Belen’s new police chief aims to bring stability and trust

Andrew Rodriguez walked into Belen’s police chief job with a year of vacancy, a department stretched beyond city limits and a station problem that has lingered for years. For residents, shop owners and commuters who rely on predictable policing in the Hub City, his promise of stability will be judged by staffing, response times and how visible officers are on the streets.

Rodriguez was sworn in as chief on May 4 after the city spent a year searching for a permanent leader. He brings 30 years of law-enforcement experience and was listed by the City of Belen as chief of police. Before coming to Belen, Mayor Robert Noblin identified him as the Albuquerque Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center commander, and earlier reporting said he had served as APD deputy commander since October 2023 after a career in Rio Rancho that included work as deputy police chief, captain, lieutenant, sergeant and patrol officer.

The size of the department makes the job especially consequential. Belen’s police department says it serves a city of 7,269 residents, but it also covers more than 22,000 people from neighboring communities. The department operates with 23 sworn officers, one animal control officer and one office and records manager, a staffing level that puts heavy weight on the chief’s ability to keep people, cover shifts and maintain a consistent presence in neighborhoods and business corridors.

That pressure comes as Belen is still dealing with the condition of its police station. News-Bulletin coverage has described the current building, at Becker Avenue and Sixth Street, as a 120-year-old structure with structural problems and mold. In November 2021, voters approved a $2.5 million general-obligation bond to construct and equip a new police station, with repayment tied to property taxes. The New Mexico Secretary of State’s election records describe the bond as authorizing up to $2.5 million for acquiring, constructing, purchasing, equipping or improving a police station, including land acquisition.

The city has since moved ahead with a larger replacement plan. Belen bought two neighboring buildings on Castillo to renovate into a new police station, and later reporting put the project’s total cost at $3,726,000, funded through a mix of federal, state, city and revolving-loan sources. With the station plan still unfolding, Rodriguez enters the post not as a ceremonial hire but as the official who will have to turn long-running promises of safety, trust and communication into measurable results.