This lawsuit, McClendon v. City of Albuquerque, was filed on behalf of prisoners in the Bernalillo County Detention Center in 1995, and focuses on overcrowding and other issues in the county jail system.  

A stipulated settlement was reached in McClendon in 2005, but the judge then presiding over the lawsuit ruled in 2009 that county officials had so misrepresented the county’s role in running the old downtown jail — which it had leased to a private operator — that parties should be allowed out of the deal, and she withdrew her approval of the settlement.   

Over the past few years, Albuquerque has become a case study for those calling for more lenient policies toward criminals. Unfortunately, as pretrial services and leniency for criminals in courts has increased, and more people are being released from jail, crime has continued to rise. As it is, many of these services are a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card.

The same people are being caught and released over and over. In other cities where this is happening, criminals are using calculators to make sure they do not steal over the limit to go to jail. New Mexico was recently named the most dangerous state in America according to FBI’s 2015 reporting period. Albuquerque has one of the highest burglary, shoplifting, and auto theft rates in the country, and we are not seeing signs of improvement any time soon.

New Mexico was also recently ranked as being one of the worst places to be a police officer by WalletHub. Rather than giving our police officers more resources and tools do their job better and be happy overall, we continue to take tools away from them and release criminals within hours of them being arrested. We as citizens of Albuquerque want APD to keep the city safe, and not allow small crimes to escalate into bigger crimes. What will be next, disarming the police?

We are going down a slippery slope as we take away discretions from police officers. If a police officer pulls someone over and does not want to give their ID, though they could be a felon with several warrants, will they only be given a citation? We certainly hope police officers are able to use their discretion for their safety, and the safety of others.

“APD is working diligently to keep our streets safe, and the courts are turning around and allowing defendants back out on the street, even when they are a risk to the community. I think we should care why these individuals are committing these crimes, and continue to re-offend. If we do not know why then how will we prevent it? We need to understand the cause, and not just focus on the symptom, and then have concrete solutions,” said Gerald Madrid, president of the Bail Bond Association of New Mexico. “We appreciate and thank APD for all they do to keep us safe. APD puts their lives on the line every day, and we worry they are working with less tools to do their job right.” 

With this new order, there are no parameters nor the amount of citations they can issue on one person. If a criminal continues to commit crimes and only receives citations, what is to stop them from committing crimes? Is this what criminal justice reform has become? Letting people commit havoc on communities and let them go with no punishment? 

We continue to speak about the poor defendants, but never about the victims and all they must go through after the crime has taken place. Who is being reformed in this process? There are no treatment centers, rehabs, or anything readily available to help the criminals who really need the help, and the victims are being punished and getting no justice. 

Finally, we understand that all persons in this country have basic rights that we are all entitled to. The most basic of those rights would be the “presumption of innocence ” and when to apply it. This presumption comes into play at the beginning of the court proceedings and not at the time of the arrest. However, victims, taxpayers and the community at large have rights as well, and those too must be protected.