Albuquerque Continues to see Decline in Auto Theft
The Albuquerque metro area, including four surrounding counties, continues to see a decrease in auto theft, and is now out of the top five in a national ranking for vehicle theft rates. The four-county metro area was listed as the worst in the nation from 2016-2018.
“We know that auto theft is one of the drivers of other crime in the metro area, and we have put a lot of effort into combatting this issue with our partners,” said Chief Harold Medina. “We will continue to invest in the technology and resources that our officers need to keep up this good work and continue to reduce crimes like auto theft.”
The report for 2022, which was released last week, shows the Albuquerque metro area with 795 thefts per 100,000 people. The Metro is listed 6th, behind Pueblo, CO, listed at 1st; Bakersfield, CA, listed 2nd; Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, 3rd; Memphis, TN, 4th; and Portland, OR, listed at 5th.
“APD continues to drive down auto theft, which is critical to helping lower crime rates in other key areas,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “My administration will continue to tackle crime in our community and will maintain the partnerships with other agencies to make Albuquerque safer, together.”
Auto theft reached a peak in Albuquerque in 2017 and has gone down dramatically since then. Auto Theft in Albuquerque declined by 34% between 2017 and 2021, but increased in 2022. However, auto theft is going down 13% this year compared to the same period last year.