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State Rep. Richard "R.J." Berry
Albuquerque mayoral candidate Richard “R.J.” Berry held a press conference last Friday in front of a pickup truck that was stolen from his family’s business and burned to a crisp, to highlight what he calls “out of control” property crime that needs to be tackled “head on.”
Berry, a two-term Republican state representative from Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights, released FBI statistics showing that property crime in Albuquerque increased by 9 percent from 2007 to 2008. By contrast, he said in a statement, other western cities of comparable population size have seen their property crime rates decrease, particularly El Paso and Denver:
El Paso, whose population exceeds Albuquerque’s by approximately 90,000 people, reported only 19,702 property crimes in 2008, a difference 12,000 less crimes. And in Denver, a city with a population that exceeds Albuquerque’s by approximately 70,000, the city saw a decreasing rate of property crime and reported only 19,316 crimes in 2008, once again far less than Albuquerque.
Berry said that if he’s elected mayor, he would reduce property crime through a three-point plan.
One, he’d restructure the Albuquerque Police Department to make property crime response and investigation a top priority.
Two, Berry pledges to “restore critical funding for crime prevention programs” rather than prioritizing “a trolley car or a swimming hole at Tingley Beach.”
And, third, he would focus on shutting down outlets for stolen property.
But Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer Pete Dinelli — who reports directly to incumbent Mayor Martin Chavez, an all-but-declared candidate for reelection — said Berry’s focus on one year of property crime statistics during a period of economic recession does the police force a disservice, especially in light of the decline in violent crime.
“You have to keep in mind that we’re in a national recession,” Dinelli said in an interview. “A lot of people have lost their jobs, which means we can expect an increase in certain types of crime. But he ignores that violent crime is down. The bottom line is that he’s done this police department a real disservice.”
Uniform crime statistics prepared by the FBI show a 7 percent decline in violent crime overall in Albuquerque between 2007 and 2008. Digging into the data, which is presented in the City’s FY 2010 budget on page 117, shows that from year-to-year crime statistics fluctuate in Albuquerque, with spikes in various categories from year-to-year.
Some types of violent crime have seen an overall decline or don’t show a significant trend since 2004, such as aggravated assault, while others have skyrocketed, such as reported rapes.
When separated out into categories, property crimes have generally increased since 2004. The exception is larceny — or, shoplifting — which was on the way down until 2008 when it spiked. Auto theft has also been on the way down the last couple years, even though in 2008 there were still significantly more thefts than in 2004.
