City of Albuquerque’s Asks of the State to Help Fight Crime

ALBUQUERQUE – Today, the City of Albuquerque shared requests to the state that will help fight crime in the Albuquerque Metro Area. Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina worked with local criminal justice leaders and community members to develop specific changes to fill gaps and make New Mexico safer. The City will be re-submitting these legislative priorities under the Metro Crime Initiative with several new additions:

Reckless Driving: Leaders are proposing changes to legislation on reckless driving crashes, to increase penalties for speeding. This includes situations such as speeding related crashes that result in fatalities or great bodily harm. It is currently a challenge to pursue Homicide by Vehicle or Manslaughter by Vehicle charges without impairment being a factor.

"New Mexican families shouldn’t have to live with the devastating consequences of reckless drivers," said Mayor Tim Keller. "Too many lives have been lost, and far too many families are left to pick up the pieces. We’ve heard their pain and frustration, and now it’s time for action to make our streets safer for everyone, and to hold those who put lives at risk accountable."

The urgency of this issue is highlighted by the presence of community member Paula Mills. In 2023, her daughter, grandchild and a friend were struck while driving along Louisiana and Delwood by a driver racing another vehicle. Paula’s daughter, Jenna Hamilton and another driver tragically died as a result of that crash, and several others were injured.

While the driver racing has been successfully charged with two counts of Vehicular Homicide, Reckless Driving among other charges, not all families see the same outcome with their cases. Many families have expressed frustration with current laws, penalties and enhancements. Reworking the laws and enhancing penalties could significantly impact driver behavior and make drivers think twice before driving recklessly on roadways statewide.

“For years, we have put significant focus on street racing operations, traffic enforcement, and DWI checkpoints, but that alone will not fix the problem,” said Chief Harold Medina. “By seeking change on a state level to improve our laws around reckless driving, we can have a real impact on driver behavior and in turn, make traveling throughout our community safer.”

City leaders also added two new items in the upcoming session, Felon in Possession charges and the development of a Statewide Multi-Agency Task Force to investigate officer involved shootings.

Felon in Possession Charges: Increasing penalties for Felon in Possession charges to reduce gun violence and hold individuals with previous felony convictions accountable.

Statewide Multi-Agency Task Force for Officer-Involved Shootings: Establishing a task force to ensure thorough, transparent, and impartial investigations of officer-involved shootings.

City leaders are currently in the process of finalizing a bill for reckless driving enhancements and are seeking bi-partisan sponsorship.

For more information on the Metro Crime Initiative and other items on the list, you can visit the MCI webpage.

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About the Metro Crime Initiative: The Metro Crime Initiative (MCI) is a collaborative effort by the City of Albuquerque to address and resolve critical issues within the criminal justice system. Through legislative priorities and action items, the MCI aims to create a safer and more just community.