On April 1, the Mayor Tim Keller Administration released the proposed city operating budget for fiscal 2025 and submitted it to the Albuquerque City Council for final review and approval. The fiscal year begins July 1, 2024 and ends June 30, 2025.The proposed budget is a whopping $1.4 billion budget. The General Fund Budget, which is funding for the individual city departments, is $845.9 million, an increase of $19.3 million or a 2.3% increase above the 2024 budget. Non-recurring spending will drop from $49.9 million last year to $28.4 million in the proposed budget. The budget leaves 12% in reserves and a $5 million fund balance. The coming fiscal year’s budget provides funding for 7,015 full time employees.
PERFORMANCE BASED BUDGET
The entire City of Albuquerque budget is what is referred to as a performance-based budget. The City’s budget is formulated in two parts: 1. A financial plan and 2. Performance plan.
The Financial Plan is organized by department budgets and funds, and program strategy. Funds are groupings of related accounts that are used to maintain control over resources that have been segregated for specific activities.
The Performance Plan is organized by goals, desired community conditions, and program strategy. A goal is a long-term result that is further defined by desired community conditions that would exist if the goal were achieved.
https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/budget
When it comes to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), statistics are compiled in areas that reflect performance and outcomes aimed at influencing the larger outcomes and goals that APD is striving to achieve. The performance measures capture APD’s ability to perform the services at the highest level achieved from the previous year and the “target” level for the new fiscal year. Target levels and percentages are merely goals that may or may not be achieved.
The performance measures are absolutely critical in order for the City Council to understand fully the shortcomings and strengths of APD and make critical budget decisions. Without such statics, budget review and decisions are done in the dark and in a real sense become useless, become an exercise in futility and the city council is relegated to rubber stamping whatever budget is presented to them.
APD’S PERFORMANCE BASED BUDGET
The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) continues to be the largest funded department budget and it is about a fifth of the total General Fund Operating Budget. The proposed Fiscal Year 2025 General Fund budget for the Albuquerque Police Department is $271.5 million, which represents an increase of 5.2% or $13.4 million above the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. 1,840 full time positions will be funded which includes funding for 1,010 sworn police positions.
The budget includes full funding for 1,010 sworn police officers which is identical to last year. However, the city has yet to hit its goal of 1,000 sworn police. APD had 856 sworn officers last year and this year the highest number achieved was a 880 sworn police officers in the department and 50 cadets are currently going through the police academy.
The proposed budget includes the following specific funding:
- Funding for 1,010 officers positions across the Albuquerque Police Department, including, with an increase in Police Service Aides and civilian support staff, with a targeted total of 1,100 sworn police
- $22 million for the use of crime-fighting technology through the Real-Time Crime Center and the APD Crime Lab
- $800,000 is allocated for support for the Office of the Superintendent of Police Reform and the Independent Monitoring Team for federal oversight and consent decree related expenses so that APD can reach reform goals.
- Funding for the Automated Speed Enforcement program, including hearing officers.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measures can be gleaned from the 2024-2025 proposed budget. The data reflects how effective APD has been with its budget over the last two years.
NUMBER OF SWORN APD OFFICERS:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 894
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 877
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 856
Target for Fiscal Year 2025: 1,100
NUMBER OF CADET GRADUATES:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 95
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 85
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 54
Target for Fiscal Year 2025: 120
NUMBER OF 911 CALLS RECEIVED:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 459,720
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 434,083 (Calls down 25,637)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 215,492
Target for Fiscal Year 2025: 400,000
NUMBER OF 242-COPS CALLS RECEIVED:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 527,472
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 448,100 (Calls down 79,372)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 247,536
Target for Fiscal Year 2025: 550,000
NUMBER OF CALLS FOR SERVICE:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 512,394
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 537,276 (24,882 INCREASE)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 247,536
Target for Fiscal Year 2025: 550,000
EDITOR’S NOTE: Note the dramatic decline in calls to both emergency 911 calls and 242-COPS, but there was an increase in overall “calls for service” which is where sworn police are dispatched.
NUMBER OF VIOLENT CRIMES PER 100,000 RESIDENTS:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 2,312
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 2,646 (334 INCREASE)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 1,120
NUMBER OF PROPERTY CRIMES PER 100,000 RESIDENTS:
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 7,229
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 7,624 (395 INCREASE)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 3,127
CLEARANCE RATE OF CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS (e.g. murder, rape, assaults)
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 44%
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 40% (Clearance Rate Down 4%)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 44%
CLEARANCE RATE OF CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY (e.g. robbery, bribery, burglary)
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 9%
Fiscal Year 2023: 8% (Clearance Rate Down 1%)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 8%
% of stolen vehicles recovered
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 47%
Fiscal Year 2023: 67%
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 57%
CLEARANCE RATE OF CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY (e.g. gambling, prostitution, drug violations)
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 57%
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 44% (Clearance Rate Down 13%)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 55%
% HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATE
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 71%
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 83% (Up 12%)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 93%
NUMBER OF FELONY ARRESTS
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 6,122
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 8,034 (Up 1,912)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 4,633
NUMBER OF MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 9,799
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 11,293 (Up 1,494 arrests)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 5,883
NUMBER OF DWI ARRESTS
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 1,287
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 1,385 (Up 98 arrests)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 674
PERCENTAGE OF CASES SUBMITTED TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 96%
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 85% (Down 9%)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 86%
NUMBER OF HOME VISITS
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 3,025
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 4,024 (INCREASE BY 1,001)
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 3,411
NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS ASSISTED
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 1,219
Actual Fiscal Year 2023: 8,996
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024: 3,411
NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS ASSISTED THROUGH COAST
Actual Fiscal Year 2022: 2,184
Actual Fiscal Year 2023:
Mid- Fiscal Year 2024:
RECRUITMENTS UP BUT OFFSET BY DEPARTURES
The proposed APD budget of $271.5 million includes proposed funding for 1,100 sworn police officers and 725 civilian employees. APD acknowledges the 1,100 figure for sworn police officers is a goal established by previous administrations. The last time APD reached the goal of 1,100 police officers was in 2009 under the third term of Mayor Martin Chavez. The Keller Administration now says that the 1,100 figure is an unrealistic goal. According to the 2024-2025 proposed budget, by mid-fiscal year 2024, APD had 856 sworn officers. The 856 number is fewer than in fiscal year 2023 when there were 877 and in and 2022 when there were 894 officers.
APD Spokesperson Rebecca Atkins said this:
[The 1,100] goal is from the past and is unrealistic. … If the department reaches more than 1,000 officers, there is an administrative plan to request additional resources in order to fund the additional officers. APD is focused on a [comprehensive approach to public safety] …That includes a multitude of things including civilianizing many areas of the department as well as advancements in technology, which have been a force multiplier for APD.”
City Councilor Dan Champine is a former APD Police Officer. He said he thinks reaching 1,100 officers and going from 875 to 1,100 officers isn’t an unrealistic expectation, but it will take time to reach that goal.
City Councilor Champine said this:
“You have an academy class that’s six months long and you put 50 people in the class, so you do two of those, that’s 100 people that are going to graduate in a year and put out on the streets. … And during that one year at a time, you lose 60 people because of retirement or moving or life, so now your net gain is 40.”
APD Spokesperson Rebecca Atkins said in the last year, APD has seen a record number of recruits and some of the largest cadet classes in a decade. However, 80 officers separated from the department during the last fiscal year with 40 sworn officers resigning, 35 retiring, and 5 terminated.
The city’s targeted number of recruits for next year is 120, although it has not yet broken 100 in previous years. In fiscal year 2023, there were 85 recruits and in 2022 there were 95. By mid-year of fiscal year 2024, APD had 54 recruits.
APD has ramped up its recruiting presence on social media platforms, television and in movie theaters. APD Spokesperson Rebecca Atkins said a plan was put into place in 2022 to ramp up recruiting efforts for the Police Service Aide program because they’re a pipeline to future officers. Police Service Aides are tasked with handling minor traffic crashes, writing reports, managing traffic control and assisting with other administrative duties. Atkins said this:
“There will always be retirements and separations year to year, but, the growing number of cadets in our academy and PSAs who will become future officers continue to add to the department’s growing numbers. … We will continue our recruiting efforts…which have been successful in reaching qualified candidates who want to join the department. Just in the last two years, nearly two dozen PSAs have become police officers at APD. … We also currently have nearly 100 PSAs in the department, which is the highest number in the department’s history.”
Once PSAs are qualified to become officers which is usually when they turn 21 they can apply to become sworn officers.
https://citydesk.org/2024/mayors-proposed-budget-includes-5-more-funding-for- police/?utm_medium=email&mc_cid=608fffdc41&mc_eid=001367acf1
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY
When it comes to the Albuquerque Police Department and the performance measure contained in the 2024-2025 it is painfully obvious that APD is falling short in getting its job done in protecting the public despite being the largest of all of the 27 City Departments with a $271.5 million budget.
15 YEARS OF ZERO PROGESS ON INCREASING SWORN PERSONNEL NUMBERS
On December 1, 2009 when Mayor Richard Berry was sworn into office succeeding Mayor Marty Chavez, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) was the best trained, best equipped, best funded police department in its history. In 2009, APD was fully staffed with 1,100 sworn police officers. APD response times had been brought down below the national average and violent and property crime rates in Albuquerque were hitting historical lows.
During the 8 years Mayor Richard Berry was in office, the city’s violent crime and property crime rates hit historical highs and APD went into a personnel meltdown going from 1,100 sworn police officers to 853 sworn police, a loss of 247 sworn police. Since taking office on December 1, 2017 Mayor Tim Keller has made Public Safety his number one priority over the last 7 years because of the city’s spiking violent crime rates.
Notwithstanding all of Mayor Keller’s efforts to recruit and expand APD, the department is still seriously short staffed despite the millions being spent on salary increases, sign on bonuses and being the best paid law enforcement agency in the state and the region. Today, according to the 2024-2025 proposed budget, by mid-fiscal year 2024, APD had 856 sworn officers which is only 3 more sworn police than the day Keller took office in 2017. Given the volume of arrests and cases, APD is critically understaffed to complete its mission.
It’s no too difficult to pin point the multiple reasons for the sworn personnel melt down over the last 15 years.
First, APD’s poor reputation has made it difficult to attract a new generation of police officers. The Department of Justice civil rights investigation in 2013 contributed to APD’s poor reputation when it found that APD engaged in a pattern of “excessive use of force” and “deadly force” and found a “culture of aggression” with numerous judgments entered against the city for civil rights violations. The killing of homeless camper James Boyd in the Sandia Foothills by APD in 2014 expedited the city and APD entering into a consent decree that mandated 271 reforms and constitutional policing practices. 2 APD Officers were charged with murder of Boyd, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict and the city settled the case for $5 Million. The consent decree was suppose to last only 4 years and be dismissed, but it lasted 9 years after APD management and the police union engaged repeatedly in obstruction tactics and failed to come into compliance with the reforms. On May 13, 3024, it was announced APD has come into compliance and it likely the case will be dismissed after 2 more years of being in full compliance. A more recent scandal that has now rocked APD is the Bribery and Conspiracy Scandal to dismiss DWI cases where 9 police officers have now been implicated as the investigation expands.
Second, respect for law enforcement deteriorated all over the country as departments came under intensive scrutiny for civil rights violations and repeated killings of African Americans and other minorities. That intense scrutiny culminated with the killing of George Floyd and the conviction of 5 Minneapolis Police Officers and the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.
Third, violent crime, property crime, and the proliferation of drugs because of the drug cartels has spiked dramatically all over the country making it difficult to be a police officer. Murders in the United States reach an all time high, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and law enforcement agency resources were stretched to historical levels.
Fourth, this countries obsession with guns and resistance to any and all gun control has resulted in even more guns being available to the criminal element in the United States endangering law enforcement.
Fifth, simply put, becoming a police officer has become less and less attractive making it difficult to attract a new generation of police officers. The workloads and pressures of being in law enforcement makes it unattractive profession on many levels.
APD’S WORKLOADS INCREASE AND DECREASE OVER 4 YEARS
Despite being severely understaffed, APD’s performance measure reveal that the department’s workload has increased and decreased over the last 4 years.
The number of calls for service increased by 24,882 going from 512,394 in 2022 to 537,276 in 2023 with the projected targeted number at 550,000 for 2025
APD’s felony arrests went up by 1,912 going from 6,122 in 2022 to 8,034 in 2023 with 4,633 felony arrests by midyear 2024. Notwithstanding felony arrests going up over the last 2 years, APD felony arrest were much higher in 2020 with 10,945 felony arrests and in 2021 with 6,621 felony arrests
APD’s misdemeanor arrests also went up 1,494 going from 9,799 in 2022 to 11,293 in 2023 with 5,883 misdemeanor by midyear 2024. Notwithstanding misdemeanor arrests going up over the past 2 years, misdemeanor arrests were much higher in 2020 with 19,440 misdemeanor arrests and in 2021 with 16,520 misdemeanor arrests.
The number of DWI arrests has increased by a mere 98 arrests going from 1,287 in 2022 to 1,385 in 2023. DWI arrests were much higher in 2020 with 1,788 DWI arrests and in 2021 with 1,230 DWI arrests.
The percentage of cases submitted to the District Attorney for prosecutions has gone down by 9% with 96% submitted in 2022 and 85% submitted in 2023. The lack of personnel to complete investigations in full contributes to the decline in case submitted.
911 EMERGENCY CALLS AND 242 COPS CALLS DOWN
It is very troubling that 911 calls are down by 25,637 and 242-COPS calls are down by 79,372 from the previous year. The blunt truth is that crime has not gone down that much. The likely reasons for the decline in calls is that victims of crime have lost an extent of faith and are likely frustrated in APD’s failure to respond.
CLEARANCE RATES DOWN IN ALL THREE MAJOR CATEGORIES
Clearance rates are where the “rubber hits the road” when it comes to law enforcement. The ultimate goal is to solve a case, apprehend a perpetrator and prosecute. APD uses the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) as required by the FBI and there are 3 major broad categories of crime. The 3 major categories are then broken down into 52 sub-categories.
NIBRS counts virtually all crimes committed during an incident and for that reason alone NIMRS is far more sophisticated than the “most serious incident-based” reporting SRS reporting system which list only 8 major categories of crime.
Over the past 2 years, APD’s clearance rates have gone down in all 3 major categories of crime:
CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY include gambling, prostitution, and drug violations, and represent society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity and are typically victimless crimes. APD’s clearance rate in Crimes Against Society went down 13%, going from 57% in 2022 to 44% in 2023.
CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS include murder, rape, and assault, and are those in which the victims are always individuals. APD’s clearance rate in Crimes Against Persons went down 4% going from 44% in 2022 to 40% in 2023.
CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY include robbery, bribery, and burglary, or to obtain money, property, or some other benefit. APD’s clearance rate in Crimes property went down by 1% going from 9% in 2022 to 8% in 2023. APD Spokesperson Franchesca Perdue said property crime clearance rates are generally low because there are usually no witnesses or offender information after the crime has been committed.
According to the proposed 2024-205 budget, APD’s goal is to more than double the clearance rate for property crimes setting a goal to clear 20% of property crimes. The department had the same goal last year but fell far short. Perdue said this about APD’s low clearance rates in property crime:
“The most common way to overcome this is the use of surveillance videos, better lighting, and neighbors working together to report suspicious activity. … There is increased lab personnel to assist in processing evidence such as fingerprints and the number of crime scene specialists is the highest it’s been at the department. … The hope is that more evidence will be gathered and processed, which will lead to more cases being solved and a higher clearance rate.”
The link to the relied upon and quoted news source is here:
https://citydesk.org/2024/more-than-90-of-property-crimes-in-albuquerque-arent-solved/?utm_medium=email&mc_cid=40922ff3e7&mc_eid=001367acf1
CITY HOMICIDES EBB AND FLOW
On January 5, 2024, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released its end-of-year data for homicides. During the last 6 years, the city’s murder rates rose, dropped one year, and then rose to a historical high and dropped by 20% in 2023. Following is the breakdown of homicides by year:
2017: 72 homicides
2018: 69 homicides.
2019: 82 homicides
2020: 76 homicides
2021: 117 homicides
2022: 120 homicides
2023: 97 homicides
https://www.abqjournal.com/1534762/homicide-numbers-high-despite-pandemic.html?amp=1
https://www.abqjournal.com/2458296/remembering-some-of-2021s-homicide-victims-in-abq-ex-total-
2023 HOMICIDES
According to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), murders were down 20% last year. In 2023, APD said there were 97 murders, compared to 121 investigated by APD in 2022. APD reported that 84 homicides were solved in 2023 with 53 of the cases from 2023 and 31 of the cases are from previous years. APD reported that 117 suspects were arrested, charged or died in 2023 and 12 of the homicide suspects from 2023 were juveniles.
According to APD, there are a few things that may have led to the 20% decrease in homicides. They include officers being more proactive, new and updated technology and arresting people. In 2017, APD only had five homicide detectives who investigated 72 homicides. The homicide unit now has 16 detectives, and roughly 200 officers went through the department’s detective academy.
The raw data breakdown for the 2023 homicides is as follows:
Of the 97 homicides:
- 84 homicides were solved.
- 53 of the cases were from 2023.
- 31 of the cases are from previous years.
ARRESTED AND CHARGED
APD reported 117 suspects were arrested, charged or died in 2023.
- 72 of the suspects are from 2023 cases.
- 64 arrested
- 5 dead
- 3 charged or considered wanted.
- 45 of the suspects are from previous years.
- 20 suspects are from 2022 cases.
- 12 suspects are from 2021 cases.
- 7 suspects are from 2020 cases.
- 1 suspect is from a 2019 case.
- 1 suspect is from a 2018 case.
- 2 suspects are from 2017 cases.
- 1 suspect is from a 2016 case.
- 1 suspect is from a 2014 case.
CITY’S HISTORICALLY LOW HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES IMPROVE
APD’s performance measures reflect that the department’s homicide clearance rate is up by 12% for one year going from 71% in 2022 to 83% in 2023. Notwithstanding the impressive increase, for the years 2019 to 2021, the city’s homicide clearance percentage rates have been in the 50%-60% range and in fact dropped dramatically to less than 40% one year.
According to APD approved city budgets, following are APD’s homicide clearance rates for the years 2016 to 2024:
- 2016:APD homicide clearance rate 80%
- 2017:APD homicide clearance rate 70%.
- 2018: APD homicide clearance rate 47%.
- 2019: APD homicide clearance rate 57%
- 2020: APD’s homicide clearance rate 57%
- 2021: APD’s homicide clearance rate 53%
- 2022: APD’s homicide clearance rate 71%
- 2023: APD’s homicide clearance rate 79%
The link to review all city budgets from Fiscal years 2007 to 2024 is here:
https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/budget/annual-budget
APD RANKS #1 IN CIVILIAN KILLINGS OUT OF THE 50 LARGEST CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTRY
The national nonprofit Mapping Police Violence reported that APD killed 10.6 people per million residents — more than any other sizable police department in the nation, according to data the tracked. In 2022, the department set a record for police shootings with 18, 10 of which were fatal. That year, a Searchlight New Mexico analysis found, only the police departments in Los Angeles, New York and Houston killed more people than APD.
Law enforcement officials, including police leaders and district attorneys, say such figures are nuanced. They point to the acute dearth of mental health resources in New Mexico and, anecdotally, stories of people who draw guns on police officers as explanations for why the problem of police violence is so outsized locally.”
It is worth comparing Albuquerque’s 10.6 kill rate to the largest cities in the surrounding border states of Texas, Colorado, Arizona and also including Oklahoma and Nevada:
- Albuquerque, NM: 10.6
- San Antonio, Texas: 9.8
- Phoenix, Arizona: 8.7
- Austin, Texas: 7.3
- Denver, Colorado: 5.6
- Tucson, Arizona: 5.5
- Fort Worth, Texas: 5.4
- Houston, Texas: 5.2
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: 4.2
- Dallas, Texas: 3.1
- El Paso, Texas: 2.9
- Las Vegas, Nevada: 2.6
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 2.0
In the past four years, Albuquerque police repeatedly shot people who were suffering visible mental health crises. They shot 26-year-old Max Mitnik in the head during a “schizoaffective episode” in which he asked officers to fire their weapons at him; they shot and killed 52-year-old Valente Acosta-Bustillos who swung a shovel at officers and told them to shoot him; they shot and killed 33-year-old Collin Neztsosie while he was on his cell phone, pleading for help with a 911 dispatcher.
RESIDENTS CRITICAL OF APD’S JOB PEFORMANCE
Each year, the City of Albuquerque commissions a survey to assess residents’ satisfaction with various City services and issues relating to crime, homelessness, and public safety. The study is required by City ordinance.
On April 16, the results of the annual City of Albuquerque Citizen Perception Survey were released. This year the poll was conducted by Pinion Research. The findings are from a poll of 400 adults residing within Albuquerque city limits, conducted via landline, cellphone, and text-to-web, from February 26 to February 28, 2024. The margin of error is +/- 4.9% points at the 95% confidence interval.
City Residents are critical of the job the Albuquerque Police Department is doing.
“The majority of city residents DISAGREE that APD is doing a good job addressing violent crime with 39% agreeing it is doing good job and 56% disagreeing they are doing a good job.
The majority of city residents DISAGREE that the APD is doing a good job addressing property crime with 35% agreeing APD is doing a good job and 60% disagreeing they are doing a good job.
A slight majority of city residents DISAGREE that “the Albuquerque Police Department is ready to transition away from oversight by the federal government and operate on its own” with 39% agreeing APD is ready to transition away from federal oversight and 51% disagreeing APD is ready to transition away from federal oversight.
In addition to disagreeing with the positive APD statements, most city residents disagree that “The Albuquerque City Government is responsive to our community needs” with 35% agreeing that the Albuquerque City Government is responsive to community needs and 61% disagreeing Albuquerque City Government is responsive to community needs.
Feelings about APD vary by gender. Men are less likely to agree that the APD is doing a good job addressing violent crime with 32% of men agree versus 46% women agreeing. Men are less likely to agree that the APD is doing a good job addressing property crime with 24% men agreeing versus 45% women agreeing. Women are less likely to agree that the APD is ready to operate on its own with 45% men agreeing versus 33% women agreeing.
Speeding and reckless driving is the top issue that affects feelings of safety across demographics. Overall, a whopping 81% of city residents say that speeding and reckless driving affects their feelings of safety at least somewhat, while 43% say it affects their feelings of safety “very much”.
Illegal drug use is the second most significant contributor to safety overall, but edges out speeding and reckless driving in intensity with 45% of city residents saying very much, and a whopping 77% of residents saying very much/somewhat.
The survey reflects the public has lost confidence in APD and is dissatisfied with how APD is dealing with property crime and violent crime. The ongoing FBI investigation of the entire DWI unit of APD for bribery and conspiracy and dismissal of 197 DWI cases has severely tarnished APD’s reputation. APD’s finding Chief Medina’s car crash critically injuring another was “not preventable” is evidence APD is unable to police itself. It has been reported APD Ranks #1 in civilian killings out of the 50 largest city police departments in the country.
FINAL COMMENTARY
The Citizens Satisfaction Survey is a reflection of Mayor Keller’s poor job performance as he prepares to run for a third term. Voters want results when it comes to APD and the direction the city is going. Based on APD’s performance measures, and after seven years in office, Mayor Keller and his APD management team have been a failure.
The link to review the entire unedited survey report is here:
https://www.cabq.gov/progress/documents/albuquerque-yearly-survey-2023.pdf
Links to related blog articles are here:
FBI Reports City’s Crime Up By Less Than 1%; Statistic Skewed Because Of Changes In FBI Reporting System; Crime Likely Much Higher Given APD’s Reduced Enforcement Efforts And APD’s Past Inaccurate Reporting
Search Light New Mexico Article: “Can The Albuquerque Police Department ever be reformed?”; APD Ranks #1 In Civilian Killings Out Of The 50 Largest City Police Departments In The Country; APD Killing More People Than Ever Despite Implementation Of Reforms
