The Albuquerque Police Department started a Burglary Unit to address the persistent break-ins at retail businesses across the community. The unit consists of detectives fully dedicated to these types of crimes.
“We’re giving them the time and the space to really get laser-focused on these cases,” Commander Kyle Hartsock of the APD told KRQE.
Three full-time detectives and a sergeant partnered with the Organized Crime Unit and are reviewing every burglary case reported in Albuquerque.
Hartsock is confident the public will notice the change. “Now, we’re putting all these heads together which is why I’m really confident you’re going to see even more arrests and an even bigger decrease in those crimes because we’re going to undercut those criminals from multiple angles,” he said.
The division has been fully operational for about a month. Business owners say such action can’t come soon enough. Dipo Alam, the co-owner of Spring Rollin', Potato Corner, Paleta Bar and other shops, experienced multi-break-ins at his businesses. Two weeks ago, Spring Rollin’ at Coors and Montaño was hit twice and another break-in at his business on San Pedro within seven days.
“I was going to like joke around about it, but it’s not a joke anymore, just put the signage that says I’ll leave the door open, feel free to come in," Alam said. “Please don’t break the glass, get whatever spring roll you want, get some chips and serve yourself.’ You know, I just, I really don’t know what else to do.”
Alam stated within the last year, across his shops citywide, he’s been hit nearly a dozen times.
Albuquerque Police headed by Chief Harold Medina said reported break-ins and burglaries are down 20% from last year but remain a problem.
“It’s actually trending in the right direction, but it doesn’t change the fact that if you’re a business owner, or a homeowner, or a vehicle owner, every break-in is very personal,” Hartsock said.
In the past, detectives prioritized other crimes over burglaries in their caseload, but that changed with the creation of the Burglary Unit.