Auto Theft Decreases 27 percent in Central New Mexico Region

June 25, 2019

The City of Albuquerque is driving down auto theft numbers for a four-county region, resulting in one of the largest decreases in the nation, according to the Hot Spot report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Auto theft decreased by 27% in the region that includes Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties. In Albuquerque alone, auto theft decreased by 29% between 2017 and 2018.

While the region still ranks poorly compared to other regions around the country, Albuquerque is projecting auto theft to decrease by another 30% in 2019.

“While the overall numbers are too high, we have one of the highest reductions in auto theft in the country,” said APD Deputy Chief Harold Medina. “While the national average was 3%, our region cut auto theft by 27%, which is a result of our proactive approach. Historically, Albuquerque drove up auto theft in the region between 2014 and 2017. Now, at least we are leading the way, pushing crime down in the region. We are climbing out of that hole, and we will keep climbing until this problem is resolved.”