New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII, Issue 21 / November 3,
2026
TITLE 10 PUBLIC
SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
CHAPTER 28 LAW
ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS AND TRAINING
PART 2 DEFINITIONS
10.28.2.1 ISSUING AGENCY: New Mexico Law Enforcement Standards and Training
Council, 4491 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507.
[10.28.2.1
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]
10.28.2.2 SCOPE:
All police officers, public safety
telecommunicators, and law enforcement agencies in the state of New Mexico.
[10.28.2.2
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]
10.28.2.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY: Paragraph (1) of Subsection E of
Section 29-7-4, NMSA 1978
[10.28.2.3
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]2
10.28.2.4 DURATION:
Permanent
[10.28.2.4
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]
10.28.2.5 EFFECTIVE
DATE: November 3, 2026, unless a later date is cited at the end of
a section.
[10.28.2.5
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]
10.28.2.6 OBJECTIVE:
This part provides definitions for terms used in the rules
in addition to those definitions in the Act for the New Mexico Law Enforcement
Standards and Training Council.
[10.28.2.6
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]
10.28.2.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Absence” means a break in
employment with a public safety agency as a full-time certified public safety
telecommunicator.
B. “Academy” means the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy,
which provides accredited basic, in-service, advanced, and
certification-by-waiver training programs. The "academy" also refers
to the entity responsible for the implementation and enforcement of rules
established by the council, pursuant to Subsection A of Section 29-7-3 NMSA
1978 and Subsection E of Section 29-7-4 NMSA 1978.
C. “Accredited” refers to training that is recognized by the
director as meeting required standards set by the Law Enforcement Standards and
Training Council. Accredited advanced training courses may be counted toward a
law enforcement officer's or public safety
telecommunicator’s in-service training requirements.
D. “Advanced police training” or “advanced training” is
police officer training beyond the basic law enforcement training program level
and does not include mandated in-service training courses.
E. “Advanced public safety telecommunicator training” or
“advanced training” is public safety telecommunicator training beyond the basic
public safety telecommunicator training program level and does not include
mandated in-service training courses.
F. “Agency” means a law enforcement or public safety
agency recognized by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.
G. “Board” means the Law Enforcement Certification Board.
H. “Credentialed Instructor” means
meeting the training standards established by statute and rules as determined
by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council to teach law
enforcement officers and public safety telecommunicators in New Mexico. A
credential is distinct from a certification or commission and may be issued to
qualifying individuals regardless of current employment status or in-service
training compliance. A credentialed instructor may be a state-certified law
enforcement officer or public safety telecommunicator, including officers
employed by a law enforcement agency, reserve police officers, or a duly
elected sheriff. A credentialed instructor may also be a police administrator
or other employee who works for a public agency within the criminal justice
system. A currently employed, former, or retired law enforcement officer or public
safety telecommunicator may be a credentialed instructor as long as that
individual’s state certification is not currently suspended or revoked by the
Law Enforcement Certification Board.
I. “Council” means the Law Enforcement Standards and Training
Council.
J. “Director” means the director of the New Mexico Law
Enforcement Academy.
K “General instructor” means a
credentialed general instructor who is authorized to teach generalized topics
of instruction which would not otherwise require a specialized, technical,
high-risk or master instructor credential.
L. “High-risk specializations” are
topics that involve significant danger or risk of injury when learning,
training, practicing or applying the skills in the course of one’s duties.
M. “ICS” means incident command system.
N. “Instructor course” is any accredited advanced police
or public safety telecommunicator training intended to further the individual’s
knowledge, skills, and abilities, beyond a basic level, for an instructor
credential in the respective field.
O. “Master course” is any advanced police or public
safety telecommunicator training intended to further the individual’s
knowledge, skills, and abilities beyond an instructor course. A master course
allows an instructor to apply to the academy for a master instructor credential.
P. “Master instructor” is a credentialed instructor
authorized to train instructor-level or train-the-trainer courses.
Q. “NHTSA” means the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
R. “Professional
Lecturer" means someone who is credentialed to teach law enforcement or public
safety telecommunicators, but who is not an instructor as defined in Section
10.28.2.7 and who has subject matter expertise, academic credentials,
licensing, or professional experience.
S. “Public safety agency” means a
unit of state or local government, a special purpose district or a business that provides emergency medical
services.
T. “Public Safety Telecommunicator”
means an employee of a public safety agency who receives calls or dispatches
the appropriate personnel or equipment in response to calls for police, fire or
medical services, and makes decisions affecting the life, health, or welfare of
the public or public safety agency employees.
U. "Regional Satellite
Academy" (also known as "satellite academy") means an accredited regional law enforcement training
facility that provides accredited basic, in-service, advanced, and
certification-by-waiver training programs.
V. “Senior Master Instructor” is a
master instructor who has achieved the highest level of teaching
credential. A senior master instructor
is authorized to teach a master instructor course.
W. “Separation” means a break in
employment with a public safety agency as a full-time certified public safety
telecommunicator or law enforcement officer after being employed for a minimum
period of five years and having left the public safety agency in good standing.
X. “Specialized” means an instructor
who has an additional credential that allows that instructor to teach
specialized topics that require advanced training, experience, and skills
beyond those that are taught in a basic law enforcement training program, a certification-by-waiver
program, or a standard in-service curriculum. Specialized topics may also be
designated as high-risk or technical specializations.
Y. "Sponsored" means that
an agency attests that an applicant meets the qualifications and eligibility
for training and certification.
Z. "Standardized statewide
curriculum" means a course of instruction that is taught using the same
council-approved curriculum throughout the state.
AA. “Technical specializations” are
duties that require a level of expertise, certification, or licensure as
established by the courts or a state or federal regulatory body. Technical
topics do not involve a significant danger or risk of injury when learning,
training, practicing or applying the skills in the course of one’s duties.
BB. "Working group" means a subcommittee of the council or board that can
review, develop, and refine matters within the authority of the council or
board. It may include non-members who are subject-matter experts and a number
of members that do not constitute a quorum.
[10.28.2.6
NMAC - N, 11/3/2026]
History of 10.28.2 NMAC:
[RESERVED]