Crime and Punishment in New Mexico

Crime and Punishment in New Mexico

We are in the midst of a crime crisis without a lot of hopeful prospects that it might end soon. Our mayor and police brass might be surprised at how much crime goes unreported. The Nextdoor and Ring apps yield ample evidence of this. Most folks believe the cops won’t or can’t show up anyway. More recently, there has been an upsurge of kids with guns, and in spite of serious pleading by the AG and others, nothing much has been done. Crime is up because policing and the justice system are down. The only bright spot here is that our democratic governor, quite surprisingly, brought in the National Guard to help, apparently with some positive effect. Nevertheless, there is no question that APD has been hampered by the city administration and by the outside imposition of so-called reforms. In spite of what our chief would say, APD morale is low and rightfully so. First, because of the general disrespect for law-and-order characteristic of a blue state defund the cops mantra, and secondly, being hamstrung by bureaucratic paperwork imposed upon the department by outsiders. Being constantly watched and afraid to make a mistake is no way to do their jobs. As though hundreds of police could be as perfect as you are.

The attendant irony here is the oversight of some bozo from Washington with a byline of “I’m from Washington and here to help you.” He made a ton of money that could have been used to put more cops on the streets. We could and should have solved our own problems from the get-go. The current and previous administrations and police commands are in part responsible for this. Instead of weeding out the bad apples, we punished the entire police force, and we now pay the price.

Another factor in our crime crisis is the hyper-liberal practices of the state’s judiciary system, and it is an abject failure. The abysmal crime rates and attendant loss of life and property as reflected in national statistics are largely the result of the “catch and release” policies of the judiciary. It is widely known that judges have released dangerous criminals on their own recognizance or with minimum bail in spite of prosecutorial objections and criminal histories, and that these criminals have gone on to commit serious crimes. Therein lies the loss of confidence in the ability of civil officials to protect our lives and property. These judges are complicit in the consequences of these unjustified releases. It is also apparent that these adverse practices and the hyper-liberal sentiments of the legislature at large have created an impression that the welfare of criminals is more important than the victims and public safety.

Apart from the really egregious acts committed by a few bad apple cops who were punished, I personally couldn’t care less if these non-compliant punks and thugs who ravage our neighborhoods get roughed up. Too bad! If you are dumb enough to confront the cops, then you are complicit in whatever happens. Furthermore, some of these less than ethical attorneys encourage lawsuits against the city and in turn enrich themselves by fleecing the public coffers. This is money that could have been used to put more cops on the streets, especially with a city administration that does not have the cajones to fight back. These monies could well be used elsewhere for the public good. Further, for those who believe these punks can be rehabilitated, I wouldn’t waste the money. Yes, build more prisons. Yes, it is expensive. The metric of this expense rarely takes into consideration the cost to the victims. So, let’s just get them off the streets.