It’s no secret that crime in New Mexico is a serious issue. New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque, has one of the highest crime rates per capita in the United States. Viante thinks that the answer to the problem begins in the community.
Crime Data
According to the City of Albuquerque statistics on crime, there has been a significant decrease in all crime across the board (even though there’s been a recent uptick in the last couple months). Everything from auto theft to non-fatal shootings was documented in 2017 and 2018. Between the two years, on average, there was a 16% drop in crime.
Albuquerque Crime Data (January-December 2017 and January-December 2018 Comparison):
Neighborhood Watch
Within our communities, there’s a lot we can do to help prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. Neighborhood Watch is a great way to get to know the people who live near you and to become more familiar with your area. If you or any of your neighbors notice something out of the ordinary it can be reported. This helps reduce property crimes and creates awareness around potential crimes in the area.
Crime Watch in Rural New Mexico
In rural New Mexico, there may not always be an already established neighborhood association. It’s actually very simple to create and facilitate a neighborhood watch group. By going to the national neighborhood watch website, you can get step by step instructions to form a group.
- Recruit as many neighbors as you can to sustain a strong community.
- Contact your local law enforcement (the watch group is a cooperative effort).
- Discuss concerns and create a plan based on the issues near you.
- After making a plan, but everything into action & watch the crime in your neighborhood decrease.
Working Together to Reduce Crime in New Mexico
Crime in New Mexico is an ongoing problem that will take a lot of time and effort to reduce its frequency. We all know that crime is a big problem in our state and we need to face these problems head-on as a community. By coming together, we can be activists and protect our family, friends and neighbors to the best of our ability. Large movements start with little changes. New Mexico communities have the power and potential to prevent crimes among many other things by community engagement. Together, we can find the way forward.
