The city of Albuquerque is finalizing plans for a “food truck corral” in a lot on Central at Second Street on Friday and Saturday nights to, not only feed the general public, but also help fight crime.
The food trucks will operate 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. to prevent what the Albuquerque Police Department has called problem parking lots.
“They’re a lot less visible to the general public. There’s no bar owners, there wasn’t as much police presence, so it turns into a verbal altercation, a physical altercation, and then violent crimes,” APD Valley area commander Nick Wheeler told KOB.
Food trucks will occupy the space and create a friendlier environment.
“We’ll have picnic tables,” Wheeler said. “We’re going to put some fencing around it to ensure public safety. There’s going to be lighting, there’s going to be our real-time crime center cameras in the parking lot, there will be officers on foot as well as private security.”
With all of the food trucks in that central location, Wheeler said officers will have a better view up and down Central.
Other recent efforts to clean up downtown are finding a measure of success.
The Targeted Enforcement and Active Monitoring (TEAM) program, with officers from units across the city, recently completed its 25th weekend. Eleven downtown donors have pitched in around $130,000 for officers to work overtime, per KOB
“They’re getting a lot better sense that people are comfortable coming downtown, especially with the additional officer presence through our TEAM’s overtime,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler also told KOB that new lighting, automated license plate readers and surveillance cameras, that are connected to the real-time crime center, are also making a difference.
