This is part two of a series on child abuse and the professionals who are tasked with handling these cases. Read part one and part three.
Last year, the Albuquerque Police Department’s crimes against children unit responded to just under 700 cases of child abuse in the city and went to 67 that were physically immediate.
For most of 2023, the unit employed six detectives but recently two more were added to the unit, making them fully staffed, according to Deputy Commander Jay Ratliff. The department did not provide data for 2022.
The crimes against children’s unit is part of APD’s Special Victims Unit, which also includes the child exploitation unit, sex crimes unit, human trafficking, missing persons, and victim assistance unit, and is housed in the Family Advocacy Center.
With 24-years of law enforcement experience under his belt, Ratliff took charge of the SVU just over a year ago and said he is passionate about being a voice for children facing abuse situations.
“Not everybody can do these investigations,” he said. “It’s very tiring mental health wise but I’ve enjoyed it and the successes that we have in those cases and bringing justice forward for those families is really what pushes you forward.”
Responding to children
In receiving that many calls per year, Ratliff said they have to prioritize cases. If it’s an immediate crime scene detectives will go out and begin collecting evidence but many of the cases his unit responds to are delayed reports because children don’t always report abuse right away.
“Think of how trauma affects each of us, even as adults, but even more so as a child,” he said. “We know with children, sometimes that initial disclosure isn’t always there. It may come through counseling services, it may manifest itself in other ways, so there is a long-term investigation on these, especially when we deal with the younger children.”
Ratliff said cases with delayed reports are more challenging to “get across that prosecution finish line” than cases that they investigate in real time.
He said disclosures are important because they can investigate the case and help the child receive services they may need to begin healing.
Working with community partners
The SVU is housed at the Family Advocacy Center on Silver Avenue. Ratliff said half of the building is law enforcement and the other half of houses partner organizations that assist detectives with child abuse investigations.
The APD SVU partners with several area organizations that specialize in working with abuse victims including the University of New Mexico Health Child Abuse Response Team—a team of specialized doctors who review injuries on children and asseswhether those injuries are abuse, or accidents. They also partner with All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center, whose staff conduct forensic interviews, and Para Los Niños, which assists with sexual assault cases.
Civilian support staff
Ratliff said he doesn’t think the crimes against children unit has enough staff but he said Chief Harold Medina has done a great job at realizing civilian employees can help with these cases.
This support staff, Ratliff said, does a great job at taking some of the load off of the detectives.
“That support staff does an amazing job of being able to support that investigation where they can,” he said. “Obviously there’s some things that law enforcement has to do as a sworn officer but a lot of the backgrounds and a lot of the information gathering—those things our civilian staff, our professional staff, is amazing at helping with.”