Police service aides could free up resources in Las Cruces

On any given day, you will likely see commissioned police officers directing traffic around a crash in Las Cruces.

“If you think of an officer making $25 to $30 an hour just blocking traffic, we can use a police service aide to do that,” said Dan Trujillo, a spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department.

The department hopes to hire three full-time and three part-time police service aides, which are uniformed members of the department who can respond to misdemeanors and non-violent scenes.

“The idea for this is to keep our commissioned law enforcement officers doing what they need to be doing,” Trujillo said. “That is felony crimes.”

The position starts at just more than $14 an hour.

“Instead of tying up those resources just to block traffic, we might be able to use these police service aids for something like that,” Trujillo said.

Police service aides will not be armed, Trujillo said. They can respond to non-injury crashes, traffic duties and welfare checks. If needed, the aides can always call for back-up.

To apply, an applicant must:

Be at least 18 years old Have no felony convictions Have no misdemeanor convictions within the last three years. Have no convictions of a domestic violence crime. Have no use of marijuana in the last six months and no use of any other illegal drug within the last three years.

To apply, call the Las Cruces Police Department at (575) 526-0795.