It’s no secret that New Mexico has more than its fair share of crime.
In 2015, New Mexico had the third-highest violent crime rate and second-highest property crime rate in the U.S. according to FBI data.
According to the UNM Annual Clery Report for 2016, the number of auto thefts, burglaries and aggravated assaults have nearly doubled since 2013 on campus alone. In February the Daily Lobo reported that car thefts doubled from 64 in 2015 to 124 last year.
UNM Main Campus, South Valley and Downtown Albuquerque are heavy areas of crime with generally high numbers of auto thefts and burglaries, but the city is working hard to remedy these issues.
Just two weeks ago, the Albuquerque Police Department began its Security Camera Analytical Network initiative in an effort to connect community members with their police department.
Since its start 72 citizens and 13 businesses have signed up to participate in the SCAN program, granting the police department access to their security camera footage when a crime has occurred.
“The goal is to create a better network of communication,” said Celina Espinoza, Communications and Community Outreach Director for the Albuquerque Police Department.
The SCAN program is not the only program set in place to prevent crime in the community.
APD regularly hosts safety seminars with topics ranging from sexual assault to children’s crime awareness. The police department has also instilled a local neighborhood watch program, which currently boasts over 2,000 participating neighborhoods across Albuquerque.
By providing these groups with access to safety awareness training, the neighborhood watch program has increased community participation and aims to decrease the number of daytime burglaries.
Educating the public is important for promoting crime prevention and awareness, and police officers are still held to strict standards, undergoing numerous training exercises include “New to Force,” “Community Policing” and “Cultural Sensitivity Training.”
“We pride ourselves on the training our officers receive,” Espinoza said.
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Along with their continued education, officers are asked to show their dedication to their community by participating in at least two community outreach events per year. Events may include the Twitter event, “#CopTalk,” held on the first Tuesday of every month and “Coffee with a Cop,” which is held once each month.
In the interest of improving communication between the public and the police force, these events are monitored by the Police And Community Together team, acting directly on the concerns of the Albuquerque residents participating in the police sanctioned events.
Operating within its own authority, the University of New Mexico Police Department also offers a wide variety of crime prevention seminars aimed at promoting safety awareness on campus.
Students, faculty and staff have access to safety and emergency training that includes full-term Emergency Management and Preparedness classes for both undergraduate and graduate programs.
“Individuals will learn how to prepare themselves, their family, their community, and they’ll be able to respond on their campus in the event of an emergency,” UNMPD Emergency Manager Byron Piatt said. “They’ll be able to join our campus community emergency response team.”
The University also hosts occasional events such as Safety Week, in which UNM members can attend numerous seminars and workshops that are geared toward educating attendants about emergency and safety awareness and prevention.
In April the Daily Lobo reported that UNMPD began hosting monthly meetings with residence halls and some UNM faculty to discuss safety concerns on campus, which aimed to strongly encourage students and staff to educate and prepare themselves for emergency situations and recognize the need for an attentive police force that is dedicated to protecting the campus community.
Alongside proactive campus patrols, regular building checks and average response times of under five minutes, UNMPD offers affiliated members valuable resources for defending themselves and their property while on campus.
A campus escort service is available to all students and staff who find themselves in an uncomfortable situation on campus and need a security escort to ensure their safety.
“If we don’t have a security guard available, then we’ll dispatch an officer,” UNMPD Public Information Officer Trace Peck said.
The department also provides and monitors the LoboGuardian app service, which transforms any cell phone into an emergency phone with a direct connection to the UNMPD dispatch center. The app also provides other safety services to users such as GPS tracking, the option to text an officer discretely when in a distressed situation and the ability to alert friends and family in the case of an emergency.
Kael Krepfl is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thelobokael.
