BCSO has signed a contract to return to national television on On Patrol: Live, putting the agency back on the show after Sheriff Allen stepped away in 2023. Allen said the department is officially signed on to start production, with about 10 to 12 deputies potentially taking part.
The return matters now because Allen is reviving the partnership after saying two years ago that the department was short on staff and needed to get its priorities straight. He first took BCSO off the show in 2023, ending a run that began in 2022 and putting the agency’s next appearance on hold until now.
Allen said the department will censor material when necessary, including graphic incidents, undercover deputies and private medical information. That means the cameras are coming back, but not everything will be shown, and the number of deputies who could appear has not been finalized.
That gap is the story’s sharp edge. Allen is bringing BCSO back to On Patrol: Live after arguing that staffing and focus had to come first, which suggests the agency believes it can now handle the visibility it set aside in 2023. He told the department, “We’re excited to roll,” a line that fits the restart but leaves one basic question unanswered: when production will actually begin.
The show’s return also lands as Santa Fe police prepare six mobile enforcement trailers for August and federal, state and tribal leaders have started cleanup work at the northeast church uranium mine outside Gallup. For BCSO, though, the next step is narrower and more immediate. The contract is signed, the agency is back on board, and the only thing missing is the date cameras start rolling.
