There is an elephant in the room, and it is not only well armed but dangerous. Its name is Violent Crime. Although often ignored and occasionally given lip service by politicians, Violent Crime is a major problem in New Mexico. Needless to say, something needs to be done to correct the situation and it needs to be handled from the top down by the legislature.

New Mexico has the highest violent crime rate in the contiguous 48 US states, and many are not aware of the fact. This grim statistic is only exceeded by the violent crime rate in the non-contiguous state of Alaska. 

Even more gripping is the statistic that New Mexico is one of only two US states which has a violent crime rate greater than twice the national average. Unfortunately, New Mexico laws often impede law enforcement officers rather than assist them in attempting to alleviate the state’s serious crime problem.

Cooperation Needed

Here in Lea County the crime rate is a major concern for Hobbs Chief of Police John Ortolano. “The police need our State legislative body to take steps to help keep the communities safer. Virtually every elected official states that public safety is their number one goal, but few are actually doing anything about it to make any positive changes. The elected officials that serve Lea County understand that change is needed and support changes that will make a difference,” says Chief Ortolano. 

Although the Chief has only been in New Mexico for a little more than two years, he worked in Arizona for 21 years and very well understands the problems faced by both the citizens of a state and its elected officials. He believes that the principal roadblock to addressing many of the problems in New Mexico is at the state government level. 

Chief Ortolano’s experiences in Arizona were quite different from those he is having in New Mexico. “I can say that the governor and the entire Arizona state legislative body worked with law enforcement leaders and law enforcement labor groups to help find ways to make public safety better for everyone. Once again I want to stress that the elected officials in Hobbs, Lea County and Southeast NM, and a few other areas across the State, work with law enforcement leaders to try and solve problems. My wish is that this collaboration actually took place across the entire State,” he says.

In all communications with Chief Ortolano, he emphasizes that his problems are not with Lea County officials and representatives but rather with those outside the area. A major part of the problem is the failure of the policy makers to include “… the involvement of law enforcement leaders to help bring positive change. Local legislators indeed reach out seeking input, but that is not the norm across the State [of New Mexico]. Each time I have contacted elected officials that do not serve southeast NM, I get absolutely no response. Not even an acknowledgement that they received information I have sent them,” states Chief Ortolano. 

According to the Chief, one of the issues that has exacerbated the current situation is a change in New Mexico law that occurred five years ago. ln 2016, voters approved a constitutional amendment that eliminated money-based bail for defendants who might end up languishing in prison because they are poor. 

Although the statewide vote cleared the path for judges to deny bail before trial to the most high-risk and dangerous defendants, thereby keeping them incarcerated, an unintended consequence of the new law resulted – the creation of very little incentive for those awaiting trial who are not incarcerated to actually appear in court on their trial date. This situation has become a major headache for law enforcement.

Possible Changes

Both prosecutors and police have been unsuccessful in arguing that New Mexico’s bail reform law needs to be modified to make it more difficult for defendants who are charged with violent felonies to be released while awaiting trial. Thankfully, a solution may be on the horizon. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has stated that she wants to see changes in the state’s pretrial detention system. “I believe a rebuttable presumption for individuals accused of violent crimes can be a wedge in the revolving door of repeat violent offenses that have characterized the worst aspects of the crime our state continues to experience,” Governor Lujan Grisham recently stated in the Albuquerque Journal. 

Although proposed pretrial detention system changes may very well affect those accused of violent crimes, these changes will not solve the problem of people accused of nonviolent crimes who are not appearing for trial. 

Unfortunately, the failure of defendants to appear in court uses up valuable police resources that would otherwise be available to prevent other crimes. Chief Ortolano expressed his frustration stating, “The so-called bail reform that took place in NM several years ago has caused police departments to spend more time re-arresting individuals because they failed to appear on their original charges. In Hobbs the numbers vary, but there are days when 90% of the people arrested are for FTA [Failure to Appear] warrants. The time spent re-arresting these people takes precious resources off the streets.”

Counter Argument

Although there is support for the changes proposed by Governor Lujan Grisham, this support is far from universal. State of New Mexico Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur recently stated that fear about rising violent crime has little to do with pretrial release and that this kind of change “is guaranteed to sweep up the innocent along with the guilty.” Baur reported that only 3% of people released prior to trial commit a violent crime after their release while their trial is pending.

“I’m extremely concerned about allowing the government to hold people in jail for months just because someone said you did something,” Baur said. “We hope the governor will look at the facts and not the emotion of the issue,” he added.

The Tip of the Iceberg

But all of this is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as trying to make the citizens of New Mexico safer. The issues are complex and interlocking with downsides no matter which changes are made. 

Unfortunately, some of the concerns are not just a matter of simple legislation. “Some of these items would require a change to the New Mexico State Constitution,” states Chief Ortolano. 

It is not just violent crime that is worrying to the Chief. “Both I-40 and I-10 are indeed drug corridors used widely across the nation to aid in the distribution of drugs and the corresponding proceeds from the sales. Due to New Mexico’s restrictions on police officers concerning search and seizure, our State makes it attractive for people trafficking contraband to utilize NM as part of their routes,” he states.

Although, neither I-40 or I-10 passes through Lea County, traffickers, suggests Chief Ortolano, use the secondary roads when crossing into adjoining states to avoid notice by the police. Another issue close to the heart of Chief Ortolano is human trafficking which he believes is a very underreported problem of the utmost concern.

Photo by Maxim Hopmann // Unsplash