Sept. 8 – High levels of property crime and violence in Santa Fe and across the state have led to calls for solutions to what many people call a growing problem.
While crime rates fluctuate from month to month and year to year, data spanning a five-year period — from long before COVID-19 emerged through late July, when the pandemic was all but forgotten — shows significant increases in many types of crime in Santa Fe compared to rates that have been going on for some time.
Santa Fe police have seen a slight decrease in crime overall through the first seven months of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023 — a decrease of fewer than 100 incidents, with a notable decrease in homicides, arson and burglaries and a slight increase in robberies, larcenies and assaults.
The New Mexican will publish monthly crime statistics in the city, based on data provided by the agency.
“I think the data indicates that we are doing constructive things to bring crime to light and arrest people who are involved in criminal activity,” said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber. “I think we can do more, and there is a list of things that [police Chief Paul] Joye and I have talked about it, it is already being worked on and it can be explained more broadly to the public. This shows that we do not have to accept criminal behavior.”
Police blame the rise in drug use and homelessness, as well as repeat offenders, on violence, vandalism, theft and other problems that continue to plague residents and businesses in the city.
“Right now, there is no accountability. People are not being held accountable for the crimes they commit,” Joye said in a recent interview.
Webber noted that fentanyl is becoming more widely used and that fentanyl “causes profound behavioral change in people.”
The city isn’t alone in its struggle. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has made public safety and crime control a top priority for New Mexico, and lawmakers have been examining crime data — particularly in Albuquerque, the state’s largest city. Santa Fe city council members have held town halls where outraged voters vented their frustrations and demanded action.
Crystal Armijo, who works in the shoplifting prevention department at the Albertsons supermarket on Zafarano Drive, told a recent public safety meeting attended by dozens of people that she has seen an increase in shoplifting that is difficult to combat.
“We don’t even call the police anymore because by the time they get here, they’re gone,” she said of the offenders.
Webber pointed to several changes that could potentially lead to a decrease in certain violations: New Mexico State Police patrols on Cerrillos Road, a Department of Justice program to investigate retail crime and private security guards the city has hired for the city center.
Webber also pointed to several actions city police have taken this year to address traffic violations, noise pollution, shoplifting and drunk driving.
He cited one called Operation Night Watch, in which officers used “hot spot data” of property crime during patrols, resulting in 14 arrests and 86 citations, the department said.
“Whether people know it or not, when they report a crime, it provides really critical information for law enforcement to do data-driven policing,” Webber said. “The data is really important to answer basic questions … but it’s also the fundamental tool that law enforcement uses to do their job as effectively as possible.”
A spike in crimes during the summer months is a common trend, police say. But two shootings in commercial areas of Santa Fe in recent months — one fatal — have shocked people across the state.
An 83-year-old man was killed in a violent carjacking in the parking lot of a busy shopping center on the city’s South Side on an August morning, and a 20-year-old employee of a Sonic Drive-in on Cerrillos Road was shot in the head just before closing time. Angel Daniel-Albiery Avila Morales has shown promising signs of recovery, despite initial doubts from medical workers that he would survive his injuries.
Police have arrested suspects in both shootings.
Despite the high-profile incidents, there have only been two homicides in Santa Fe this year, compared to five last year.
A look at the data from the past five years may tell you more about crime trends than year-on-year comparisons:
* The total number of crimes counted through July 31, 2024 was 3,656, compared to 2,828 in the same period in 2019.
* The number of motor vehicle thefts has more than doubled in five years, from 144 in the first seven months of 2019 to 361 this year.
* The number of crimes in 2024 was higher than in 2019, with the exception of robberies, where there was a slight decrease.
While Santa Fe Police received nearly 500 more calls for service this year than last year, the average response time for high-priority calls also increased by more than a minute: from 7:31 to 8:50 a.m. from dispatch to arrival.
The average time it takes Santa Fe County dispatchers to process a high-priority 911 call has increased steadily in recent years, from 6:38 a.m. in 2018 to 11:10 p.m. in July.
Webber acknowledged that perceptions of crime levels often differ from police figures, but he called for an “informed and constructive conversation” about crime and how policy measures can have an impact.
“I think that’s why it’s important to have an informed discussion about the data and about the ways in which people can take specific and direct action to prevent crime together,” he said.
“If you’ve been a victim of a crime, particularly a violent crime, if your business or home has been robbed or broken into, I think it will absolutely change your personal attitude toward safety and security. We have to address both the reality of the data, and the reality of how people feel.”
