LFC: Bernalillo County violent crime mostly flat from 2017 high

An Albuquerque Police Department SUV sits in the parking lot for the Albuquerque Police Academy. (Photo by Shelby Kleinhans for Source NM)

Violent crime has plateaued in Bernalillo County since reaching its highest point in 2017, according to a presentation and report given to New Mexico lawmakers Monday.

The presentation comes in the leadup to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s special session on Thursday, which has exposed a rift with top lawmakers in her party.

Governor, Legislature feud over crime with special session just days away

The governor’s office declined to comment on the report, including whether any of the recommendations would be adopted, citing preparations for the special session, said Michael Coleman, a spokesperson for the governor.

The findings:

The Legislative Finance Committee provides nonpartisan analysis on a variety of topics to lawmakers, and presented their findings on crime in Bernalillo County to lawmakers at a meeting in Socorro.

Bernalillio County’s violent crime – defined as murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, robbery, and rape and sexual assault – remains three times higher per capita than the national rates after plateauing at this rate since 2017, said Ryan Tolman, an LFC analyst.

Violent crime and homicide remained flat, while property crime and vehicle theft increased slightly from 2020 through 2023.

In a 37-page report , the analysis found that reducing crime comes from addressing its root causes, things like alleviating poverty, bettering education outcomes, and increasing mental health and drug addiction treatments – but that those treatments remain widely unavailable.

Tolman also noted that the “swiftness and certainty” of being caught mattered more in reducing crime rather than increasing the severity of sentences. But that is being undercut by an “accountability gap,” where police investigations and convictions are lagging behind crimes being committed.

“Arrests, criminal convictions and prison admissions do not keep pace with crime, meaning that the system is not effectively holding offenders accountable,” Tolman said.

The report delved into concerns that diversion programs, which offer treatment for addiction and mental health issues instead of jail time, are “only available to a fraction of people” who could benefit from them.

“Research shows substance use disorder treatment is the most effective way to break the cycle of crime and incarceration for offenders with drug abuse and addiction issues,” the report stated, also noting that treatment courts offer $4 return for every $1 the state spends on it.

Lawmakers poured tens of millions of dollars into police budgets in 2024, and the City of Albuquerque added $13 million to the Albuquerque Police Department’s budget.

The city spent more than $250 million on APD in 2023, but the report found that Albuquerque police were “not effectively deterring or solving crime.” Albuquerque police solved 6% of property crimes and 18% of violent crimes that year.

But the hundreds of millions spent on policing and prosecution is ineffective in holding criminals accountable, the analysis found. In recent years, Albuquerque police have solved fewer cases, and prosecutors have brought fewer cases and secured fewer convictions.

Only a small number of people were responsible for most felony arrests in Albuquerque, and the LFC said that suggests police and prosecutors need to prioritize high-risk offenders.

Although most people who commit multiple felonies are eventually sent to prison, the LFC found it takes “several alleged offenses before they are fully prosecuted and convicted.”

The analysis found that most felony cases were dismissed because of insufficient evidence collection or witness cooperation.

Sen. Joe Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) said there was a failure to hold the Albuquerque Police Department accountable.

“If your cases are getting dismissed because you’re doing poor evidence collection, who’s doing the poor evidence collection? And how come they’re not being held accountable? And how come they’re not being trained? How come they’re not being fired? And how come they’re not being replaced? And how come the people that supervise them are not being replaced? I just don’t know how this is complicated,” he said.

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LFC recommendations

The report provided a list of 17 recommendations to lawmakers and agencies.

None of the bulleted points addressed the governor’s proposed agenda for the upcoming special session.

In six recommendations, the report said lawmakers should focus on people waiting for a trial. Proposed reforms include outlining minimum court-certified standards for pretrial services; checking the validity of the risk assessments used to hold people in jail before trial; making rules for when courts use ankle monitors, and releasing more data to the public.

The committee also recommended lawmakers give more funding for certified competency evaluators and direct state agencies to ensure more pharmacies can make drug addiction treatment more available.

The report offered suggestions for four agencies, such as:

• Ask the New Mexico Corrections Department to increase incarcerated people’s participation in programs to prevent reoffending, and offer Medicaid-approved transitional services.
• Request the Administrative Office of the Courts increase participation in treatment courts and jail alternative programs across the state, and publish data on release decisions and outcomes.
• Recommend that the Health Care Authority amend the state’s Medicaid coverage to extend to people in prison 90 days before their release, to allow them to transition to services.
• Ask the Sentencing Commission to document the outcomes of crime reduction grants, particularly on treatment courts impacts on reducing jail overcrowding.

The report also said local agencies such as district attorneys and the Albuquerque Police Department have to focus on staffing and existing programs.

For the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Bernalillo County, the recommendations were to focus on diverting low-level offenders into addiction treatment and other programs addressing crime’s root causes. The report asked for further updates on the office’s efforts to use prosecutor specialty units on certain crimes and determine if they increased convictions.

The LFC requested the Albuquerque Police Department hire more police officers, conduct joint patrols with Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in “hot spots,” and staff specialized detective and field services to improve evidence collection and solve more crimes.

The legislature has allocated $829 million in the past three years to address crime, according to the report.

George Muñoz (D-Gallup), who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, made one last comment as the meeting ended.

“No matter what amount of money we put in there, crime goes up,” Muñoz said of Bernalillo County. “And our costs go up and nothing’s getting resolved.”

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