2022 was another deadly year in the city of Albuquerque. The mark of 119 homicide victims eclipsed the previous city record, which was set just last year.
With this increase in violent crime, also comes the heavy workload for the Albuquerque Police Department.
At a press conference held on Wednesday, department officials spoke about the efforts they’ve put forth to solve 68 cases from homicides this year and the trends they’re seeing in these cases.
As the year winds down, the Albuquerque Police Department has solved a total of 90 homicides.
68 of which occurred in 2022, and the remaining 22 were from previous years.
This resulted in a 94% clearance rate for the department, which is the highest they’ve had since 2013.
A total of 117 suspects were arrested in 2022, 81 for homicides that occurred within this year and 36 from homicides in previous years.
75 of these individuals had a prior criminal record, 31 had none and 11 were juveniles.
50% of those arrested had a prior violent crime in their criminal history.
The overwhelming weapon of choice in most of these homicides were firearms, accounting for 86% of the incidents.
Law enforcement officials said the majority of these firearms are suspected of being stolen and not ever being reported by their owners.
Police Chief Harold Medina also said the black market could be responsible for the increased number of firearms on the streets.
It was also shared that the majority of homicides this year were carried out by men, with the largest age group being those between 18-25.
Chief Medina said the efforts of the department have been great this year to help combat the tide of violence in the city, but a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system is needed for there to truly be progress and that starts with this upcoming legislative session.
“This is about the Albuquerque Police Department standing here today, along with the Mayor of the city of Albuquerque asking our legislators to ensure that our criminal justice system as a whole is functioning the way it needs to. This isn’t alone about the Albuquerque Police Department lowering homicide rates, this is about a functioning, great criminal justice system and our goal is to advocate for everyone to get the funding they need so they can be as fortunate as we are.”