The University of New Mexico announced in an online statement on Saturday, Oct. 6 that the UNM Police Department will be increasing their presence on campus.
“Officers will saturate the community and increase the visibility of mobile unit, bicycle and foot patrols, especially during the evening and late-night hours,” UNM President Garnett Stokes’ statement read.
This statement followed two armed carjackings, one on Friday, Oct. 5 at A Lot and another on Sunday, Oct. 7 on Las Lomas Street, east of Yale.
On Monday, Oct. 8, a statement issued by Stokes notified students that with the help of the UNM PD, the Albuquerque Police Department arrested one of the suspects involved in the carjacking.
Despite the fact that an arrest was made, Trace Peck, public information officer with UNMPD, said the Department will maintain their increased presence.
“We’ve called in officers on their days off. We’ve had officers working seven days a week right now, just saturating the University until we get a handle on this carjacking crew,” Peck said.
In addition to reducing and preventing crime on campus, Peck said he hopes the increased officer presence on campus increases resource awareness.
“We want the students to feel comfortable if they have a concern about safety or a situation that occured that we’re here to talk to,” Peck said.
To further increase security on campus, Peck said the Department will receive a mobile camera unit. He said the unit will be used in parking lots to monitor traffic around, and in and out of the area, adding that the Department will be seeking more mobile camera units in the future.
“It can show us anybody coming in off Central (Avenue) — just the fact that we can read a license plate or a VIN number — I mean it is an amazing camera system,” Peck said.
On Oct. 1, UNM released the Annual Clery Report for 2018.
In 2017 UNM saw eight counts of armed robbery, compared to five in 2016. Additionally, UNM saw a 27 percent increase in motor vehicle thefts from 174 in 2016 to 222 in 2017.
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Citywide, however, robbery and autotheft are declining, according to data released by APD. 2018 is seeing a 26 percent decrease in auto thefts, from 5,288 in 2017 compared to 3,913 as of Sept. 5. Robbery is also seeing a decrease of 40 percent from 2,173 in 2017 to 1,307 as of Sept. 5
The Daily Lobo reported on Tuesday, Oct. 9, that a nonfatal drive-by shooting occurred outside the Frontier Restaurant.
Peck said UNMPD officers were not involved in the investigation of the shooting. Instead, officers were alerted to be on the lookout of the suspect’s car and some officers conducted a saturation patrol in areas of the campus close to the restaurant.
“Our main focus is the security of the campus when something like that happens,” he said.
When asked if the shooting near campus will affect saturation policing, Peck said UNMPD will continue to conduct extra patrols.
Dylan Henderson, a sophomore majoring in astrophysics, said he thinks the increased officer presence on campus might help with reducing crime on campus.
“When it comes to carjackings, it’s more so about the security in the parking lots,” Henderson said.
Estephanie Morales, a freshman majoring in psychology, said she feels the most uncomfortable on campus when it gets dark. She said she wants to see more lights in the parking lot and added that she likes the idea of a greater UNMPD presence on campus.
“It definitely makes me feel better,” Morales said.
Anthony Jackson is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TonyAnjackson.
