by Michael Montalvo
Daily Lobo
While most students were on summer vacation, the UNM Police Department was on campus fighting crime.
"We are not taking the summer off, and we are still working and solving cases," said Lt. Pat Davis, spokesman for the department. "We want offenders to know that if they are going to come here and victimize our folks, then we are going to look for them."
The department is improving its crime prevention methods with better technology and collaboration with the Albuquerque Police Department, Davis said.
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Over summer, UNM Police busted an auto-theft ring and a burglary ring, he said.
At the end of the spring semester, police arrested a man who is believed to be responsible for most of the bicycle thefts on campus.
Since his arrest, bike thefts dropped by 95 percent, Davis said.
He said that after the auto-theft suspects were arrested, no vehicles were stolen for three weeks.
"It looks like we're having an impact in what we are doing,"
he said.
In early June, UNM Police saw an increase in auto burglaries and auto thefts.
Detectives noticed that some of the stolen vehicles were recovered in a South Valley neighborhood, Davis said.
"We actually got a lucky break when a witness got a tag number off of a vehicle that was seen leaving an area of an attempted auto theft on campus," he said.
UNM Police used the license plate number to begin their investigation.
Police identified four suspects.
Three were members of Los Padillas, a South Valley gang, he said.
UNM Police got warrants for the suspects, and the Albuquerque SWAT team helped arrest three of the suspects at their home in the South Valley,
Davis said.
The fourth suspect has not been arrested, he said.
UNM Police busted a burglary ring over summer after they arrested a man for criminal trespassing at a fraternity house.
"After we found him in the house, we were able to look at some old burglary reports, look at his history - which was long and extensive for burglary - and some of his associates that had been arrested with him in the past," Davis said.
The man and his associates matched descriptions of people who were seen in the areas where several burglaries happened, particularly around Sigma Chi Road and some of the dormitories, he said.
"Once we were able to arrest him, we shared that information with APD," he said. "They were able to close a burglary ring that involved several dozen burglaries in the UNM area. They charged him with five so far."
APD and UNM Police have a database to share criminal histories and investigations.
"This is helpful because we can now see what they are investigating, and they can see what we are investigating," Davis said.
UNM Police also use student employees who have taken statistics and criminal justice classes to help identify crime trends, he said.
