By Susan Montoya Bryan
Albuquerque, NM (AP)-Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Tuesday the state of emergency in the largest city in New Mexico, affirming that a significant increase in albuquerque crime justifies the help of the national guard of the New Mexico.
She signed a decree, opening the way to several dozen soldiers to deploy along the historic corridor of Route 66 from mid-May. The order also releases public funds so that the National Guard can use them in the context of the effort.
The formation of 60 to 70 soldiers is already underway, said the Governor’s office.
Governors generally call for the National Guard to help natural disasters such as forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes. In recent years, governors have also ordered troops to address illegal passages to the American-Mexican border. In New York last year, the National Guard helped patrol the metro system following a series of high -level crimes.
In New Mexico, the chief of the Albuquerque police, Harold Medina, called this for a crucial moment. Having the national guard on the ground would release the officers to patrol the streets, he said.
Troops can help secure crime scenes, distribute food and other unquestioned population supplies, transporting prisoners, ensuring security at the courthouse and managing drone operations used to locate suspects or assessing incidents, officials said.
This is not the first time that Lujan Grisham has been trying to take advantage of state resources to treat high crime rates in Albuquerque. In 2021, the Democrat with two mandates temporarily assigned state police police to the region to help local authorities tackle vehicle theft, drug trafficking, aggressive driving and apprehension of violent crime with crime mandates.
The previous year, the president of the time, Donald Trump, sent federal agents, including internal security agents, to Albuquerque as part of an effort to contain violent crimes. He also targeted Chicago and other American cities with an increase in resources.
Lujan Grisham’s latest emergency statement follows a request for March 31 by the police chief, who underlined the fentanyl epidemic and an increase in violent juvenile crime.
Medina wrote that progress has been made to reduce the shots and aggravated attacks along what is known as Central Avenue, but that more resources are necessary to maintain momentum.
The New Mexico legislator postponed last month, arousing many criticism from the heads of the law, prosecutors and even the governor for not having addressed what many have described as a crisis of current crime in Albuquerque and other communities of the New Mexico.
Lujan Grisham said that she will recall legislators at some point for a special session to examine public security proposals.
The mayor of Albuquerque, Tim Keller, a democrat who plans to request a re -election, had sworn when he took office in 2017 to develop the ranks of the police. A problem for years, the ministry still has trouble achieving its objective of 1,000 sworn officers.
The mayor told the Albuquerque television channel, Koat, last month, the city had turned the turns on many of its crime problems, noting that it descends from the peaks of all time. But he also recognized that more work should be done.
The statistics published by the police service in February showed a decrease of 11% of the serious assault in 2024 compared to the previous year, while the number of homicides decreased for the second consecutive year.
In his request to the governor, Medina said that the strengthening that the National Guard will provide is “essential for improving public security and the quality of life of albuquerque residents”.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
