Most out of touch take on crime yet?

While RGF’s policy expertise is not in the area of crime, everyone in New Mexico, especially Albuquerque, is affected by the City/State’s serious crime problems. Most agree that nothing much was done (again) to address the issue in the 2024 session.

But, a small group of “progressives” hastens to disagree with that assessment. They write in the ABQ Journal to assert that some pretty far-flung policies from this session will alleviate crime. We are unconvinced. They write:

Decades of research have shown us that we can’t arrest our way out of homelessness, addiction, mental illness or poverty. Mass incarceration actually has an adverse effect on public safety by breaking up families, saddling people with criminal records, and diverting resources away from addressing the root causes of crime.

The people of El Salvador would like a word. The nation with a crime problem far worse than New Mexico’s has cut its murder rate by 70% with a “tough on crime approach.” That being said, reducing crime isn’t as simple as tossing a bunch of people in jail, but we haven’t been very “smart” on crime in New Mexico.

And the “accomplishments” of the 2024 Legislature they cite including so-called “affordable housing,” spending on rural hospitals, and a pilot project to provide to provide stipends for attending workforce training programs are not remotely “anti-crime.” Claiming they will address crime doesn’t make it so.

These views are held by some of New Mexico’s most “progressive” Democratic legislators, but if MLG wanted to do something about crime as opposed to just taking guns from law-abiding citizens, it would seem she could work with moderate Democrats and Republicans to make that happen. So far we see no signs of that happening.