Let’s Talk New Mexico 2/9 8am: Albuquerque has continued to set new homicide records, while legislative reports also show other violent and property crimes are well above the national average. One solution in Albuquerque was the Metro Crime Initiative. Started in 2021, advocates and agencies in and around Albuquerque joined together to study violence, gun crimes, faults of the justice system, and the dearth of behavioral health treatment that have aggravated public safety goals.
However, crime’s reach goes well beyond the state’s largest city. A report last fall shows that almost all categories of crime are up in Santa Fe. And in Clovis, the District Attorney told the Eastern New Mexico News that illicit drug use is fueling “violence, robberies, burglaries, domestic violence. The majority of the homicides in our area have been drug related."
On the next episode of “Let’s Talk New Mexico” we’ll discuss public safety and what law enforcement and city and state government can do right now to curtail crime. Do you think tougher laws discourage criminal behavior? Are the courts at fault for going easy on defendants? Would more police in our communities help you to feel safer? What are the gaps in our system that foster crime? Email us at LetsTalk@kunm.org or call in live during the show.
GUESTS:
- Linda Atkinson, Executive Director, New Mexico Victims' Rights Project
- Sam Bregman, Bernalillo County District Attorney
- Enrique Cardiel, Executive Director, Health Equity Council
- Tim Keller, Albuquerque Mayor
- Andrea Reeb, New Mexico State Representative, Chaves, Curry & Roosevelt Counties
RELATED READING:
- Sending Help Instead of the Police in Albuquerque, The New Yorker
- Police chief says rise in Santa Fe crime tied to repeat offenders, Santa Fe New Mexican