WELCOME TO ALBUQUERQUE! ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

UPDATE. Here is a link for APD Officer Dan Webster's fund raising page: https://www.gofundme.com/e56yf4rt

If people know of one for APD Detective Jacob Grant Please let us know for his injuries injuries caused by the careless conduct of APD Lt. Greg Brachle.

Do you watch the local news?  We at the EYE  ask this question because if you do you will surely realize that CRIME in Albuquerque is out of control and that the Police can't protect you.  In fact you might be expected to act as the police.

A few examples as reported by local media, KRQE reports a police dispatcher tells the victim of a car  theft in which her stove top was contained in her car that was stolen.  After seeing the stove top for sale on the internet, the dispatcher to her to play detective and act as if she is interested in purchasing the stove top. Wait she should put herself in danger ?  Do we have a Police Department ?  

Sonic Restaurant , Montgomery at Eubank street racers getting in fights and raising hell to the point where surrounding businesses are in fear for the safety of their customers and employees.  These businesses had to go to the extreme of building fences to keep the hell raisers out.  

Adams at Zuni , three people run down by a hit and run driver and sent to the hospital in critical condition. 

Central at Tramway, one person run down by a hit and run driver and sent to the hospital in critical condition.  KOAT reports that violent crime is up 15%  in Albuquerque. KOB reports  that women are the victims of robberies while sitting in their cars at shopping centers.  Bodies are being found across the city, in driveways, along the roadside, in vacant lots, and in allies, almost on a daily bases. 

Even the bike paths are not safe. The city has even had signs put up on the bike paths from 12th Street to Rio Grande along I-40:  RIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK.  

Barbara Taylor, city spoke person tried to spin it saying similar signs have been put up in other cities and showed examples. No other sign said ride at your own risk. Well Barbara this is not other cities, this is our city.  By the way, our brand new sign was covered in graffiti.  What is next ? Are we going to give up parts of the City to the criminals? Looks like we already have.  

Here is the TRUTH, The Police can not protect you , all they can do is respond and pick up the pieces.  You must protect yourself.  Mayor Berry lies about staffing problems but we will look at that in another story. If you didn't vote you are partly to blame.  Things will never change until we nobody's force a change by using the power of the vote. It has gotten to the point that signs need to be erected along I40 and I 25 stating:

  "WELCOME TO ALBUQUERQUE! ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!"

Not Going ANYWHERE!

Over the last weekend, your lovable Eye received the following post from an unknown "anonymous" person:

We found this comment rather ironic given the recent events over the last week. From the $1.2 Million dollars spent on settlements; the gross, if not criminal, conduct by CAO Rob Perry and Assistant Attorney Greg Wheeler, and the broadening of the DOJ's investigation of APD and the city.

All of that in just the last week!

One of our Eyes sent us the following video which gives us an idea of why Mr. Perry was so upset at last week's city council meeting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm3EmM-d44Q&feature=youtu.be

At the podium is a citizen berating city attorney David Tourek over recent comments concerning the Han family's case which is still pending against the city. A case where Mr. Perry himself is named individually as a defendant.

Retired APD Senior Sergeant Paul Heh had this to say when asked about the comment, "I've only begun. Maybe Mr. Anonymous would like to know about the letter I sent to Gary King regarding the misconduct by APD brass at Ms. Han's suspicious death scene? Maybe Mr. Anonymous would like to know about my recent comment before the state law enforcement academy board? If they did, they'd know the last thing I am is gone. Justice will come!"

And as far as the "Eye's Plan," we have this to say: we have no plan. Never had one. Never will.

We are just a mere spotlight casting a beam upon things that, though they affect all of us here in the city and the state, would prefer hide in the dark.....

Kudos to one of our Eyes who caught this glare in the video. Hello Mr. Wheeler...

Prisons Before People

A constant of political/social discourse is the topic of what to do with those elements of society who chose to treat the rest of us as prey. Most arguments revolve around either punishment or rehabilitation. We'd argue that neither is all that important... more on that later.

One constant is a lack of space to house these dangers to society. Jails tend to fill up and governments have a hard time keeping pace with the demand - particularly when they're buying $40 MILLION buildings or theaters for the profitably challenged... but we digress.

Programs like the Community Custody Program were created to relieve the pressure on jails by putting these predators back in society - supposedly with careful monitoring and close supervision. To date judges have been setting the who and how of the CCP with input from jail officials.

One consequence of the county's CCP program was the recent release of a violent criminal Jamie Alderete. Records indicate that Alderete had been arrested no less than 32 times since 1990. Despite his violent history, Judge Albert "Pat" Murdoch decided that the best place for Alderete to be was back in society, back with a plentiful supply of victims.

On Tuesday, Alderete was charged with beating his pregnant girlfriend while wearing his ankle bracelet. According to a criminal complaint, the victim told officers that Alderete began punching her head, then rammed his knee into her stomach and punched her in the back.

Alderete said he was going to make the victim lose her baby. She is two months pregnant, according to the complaint.

Conditions of Alderete's custody allowed him to be outside his home between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. to attend school, MDC spokeswoman Heather Lough said.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

As you can tell, Mr. Alderete is a real gem and from the Journal's description of his criminal history his actions are hardly surprising. What's troubling is that Judge Murdoch despite previous run-ins with the criminal felt compelled to send him back out into society to continue his criminal career.

Now the Legislature wants to stick their collective noses into the issue. It seems that some folks are upset about Judges releasing criminals like Alderete over their objections, so in their less than infinite wisdom they would like to transfer the decision making process over programs like the CCP from judges to jail officials.

Twin bills being discussed in state House and Senate committees would give jail administrators, rather than judges, final say in determining who gets placed on CCP.

Jail director Ron Torres has said that the collaboration between the judges and jailers "always seems to be on thin ice," because some judges have reservations about the program, while others order it over the jail's objections.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Like the argument over punishment or rehabilitation the argument over who chooses which criminals to release back into society misses the point. Prisons weren't created to punish or rehabilitate, they were created with the express purpose of keeping criminals away from the rest of us. Sure, taking away someone's freedom could be considered punishment and that punishment might cause some to rehabilitate, but those side benefits are nothing when compared to the very real benefit of protecting the general public from dangerous predators.

Look, the problem is the program. We don't doubt that we have an overcrowding problem and if the program has to exist, we'd prefer a judge be calling the shots not some unelected bureaucrat. However, programs like the CCP put the concerns of prisons before the safety of people. Violent offenders like Alderete have no business being allowed access to general society. It's time to realize that the best place for them and for us is not in the community, but rather behind bars.

Knocking the No-Knock Ordinance

When some terrible tragedy befalls someone or a particularly heinous crime is committed, there's often a public outcry to do something. In other cases, there's not really a public outcry but a political one. Of course there's no such thing as a political outcry, but there is such a thing as political opportunity.

The Almighty One is grasping at such an opportunity with his anti-knocker ordinance. No... The ordinance has nothing to do with last weekend's topless protest in Santa Fe (ABQ Journal - Subscription), it's an ordinance designed force those nasty solicitors to register with the city and for them to comply with a no-knock list.

Hey, we hate being harassed by solicitors as much as the next Eye but if we're not in the mood to deal with a vacuum salesman or some political or religious nut we don't answer the door.

So where's all of this coming from? According to The Almighty One, the registration and no-knock list is a reaction to the 2007 murder of Tak Yi and Pung Yi by a couple of traveling magazine salesmen (Subscription). Apparently in the Alcalde's mind, magazine salesman plus murder equals no-knock ordinance (political opportunity).

It's nonsensical yes, but it gives Marty an opportunity to claim that he's doing something to prevent crime - in this case murder. Look, we have a hard time believing that two rapists and murderers would hesitate for a moment to violate the city's no-knock ordinance when they're already willing to rape and murder - which by the way are a bit more serious than the petty misdemeanor proposed by The Almighty Alcalde.

"The Chávez administration will continue to support citizens against predators who would take advantage of the innocent victims in Albuquerque," a mayor's spokeswoman said.

Chávez proposed the law after two magazine salesmen were accused of killing Tak Yi and Pung Yi at the couple's home. The measure calls for companies to conduct background checks on their solicitors and post a $500 bond. The city would also create a "no-knock" list for homeowners.
-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

If the mayor is so concerned about forcing a few door-to-door salesmen to register with the city, pass background checks, and post $500 bonds, then why doesn't the Almighty Alcalde want APD to report suspected illegal aliens to the federal authorities (read it here)? There are quite literally thousands of illegal aliens running around this city - a disproportionate number of whom are involved in crime.

Meanwhile, Marty is worried about traveling salesmen. Simply put, the no-knock ordinance is a nonsensical, politically motivated, unenforceable piece of, uh... legislation. It doesn't need re-writing as Councilor Ken Sanchez suggests, it needs circular filing.

Crossing the Line

Last year County Commissioner Teresa Cordova used her influence to get her son's English grade changed from an F to a D. Without the change Commissioner Cordova's son would have spent another year attending Rio Grande High School (ABQ Journal - Subscription). At the time Cordova claimed that she was only reacting as a parent not an elected official. Last month the voters reacted to her excuse sending her packing in the Democratic primary.

Commissioner Cordova clearly used her influence to spring her little boy from high school abusing her authority and the public's trust. For all of that, her actions while unethical were not illegal. Our Eyes are telling us about another parent who's trying to protect their son in a similar fashion. In this case, the line might be more than just an ethical breach.

For some time now the La Cueva neighborhood has been experiencing a rash of vandalism. It's become quite an issue for the Northeast Substation - so much so that additional patrols have been regularly sent into the area and officers are being encouraged cruise through the neighborhood whenever they have an opportunity.

Even with the extra patrols and the emphasis placed on the neighborhood, the vandalism was continuing. Like in any good neighborhood, the residents started looking out for each other. Eventually, their vigilance paid off. Our Eyes tell us that the neighbors managed to spot a group of juveniles egging a property. They followed the hooligans to a second home where they used their vehicles to block the driveway and called the police.

(Sidebar)
Folks, it's always dangerous to follow criminals somewhere and attempt to keep them in any sort of custody. There's a reason why we pay and train professionals to do this kind of thing. Even the most timid of suspects can surprise you and ruin your whole day. Acts like this fall under the heading of don't try this at home.
(End Sidebar)

While waiting for the police to arrive, one of the afore mentioned hooligans came out of the residence with his phone (of course) and told folks from the neighborhood to leave because nothing was going to happen to him anyway. This is where things got interesting.

Because there's potential criminal activity involved, we're going to withhold the names of the two APD officers involved (for now). The first officer is the father of juvenile with the phone - he holds the rank of lieutenant, and works in one of the other area commands. We'll call him Lieutenant A. The second officer involved is a P2C rookie probational officer, assigned to the Northeast Area Command and the officer dispatched to the scene where the juvenile hooligans were being detained. We'll call this second officer, Officer H.

When Officer H arrived on the scene he was greeted by a juvenile with a phone, some adults with their cars blocking the driveway, and Lieutenant A on the boy's cell phone. Apparently, in addition to speaking with his son, Lieutenant A had a conversation with the angry residents of the La Cueva neighborhood in which he instructed them to remove their vehicles or they would be charged with false imprisonment. When Officer H arrived the lieutenant asked to talk to the rookie.

Our Eyes tell us that the lieutenant who identified himself to Officer H on the phone insisted that there was a problem with the investigation. Of course, there hadn't been an investigation... yet. To his credit the rookie officer interviewed all of the parties and decided that the evidence indicated that the juveniles involved be charged with criminal damage to property.

This where the trouble really began. After some calls and emails to various officers in a number of positions, Officer H was instructed to change his report from a criminal damage report to an informational report. The suspects from the original report were to be re-identified as interviewed. In other words, as the hooligan (or maybe we should say alleged hooligan, or even better, alleged interviewee) said - nothing was going to happen.

We can understand a parent trying to take care of their kids. It's a natural, basic instinct that sometimes leads parents to cross a line that they latter regret crossing - one that can have some rather unpleasant consequences. Just ask Commissioner Cordova whose interference in her son's grades no doubt cost Cordova her seat on the County Commission. It's quite possible that Lieutenant A's decision to get involved in his son's situation may have crossed a line of a criminal nature.

There's a big difference between prosecutorial discretion and interfering in an investigation. It's illegal for a police officer to use his position to fix tickets for friends, so you can bet it's illegal to interfere in an investigation - that's crossing a line.

The Numbers Game - APD Style

If at first you don't succeed, change the goal - that's what APD did this past week when confronted with the certainty that they could not, would not reach their goal of 1,100 officers by January 1.

"They did not meet my expectations or my direction," the mayor said Wednesday. "There will be some interesting meetings next week. Having said that, it's hard to grow a police department with the highest standards in the state. And this isn't like growing other departments (in city government). These people have badges and guns.

"But I've always, always told my chiefs that it's more important to grow it right than it is to grow it quickly. You pay for years when you make that mistake."

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Anyone who has been paying any attention over the last two years could have predicted APD's failure. It has been apparent that APD has been attempting to hide their actual force strength since the 2005 election when Mayor Marty set goals of 1,000 then 1,100 officers by January 1, 2008. APD has steadfastly refused to publish a list of sworn officers and their positions within the organization.

Our Eyes hold that they're counting everyone with a pulse and a badge and the badge may be optional. The number of officers on the street has been an issue for some time. APD's number has ranged from a low of 857 two years ago to a high of 1,033 claimed by DC Castro just last September. It's clear that it's almost impossible to take the 5th floor at their word; which ultimately is at the heart of our crime problem.

"A lot of people will come up and say: 'We need 1,500 officers; we need 2,000 officers,' '' Castro said. "But there is no mathematical equation that says we need X number of officers. We use our crime rates and other factors to determine that.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Normally we'd agree with the Deputy Chief but there's just one problem - Albuquerque's crime rate is on the increase in two major areas, property crime and violent crime. There are a lot of reasons for our crime problems and a lack of sworn officers is just one of them.

According to the data, the metro area per capita ranks in the top 10 percent for violent crimes, which include murder, rape and robbery. And the metro area ranks in the top 13 percent for property crime, such as auto theft and burglaries.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The impact is huge. More than 5,000 vehicles were stolen and more than 6,000 homes were burgled last year.

Each day, an average 15 autos were stolen and 17 homes or businesses were hit.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

If Albuquerque's crime rates were decreasing we'd tend to agree with Castro, but the stats show an alarming increase. Currently (assuming you accept APD's 998 number which we don't), APD has 1.81 officers per thousand assuming a population of 550,000. The national average for cities over 250,000 is 2.8 officers per thousand (FBI Crime in the United States).

The fact is it doesn't matter how many officers APD has if they are able to effectively police their jurisdiction. Since that doesn't seem to be the case, we'd believe that the 5th floor would be doing everything in its power to make sure that we lose as few experienced officers as possible.

Instead we've seen what can only be characterized as an exodus of experienced officers losing over 10% of APD's manpower in just 2 years with 62 retirees last year and at least 55 retiring this year. Our Eyes tell us that officers who are fully vested are leaving even though they would rather stay. In other words, they're voting with their feet; choosing to leave rather than continue to have to fight crime on our streets and an administration that just doesn't seem to get it.

So what's going on? If you've read many stories about APD over the last year, it's plain to see that they've got a problem. There are the standard issues of pay and retirement, but there also seems to be a serious division between the brass on the 5th floor and the rank and file in the field.

Lincoln once said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand" and so it is with our police department. As long as they keep playing the numbers game, it will be impossible for the public or the rank and file officers to trust APD's management and their house will continue to be divided.

We are already one of the top 10 most violent cities and we are seeing "unexpected" officer attrition. As citizens of Albuquerque, we are being placed in more and more danger by and administration that would rather play politics than do their jobs. Eventually, their house will collapse. Unfortunately, it will fall on those who it was designed to protect.

----- Correction -----
Sometimes our fingers out run our spell check... such is the case above when we typed loose when we intended lose. It has been corrected above.

900

No... it's not a new movie about the Persian invasion of Greece; it's the number of sworn officers that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) claims are on the force at APD. That number doesn't mean that all of them are out there on the streets keeping us safe or even available to come to our aid should we be unfortunate enough to need their assistance.

MORE COPS MEAN LESS CRIME.
Crime is high in Albuquerque–ranked one of the most dangerous places
in the country according to the latest FBI statistics. And there's a very simple
reason—not enough cops. In city after city across our nation, when the size
of the force goes up, the rate of crime goes down. It’s that simple.

An FBI study says we need 1400 officers to secure our city properly—we
only have 900. On an average day there are only 75 cops on the street
protecting 550,000 citizens. At this capacity they can only respond to
priority 1 calls. That means no proactive force, no community outreach,
no neighborhood patrols.

Clearly we have a critical shortage of officers. And while our force is
the best trained in the state, their current base pay doesn’t come close to
reflecting that. So they are leaving for better paying, less dangerous
departments in other cities.

Above is the APOA ad as copied from newly created website fundapd.com. The APOA seems to be launching a campaign to increase the number of officers on the force and on the street. We're normally somewhat suspicious of organizations who advocate a position that clearly benefits their own bottom line. However, it's clear that crime is a serious problem in Albuquerque and it's also clear that we don't have enough officers to combat crime in our fair city, so it's hard to argue with a campaign that is clearly in the best interests of every man, woman, and child in Albuquerque.

Our Eyes tell us that the number of officers over at APD is in the low 800's. The APOA claims that the number is really 900. Regardless of the actual number one thing is sure, the number of sworn officers over at APD is not 1,033 - the number claimed by Deputy Chief Michael Castro and reported by the Northwestern.com - it's far fewer and wholly inadequate.

Eye Poll: Defending the Flag

Not surprisingly (at least to us), Eye readers overwhelmingly decided that the charges against Peter Ryan Lynch should be dropped. 48% of readers felt that Mr. Lynch's actions were justifiable and charges should be dropped, another 34% felt that he should replace the flag and then the charges should be dropped, another 9% felt that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, 6% felt he should be prosecuted for criminal destruction of property and hate crimes, and 3% didn't know (review the results here).

82% of readers took the position that the charges should be dropped. It's important to protect the symbols of our country and our freedom. The first step toward losing our liberty is forgetting the symbols that remind us of the existence of that liberty. When we dishonor our own flag we tread on the very real freedoms that it represents; which inevitably leads to the loss of those freedoms. Eye readers have simply sided with a man who felt it was his duty to defend our flag.

About a week and a half ago APD Chief Ray Schultz told us that those of us who live in Albuquerque and are victims of crime are hurting our crime stat rankings by "over reporting" violent crime. The Chief went on to state that he "feel[s] safe." Since the Chief would like us to "feel" safe because he does, we'd like to know how you feel. Don't forget to vote in this week's Eye Poll!

Property Crime Series

Just last week the Albuquerque Journal ran a story (Subscription) that placed Albuquerque at the top of the crime list (read our take here). Today we got word from our Eyes that the Journal is planning to run a series on Albuquerque's problem with property crime. The word is that the series will start sometime over the weekend. We touched on the subject back in August.

"What we do know is that Albuquerque has a serious property crime problem. Back in June, The Albuquerque Journal reported (Subscription) that 2006 was a "banner year" for property crime. Over 5,000 vehicles were stolen and more than 6,000 homes were broken into. That's almost 14 vehicles per day and almost 17 homes per day."

- The Eye

You can bet this series will be none too popular with the folks on the 5th and 11th floors. This is the type of story that kinda tarnishes a city's image; especially with so many people in town for the Balloon Fiesta.

In fact, we were kind of surprised that the Journal was going to run the series at all in light of the historically cozy relationship they've had with the Almighty Marty and crew. Perhaps the mind control serum is starting to wear off. But, it's more likely just getting too hard to continue to drink the cool-aid when it contains so many ridiculous ingredients like: it's not "profit," it's "excess money" (Subscription). Or, the ever popular "this is not a dangerous place" (Subscription).

Bigger Problem

We've often looked at immigration as a problem faced primarily by cities like Las Cruces, El Paso, Tucson, or San Diego. This Week's APD SOP fiasco got us looking around at crime statistics and what we found was to say the least, eye opening.

INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigrants

2006 (First Quarter) INS/FBI Statistical Report on Undocumented Immigrants

CRIME STATISTICS 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

83% of warrants for murder in Phoenix are for illegal aliens.

86% of warrants for murder in Albuquerque are for illegal aliens.

75% of those on the most wanted list in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Albuquerque are illegal aliens.

24.9% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

40.1% of all inmates in Arizona detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

48.2% of all inmates in New Mexico detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

29% (630,000) convicted illegal alien felons fill our state and federal prisons at a cost of $1.6 billion annually

53% plus of all investigated burglaries reported in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas are perpetrated by illegal aliens.

50% plus of all gang members in Los Angeles are illegal aliens from south of the border.

71% plus of all apprehended cars stolen in 2005 in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California were stolen by Illegal aliens or “transport coyotes".

47% of cited/stopped drivers in California have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 47%, 92% are illegal aliens.

63% of cited/stopped drivers in Arizona have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 63%, 97% are illegal aliens

66% of cited/stopped drivers in New Mexico have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 66% 98% are illegal aliens.

BIRTH STATISTICS 380,000 plus “anchor babies” were born in the U.S. in 2005 to illegal alien parents, making 380,000 babies automatically U.S.citizens.

97.2% of all costs incurred from those births were paid by the American taxpayers.

66% plus of all births in California are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers

-Stephen Frank's California Political News and Views

Now before some of you become apoplectic we admit that we are unable to find the original report that these statistics are reputed to come from, but they're literally repeated all over the Internet; which doesn't make them true. Even sites like Snopes.com fail to refute them and other sites like the non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies seem to confirm at least some of the stats in a report entitled Crime and the Illegal Alien. What is undeniably true is that there is a link between illegal immigration (no matter where they're from) and crime.

What we do know is that Albuquerque has a serious property crime problem. Back in June, The Albuquerque Journal reported (Subscription) that 2006 was a "banner year" for property crime. Over 5,000 vehicles were stolen and more than 6,000 homes were broken into. That's almost 14 vehicles per day and almost 17 homes per day.

Our Eyes behind the badge (and sometimes on it) tell us that APD believes that an auto theft ring based out of Mexico is behind a large number of the thefts. We'd be willing to bet that a large number of those involved aren't exactly in this country legally. After all, you don't need to be a legal U.S. resident to get a driver's license in the state.

To make Albuquerque even more inviting, APD's SOP prohibits pursuit unless the suspect is exhibiting reckless behavior before their emergency equipment is engaged. What's worse is that officers believe that criminals know that APD will not pursue.

(Sidebar)
For some reason the most commonly stolen vehicle seems to be a Ford Truck. Good for your local Ford dealer - not so good for you or your insurance rates. If you own an F-150, F-250, or F-350, it'd be a good idea to hide it in your garage; except in the case of a F-350 which probably needs to be hidden in a barn.
(End Sidebar)

What that means to all of us is if APD officer spots a criminal stealing your brand new F-150 and engages his lights, when the suspect flees in your still being paid for pick-up they must let them go. Now that you've recovered from shock, let us say that again. They have to let them go!

Consequently, when a crook sees the red and blue lights of an APD cruiser, they simply keep going. Now if it's the solid reds of the State Police or BCSO, criminals know they've got a problem on their hands. One thing that's absolutely sure, if you create an environment where criminals know that they have a chance they're gonna' to take advantage of it.

It's no different in the immigration game. When illegal aliens enter this country from anywhere - Mexico, France, Central America, even Canada, where do you think they'll go? Where would you go? We'd head to the place with the most available jobs or the most number of potential victims if the crime connection holds, and the least likelihood that we'd get caught. That means sanctuary cities like Albuquerque has become thanks to the new APD SOP.