Kirk Roberts and Don Raley worked together for years in law enforcement, starting in 1989 in Bernalillo County.
Raley recruited Roberts for that department, and Roberts returned the favor by pushing Raley to approach a young woman with whom he was smitten for a date — Don and Brenda Raley have been married for years now and have a family.
Raley became Artesia’s chief of police in 2007, and one of his priorities was to recruit the best in law enforcement to join the Artesia Police Department. He contacted Roberts, who joined the APD three-and-a-half years ago, and Roberts quickly rose through the ranks.
Raley recently retired, and Artesia’s new chief of police, Roberts, took his oath of office in May.
Roberts has worked in small towns and big cities during his law enforcement career and has found that he prefers small towns. He credits his five years in the Navy with teaching him how to work with others; he is fascinated by the ways an organization interacts and reacts, recognizing that the social/human aspects are what move an organization from being good to being excellent.
And he should know. During his career, Roberts has had a wide variety of responsibilities, including serving as a town marshal, a volunteer firefighter, a sergeant in charge of all training programs, a computer forensics investigator, and, most recently, head of the APD’s Professional Standards Unit — all experiences that have honed his people and administrative skills.
When asked how he came to law enforcement, Roberts said he thought about what he would want from a career at the time of retirement — what career, at its end, would offer him the most satisfaction and opportunities to help others?
The answer was law enforcement, and, “Once I got into it,” Roberts says, “I loved it — and always have.”
