APD data shows crime down slightly in 2024

BY MATTHEW REISEN JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The number of reported crime offenses in Albuquerque dropped by a few percentage points last year — continuing an overall downward trend since 2017.

The Albuquerque Police Department released data Wednesday showing that violent crime rose by less than a percentage point, property crime dropped by 2% and crimes against society — like gun and drug offenses — dropped 4%.

Additionally, police said, nonfatal shootings decreased 18% in a twoyear span, from 353 in 2022 to 288 last year.

Officers also ramped up arrests in 2024, booking around 150 more people on felony charges, for a total of 4,530, from 2023 and clearing 1,300 more felony warrants for a total of 6,203, according to the department.

The statistics — compiled using the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System — showed a continued leveling off of property crime after measuring large decreases from 2018 to 2020. In that same time period, violent crime has gone up and down marginally.

Mayor Tim Keller said despite the successes, the city has “a long way to go.”

“That is not lost on anyone. When you’re at an alltime high ... and it starts coming down, you got a long way to go. We understand that, but what we’re seeing is real traction,” Keller said during a briefing Wednesday.

For instance, Keller said, the city was one of the top three worst in the country for auto theft for years. Now, Albuquerque is seventh worst after repeated drops.

“It’s still a huge problem, but we’re seventh worst instead of first worst,” he said. “That is sort of the story for most of our key crime stats.”

Within the categories of violent and property crime and crimes against society are ebbs and flows of specific offenses.

The data shows that within violent crime, aggravated assaults decreased in 2024 by 11%, with around 500 fewer incidents, being offset by a 6% rise in simple assaults. Among property crimes, burglary rose 11% last year, with around 400 more incidents, and shoplifting increased 4%, according to the data. Auto theft and robbery dropped less than 2% and 8%, respectively, in 2024. The data shows that, in crimes against society, drug offenses went up 11% and DWIs and gun charges dropped 23% and 21%, respectively, from 2023. Prostitution offenses rose from 11 instances in 2023 to 72 last year. The rise in drug and prostitution offenses was likely spurred by APD operations targeting sex workers and those using drugs along East Central in the latter half of 2024. APD Chief Harold Medina said they often have a “seesaw battle” effect as they tackle one type of crime, like auto theft, others, like burglary, will start to rise. He said a big issue is getting those addicted to drugs, who commit most property crime, the help they need to stop the cycle.

“We just have to keep it in perspective that, like the mayor said, we’re not doing great, but we’ve put the brakes on the rises, and things are starting to slightly decrease, and we’re hoping that we could continue this trend of slightly decreased crime,” Medina said.

Matthew Reisen covers criminal justice for the Albuquerque Journal. Follow him on Twitter at @MReisen88, call him at (505) 823-3563 or reach him via email at mreisen@abqjournal.com.