Even when crime raged at historic levels the legislature was getting nowhere with a tough on crime agenda. 

Now with 2025 stats showing homicide and overall crime down significantly in the state's largest city that agenda--epitomized by the repeated failure of the pre-trial detention bill--appears fated to stall again.  

Any casual news consumer can tell that crime is nowhere near as omnipresent as a couple of years ago--so much so that the narrative "that crime may be down but people don't feel it" may finally be unwinding. 

That certainly seemed to be the case at the December '25 ABQ mayoral run-off when Mayor Keller decisively won a third consecutive term despite being pummeled in TV ads that highlighted the "750 murders" that occurred under his watch.

The final ABQ homicide tally for '25 shows 65 slayings, a far cry from the record 121 in 2022 and more reflective of the average over the past ten years. 

It is not only homicides that have peaked. As Downtown News reports. . .

Across the city in 2025, just about every category of crime was down. APD reports that property crimes (auto theft, auto burglary, residential burglary, commercial burglary, shoplifting) were down 23 percent through November in the aggregate, while violent crimes excluding homicide (aggravated assault, sex crimes, robbery) were down 12 percent.   

The decline in the murder rate provides a sigh of relief signaling that the lengthy and vicious crime spike was not here to stay--and national trends confirm that. 

Other crimes that also shot up in the pandemic era are now settling at historic levels--still too high--but more normalized for the NM public to digest and deal with. 

More effective policing--not new laws--appears to be a key factor in the decline. 

APD says it has gotten better with technology and targeting and the homicide team has been increased. MLG's controversial deployment of the National Guard to the city last year may also have helped by relieving pressure on the cops. 

None of this plays into the playbook that more laws are essential to cleaning up crime. What it does point to is the need for constantly improving the effectiveness and innovation of local police departments which are amply funded. That's where legislators and the LFC may want to focus as the state finally and gladly closes what was a brutal chapter in crime history. 

MISSING MD'S

Reader Ron Nelson takes on the confusion over the doctor shortage in the state as noted on the Tuesday blog:

Joe, it astonishes me that this state cannot account for the number of physicians it has practicing and that we are not looking at our medical board for more accuracy. 

All licensing agencies are to submit to the governor an annual report that breaks down the numbers by county. I believe where the confusion lies with the many traveling doctors and nurses. They get a license good for a couple of years then move to other assignments after their contract expires. That active license sits in the data base for more than a year or so as “active.” 

Then there are doctors who get hired by our health systems then decide to leave but continue to renew their licenses even though they don’t live here. Both the nursing board and medical board have a rule that if you move you’re supposed to file a change of address. Some do, some don't. I believe the glitch is in the program where it can’t cross reference an address to an active license to see if the individual is in state. 

DISGRUNTLED DEM 

A disgruntled Dem reader writes:

Joe, the progressive wing of the Democrats has led and failed this state. Too soft on juvenile crime, no progress on the failed education system as well as a failed CYFD. Now after seven years MLG saw the light and set forth an Executive Order to stop kid’s from sleeping in CYFD offices. What took so long? We as Democrats have failed our children. No amount of "free" will fix a failing system. I only hope the next administration, Democrat or Republican, see the years of failure and truly take steps to right the ship. 

As always, we welcome your comments, criticisms and the venting of existential angst. 

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