lack of a public information officer for the office.

ABC-7 spoke with Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart on Tuesday.

"The idea isn't for [the page] to go away forever," said Stewart.

"The idea is when and if we're able to get a public information officer, that would be part in parcel of their task, to re-open and generate those leads," she added.

Sheriff Stewart told ABC-7 that dedicated personnel is needed to run things such as the Facebook page; something she says the department has had to do themselves for the past 6 years. The office hasn't had a public information officer in that 6-year time span.

She says the office made an official request for a public information officer last year but was denied by the County Commission.

"I think it's time for the county to recognize that people want to know about [DASO]," the Sheriff added.