Chief Deputy of Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Assumes Leadership of Multi-Agency Intelligence Sharing Network

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston announced that Jessica A. Tyler, Chief Deputy of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, has been elected Chairwoman of the Rio Grande Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX) Advisory Group.  Deputy Chief Tyler replaces Chief Julian Gonzales of the Bernalillo Police Department, who is retiring after 37 years in law enforcement.

Rio Grande LInX is a federal initiative sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that facilitates electronic sharing of law enforcement information among 41 federal state and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and west Texas.  The LInX initiative provides participating partner agencies with secure access to regional crime and incident data and the tools needed to process it, enabling investigators to search across jurisdictional boundaries to help solve crimes and resolve suspicious events.  There are nine LInX regions, including the Rio Grande LInX, throughout the United States with over 760 partner agencies.

Deputy Chief Tyler is the first woman to hold the rank of Chief Deputy in the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.  She began her law enforcement career as a patrol officer with the department in 2000 and was named to her current position earlier this year.  In addition to working in the Crimes Against Children Unit, she served as the department’s training coordinator and spent time as a member of the SWAT team as a crisis negotiator.  Deputy Chief Tyler also has served as commander of the internal affairs unit, field services division and criminal investigations division during her career with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough praised the selection of Deputy Chief Tyler as the new leader of the Rio Grande LInX Advisory Group and said, “Chief Deputy Tyler has long been a tremendous asset to our law enforcement community.   Throughout her distinguished career with the Sheriff’s Office, she has supported numerous local Department of Justice criminal justice initiatives, including Operation Weed and Seed, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and violence reduction training and outreach programs.   I am grateful to Sheriff Dan Houston for his support and the nomination of his Chief Deputy to lead the Rio Grande LInX Advisory Group which provides nationwide support to the law enforcement community.”

“It is an honor for the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office to provide a leader for this important initiative with the appointment of Chief Deputy Tyler,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston.  “Her dedication to the profession of law enforcement is evidenced by her level of education as she has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.  I know she will continue to lead this initiative with the same professionalism as her predecessor.”