ABQ Homicide Blog

 Status Quo 

There is a preconceived notion among Burqueños’s and Burqueñas’s that we have issues when it comes to violent crimes, but more specifically when it comes to homicides. Unfortunately, this is not an empty claim. In 2022, Albuquerque was ranked as one of the 10 most dangerous metro areas in the nation. The justification for this ranking is certainly based on Albuquerque’s current violent crime rate. Albuquerque’s violent crime rate is currently at 10.1 per 1,000 people, which is significantly higher than the national violent crime rate of 4.0 per 1,000 people.  

However, what has recently added more fuel to the fire is the recent upward trend in Albuquerque’s homicide rate. Since 1985, Albuquerque has averaged around 45 homicides per year, but has recently witnessed a significant rise in this average. In 2021 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) reported a total of 110 homicides and in 2022 reported a total of 121 homicides. 

  

ABQ homicide totals over the years (Cathryn Cunningham/Journal) 

 

When Burqueños’s and Burqueñas’s began to voice their concerns and frustrations regarding violent crimes and homicides, typically the fault is directed to APD. Even though the 2022 homicide rate was recorded as the largest total in decades, APD’s homicide clearances rate was recorded at around 90%. Based on how the current national clearance rate is just above 50% (which was recorded as an all-time low), APD’s Criminal Homicide Unit definitely deserves their flowers. 

APD’s Criminal Homicide Unit Investigation Unit is crucial for holding offenders accountable and providing closure to victim’s families and friends, which is certainly important. However, having an expectational homicide clearance rate does not have a correlation to decreasing the number of homicides that occur. 

Albuquerque’s Mayor Tim Keller, from personal experience as an intern once in his office, is the poster boy and the scapegoat when it comes to issues involving crime in any facete. Which begs the question, what is Keller’s Administration doing to combat the rising violent crime and homicide rate? Well for starters, it certainly helps when 31% of Albuquerque's city budget is allocated towards APD. But like the great The Notorious B.I.G. once said, “Mo Money, Mo Problems”.  

Outside the $11 million hike in spending for APD, Mayor Keller has been adamant about the Metro Crime Initiative (MCI), which is focused on shared accountability, shared responsibility, and short-term action. Although the MCI deliverables and actions are intended to be comprehensive to tackle all aspects of crime, there are initiatives strictly focusing on preventing homicides and violent crimes. 

  

ABQ’s 2022 Metro Crime Initiative (CABQ ,2022) 

One major focus from the 2022 MCI was gun violence, which is often associated to homicides and violent crimes. The MCI goal this year was achieved based on the passage of House Bill 9—Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act, which is beneficial and proactive legislation to prevent gun violence. This ensures that individuals responsibly store their firearm/s and limits the ability for younger children to access those firearms. The rationale for including this information is based on my conversation with APD’s Compliance and Oversight Commander Jason Sanche. He stated that APD is beginning to identify younger victims in cases involving violent crimes and homicides, which is why this legislation was crucial. However, from my knowledge, this is the only action that was taken to decrease levels of violent crime and homicides.    

So, what do we do? Well, luckily for you, I have some policy options that attempt to solve this issue. 

1st Policy Option: The Creation of the APD POP (Problem Orientated Policing) Unit   

The first policy option is creating a new APD unit that would focus on using Problem-Orientated Policing (POP) practices/strategies as a proactive approach to prevent violent crime. Even though community policing has similar aspects, POP is more focused on (1) ensuring that officers have a full understanding of the underlying problems that contribute to violent crimes and (2) responding faster to incidents and creating avenues that will prevent individuals from committing violent crimes (Taylor, 2010). 

POP and community policing both focus on engaging in open and constant communication with members of the community. Outside of that, the two approaches vary. The APD POP Unit is intended to foster a relationship with members of the community, while also working collectively to develop tactics that would lead to changing the environment associated with high rates of crime. Examples of changing the environment would be adding more streetlights in certain areas, adding more police cameras in particular areas, and helping the community organize a neighborhood watch.  

Even though POP is associated with reducing crime by 33% (Taylor, 2010), this newly formed unit will certainly increase the presence of law enforcement in areas of concern. Increased police presence in areas that are associated with high rates of violent crime may be reassuring for some Burqueños’s and Burqueñas’s, but for others, may lead to becoming concerned. The purpose of this unit is to work with the community, and if people become fearful, this will affect police officers' ability to communicate effectively to the members of this community. 

2nd Policy Option: The addition of Police-Initiated Stops to the MCI   

The second policy option is the addition of police-initiated stops to the 2023 MCI. This would focus on creating deliverables and actions that would focus on police-initiated stops for both pedestrians and drivers. 

I don’t know about you, but I can speak on behalf of all Burqueños’s and Burqueñas’s and say that getting “pulled over” sucks! Although getting “pulled over” may suck, police-initiated stops have been one of the most common and effective police tactics used and has a correlation to preventing violent crimes by 13% (Petersen, Weisburd & Majmundar, 2018). The legal legitimacy for police-initiated stops is based on the Terry v. Ohio Ruling.  

Even though this is for both drivers and pedestrians, conducting more police-initiated stops leads to (1) changing police officers' mindset to becoming more proactive instead of reactive; (2) allows police officers to fully understand their effects on crime when they conduct pedestrian stop (which can boost the morale of officers and the department as a whole) and (3) serves to consistently build an understanding of the community and the individuals who reside in it. 

One major and crucial downfall for this policy, ironically, is how police-initiated stops will increase significantly. “Well Isaiah, didn’t you say that increasing police-initiated stops is good avenue to decrease levels of crime?”. Well, in a sense, yes. However, there are significant repercussions for this policy option.  

What is important to keep in mind is how police-initiated stops disproportionally effect people of color and individuals who reside in low-income neighborhoods. Based on how almost 50% of Albuquerque's population is Hispanic and how 16% of our population lives in poverty, this is certainly could be detrimental. Increasing the number of stops can also affect the mental and physical health of members of the community. All of these components can affect people’s attitude towards the police, which could lead to individuals not wanting to communicate with law enforcement. We want our fellow Burqueños’s and Burqueñas’s to feel inclined to call the police if an issue arises, and not the other way around. 

3rd Policy Option: Strengthening pretrial detention criteria   

The third and final policy option would be geared towards strengthening pretrial detention criteria. Although there is not an association that this will prevent violent crimes, there is an association that pretrial detention secures the appearance of defendant at trial and prevents the defendant from inflicting more harm to the community. But why is that important? 

Even though this may not be a proactive approach, it certainly mitigates the chances for defendants to re-offend and is an effective way to protect the community as a whole. The importance of expanding the criteria for the release status and conditions for a defendant will reassure that the defendant remains in pre-trial detention until their trial and will not be a danger to the community.  

From face-value, this seems like an effective solution to keep defendants in custody who are linked to committing a violent crime. However, expanding the pre-trial detention criteria would lead to expanding Albuquerque’s detention facilities and hiring more staff. Investing more in jails services may not bow well for my fellow my Burqueños’s and Burqueñas’s. Which is valid. Increased incarceration, even if justified, is linked to social and racial disparity.  It also doesn’t help when people point out New Mexico’s incarceration rate compared to the national average. 

 

 

 

So... What would my recommendation be?  

 

Out of the three policy options, I choose to stick with the creation of the APD POP Unit. This is not only an innovative policy option but it will serve to (1) decrease the levels of crime, (2) engages officers to become more proactive in their policing approach, (3) allows officers to form relationships with the communities that are of concern, (4) gives officers a deeper understanding of the underlying components of why crimes are committed in said area. 

  

 

References: 

Petersen, Kevin., Weisburd, David., Fay, Sydney., Eggins, Elizabeth., & Mazerolle, Lorraine. (2023). “Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review and meta‐analysis.” Campbell Systematic Reviews, Volume 19, Issue 1 

Taylor, Bruce., Koper, Christopher. S., & Woods, Daniel. J. (2010). “A randomized controlled trial of different policing strategies at hot spots of violent crime.” Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7(2), 149–181.