Auto Theft Continues Decline in Albuquerque

Aug. 31, 2021

The Albuquerque Police Department continues to drive down auto thefts as a new national ranking shows the four-county metro area moved out of the top five for vehicle theft rates. APD has worked with the state Office of Superintendent of Insurance and the New Mexico State Police to target auto theft.

The metro area, which includes a four-county region, was ranked worst in the nation from 2016-2018, according to the Hot Spot report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The 2020 report, released today, shows the Albuquerque metro area with 632 thefts per 100,000 people. That represents an 9% decrease from 2019, and a 42% decrease over the past three years, according to the NICB report based on data from the National Crime Information Center.

“The steady improvement in fighting auto theft is a testament to proactive policing and successful partnerships,” Mayor Tim Keller said. “When we came into office four years, Albuquerque was first in the nation for auto theft. We hired more officers and tackled auto theft head-on. We need help from other partners in the criminal justice system to close the revolving door and ensure the same offenders are not on the streets stealing more vehicles.”

“We continue to work hard with our partners to drive down auto theft, which we know is a key driver of all other crime in the metro area,” APD Chief Harold Medina said. “The entire four-county region is showing decreases, except for areas of Bernalillo County that are outside of Albuquerque city limits. I hope the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office will take steps to stop the increase in auto thefts in those areas.”