Albuquerque city and law enforcement officials joined together at a press conference recently to outline their plans to enforce a backlog of outstanding warrants, urging lawmakers to pass a bill to fund the overtime operation.
Albuquerque Police said more than a dozen teams of officers would be addressing at least one warrant a week, with the overall goal of serving more than 800 warrants in the first year, based on the fact that some of the suspects have more than one warrant.
“For example, we’re looking at individuals who are wanted for homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, just to name a few,” Deputy Chief Cecily Barker of APD’s Investigative Bureau said during the press conference, according to KRQE News. “As the list of warrants is extensive, our investigators know that some of these individuals may be deceased or no longer in the metro area.”
There are 60,000 outstanding warrants in the metro area, something that has been discussed by city officials and law enforcement as a quick way to curb crime. KRQE News reported more than 5,000 outstanding warrants are for felony crimes. The department displayed photos of 25 wanted violent felons during the press conference, highlighting its intention to prioritize “the most violent and recent offenders.”
APD said its command staff has taken “an in-depth look” at the thousands of outstanding felony warrants and will prioritize the 800 “most dangerous offenders,” reported KRQE News. Warrants for less-serious crimes that are “years old” or committed by suspects who have “potentially not recently re-offended” will be addressed “at a later time,” APD said.
APD said its special units, including its Pro-Active Response Team and its Impact and Investigative Services Units, will execute the warrants on a biweekly basis to evaluate any potential modifications.
The city made an initial request for $10 million from the State Legislature to help pay the overtime APD said it needs to serve warrants while maintaining day-to-day policing. That request climbed to $20 million, with half for the metro area and the other half going toward operations around the state.
Lawmakers have yet to approve the request, though Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) supports crime prevention measures.
Barker said there must be a heightened level of communication and partnership with all parties, including federal officials, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office and Metro Court. Barker said the ultimate goal is “to see individuals held responsible and accountable,” according to KRQE News.