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Anyone can come up with any anecdote or hearsay to support their point of view. Sorry, but the "Wild West" is long gone, and probably never existed to begin with, except in the movies and on TV.
I have tons of anecdotes to compare Albuquerque favorably with other places, but I'll just pull this one out for now. My 95-year-old neighbor, a widow not originally from here, was moved to another state to live with her son a couple of years ago out of concern for her safety. When I communicate with them, she always says how she would rather be back in her Albuquerque house, living on her own. She was an air force bride and has lived many places, and this was her favorite.
I know and have seen lots of elderly people around Albuquerque, walking around the neighborhoods with dogs or alone, evidently enjoying life. It seems like it is usually the younger people who are afraid and suspicious of everything.
When we get around to actually spending winters in New Mexico instead of the frozen Northeast crime statistics will not be high on our list of important considerations. Expected climate, rental expenses and food prices are at the top.
As someone that grew up in New Mexico and now living in Texas, I will say that I have seen more instances of crime personally In different parts of NM than I have in TX. Its almost a different world culturally.
I met a guy from at work from NM and we got to chatting and he mentioned how the small towns in NM are rough and that its just different here. And I'm in the SA metro area.
Lived in Alamogordo from Jan.2013 to Feb.2015 and sure didn't see a crime problem in that smallish city. Much at all. It's not something that would meddle in to one's plans ta move to NM, even. I agree, the weather, rent prices, stores available, how far from a big city is the one you're thinking of moving to, those are all up higher on the list of things to consider when moving to NM than crime. Same with Las Cruces, and, I don't know why one would have ta chew their fingernails down ta bleeding if they're considering Carlsbad, Artesia or Ruidoso, either.
Albuquerque - eh, I suppose. Still don't think, if you pick a good neighborhood, it should deter a move to the Duke City, either.
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There's a reason why the feds are getting involved in an attempt to stem the violent culture that exists in that department.
That happens in almost every large'ish city, period.
This just isn't true. Very few cities have their police departments under federal supervision.
The crime statistics are what they are. I think it's foolish to argue that they are not accurate. Whether the crime rates are a concern for you is a personal question. They don't deter me, but I wish they were lower. If you want to talk anecdotes, I've been a victim of property crime, as have many people I know (burglary, auto theft, etc.). Violent crime seems to depend a lot more on who you spend time with.
Again, I never said that crime wasn't in Albuquerque and there will always be personal anecdotes of something that they had to deal with personally but that is everywhere, in every city.
You said the feds getting involved "happens in almost every large'ish city, period." I'm not sure where your 62 number comes from, but even if a lot of cities have some federal involvement, only 9 have reached the point of having an independent monitor (according to your article), like Albuquerque. And who knows what will happen with Albuquerque's independent monitor. The monitor may find a failure to comply with the consent decree, which really puts Albuquerque in uncharted territory.
You can find anecdotes anywhere, but I believe the statistics. For example, Albuquerque's crime rate is more than 50% higher than Denver's. There are worse cities, and I'm not an alarmist, but the crime rate in Albuquerque isn't good. More than the crime rate itself, I am concerned that crime rates in Albuquerque have been increasing over the past 5 years, bucking a national trend of decreased crime: New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan
Albuquerque's rising crime rate has a lot to do with Albuquerque's economy. As an economic laggard, we got to enjoy somewhat stable jobs and home values when the recession hit the rest of the country hard. The flip side is when the rest of the country gets back on its feet, we suffer.
The other substantial difference is the economic tar pit surrounding Albuquerque metro. With the exception of some very bright spots (Los Alamos), there's a lot of poverty that rolls into the city like the tide. That gets reflected in our violent and property crime numbers, and there's only so much any local politician can do to control that. You look at places like Denver and it doesn't have that same set of surroundings and that's one reason why it's safer.
If you are hung up on crime statistics and that's all you care about when choosing a place to live, you can live in a Nebraska cornfield. But I think most people consider all the other benefits of living in a place before factors like crime. After living here so long I can't think of any other place I've traveled to where I would like to live more than here. And in fact almost everyone I know who has retired from their job here has stayed, and some of those who moved away seeking "greener pastures" have come back. Once you are used to the sunny climate, mountains, big sky, easy access to great hiking and skiing, perfect biking weather, unique cultural events, and live-and-let-live lifestyle it is hard to imagine living somewhere that doesn't have those things. For a city its size, Albuquerque affords a certain lifestyle that would be hard to reproduce anywhere else. The positives outweigh the negatives.
The "crime statistics" may not be good, but they have never prevented me from enjoying everything that Albuquerque has to offer. If they would prevent you from enjoying life, then definitely do not move here.
Recently NM was ranked the "worst-run state" by the Wall Street Journal. They ranked North Dakota as the "best-run state." I would choose to live in New Mexico over North Dakota any day.
Albuquerque's rising crime rate has a lot to do with Albuquerque's economy. As an economic laggard, we got to enjoy somewhat stable jobs and home values when the recession hit the rest of the country hard. The flip side is when the rest of the country gets back on its feet, we suffer.
The other substantial difference is the economic tar pit surrounding Albuquerque metro. With the exception of some very bright spots (Los Alamos), there's a lot of poverty that rolls into the city like the tide. That gets reflected in our violent and property crime numbers, and there's only so much any local politician can do to control that. You look at places like Denver and it doesn't have that same set of surroundings and that's one reason why it's safer.
I agree that the economy is a big factor in Albuquerque's crime rate. I compared the city to Denver because lots of people (particularly the young, educated people ABQ wants to keep) look and move to Denver as a reasonably close alternative with a much better job market.
I don't write about ABQ's crime rate to criticize the city. I don't think it's a reason for most people *not* to move to the city or the most important factor in determining whether to move. But I do get frustrated by posters who suggest that ABQ is no different than all other cities or that crime isn't an issue as long as you are not involved in crime yourself. I think that's just putting your head in the sand. Crime, like the economy, is a real problem. It can be outweighed by lots of the great things about Albuquerque and New Mexico, but that doesn't mean the problems don't exist.
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