SANTA FE -- Following productive meetings she convened this week with city of Albuquerque leadership and law enforcement partners, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced a series of initiatives her administration will undertake immediately to assist and support Albuquerque and Bernalillo County law enforcement. These direct assistance measures will help local police in responding to recent violent crime as well as entrenched patterns of law-breaking behavior in the metropolitan area.
Coordinating state and local law enforcement as well as regulatory agencies, the Lujan Grisham administration will deploy available resources in an effort to ameliorate recent trends in violent crime. At Gov. Lujan Grisham’s direction, 50 New Mexico State Police officers will be assigned to targeted areas across the city of Albuquerque to assist uniformed Albuquerque Police, working with the city’s real-time crime center to identify hot spots and reduce risks in the community.
In addition, Lujan Grisham has directed the Alcohol and Gaming Division, in coordination with the Albuquerque Police Department, to escalate enforcement efforts at all liquor establishments in targeted areas of Albuquerque as a means of heightening awareness around over-consumption and sales of alcohol to minors. Given upcoming commencement events and the beginning of summer vacation, the state Regulation and Licensing Department intends to ensure compliance by all liquor establishments in not only those targeted areas but all others. The state administration will strictly enforce regulations designed to keep the public safe.
The state Probation and Parole Division will lead a coordinated effort alongside the District Attorney’s Office, state police, local police and campus police at the University of New Mexico to increase absconder-location efforts in the metropolitan area, among other measures.
“My administration always stands at the ready to assist local partners in keeping New Mexicans safe,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “Violent crime in Albuquerque is a scourge, and we will attack the roots of that scourge with targeted deployments of manpower and resources. New Mexico residents must be free to have every expectation of safety in their homes and communities. It’s our duty as a state to take every action we possibly can to realize that freedom, and I’m proud to stand with our partners in Albuquerque in providing immediate, directed assistance.”
“Over the last decade, violent crime driven by drugs, gangs, guns, and domestic violence has become an increasingly deadly challenge for this community,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. “We have made this dangerous mix of crime our top priority. This week we joined the governor, her administration and a wide range of stakeholders to get down to details on working together to bring down violent crime. In the metro area and across the state, we are determined to make our communities safer, and we are creating a road map to help us get there.”