New Mexico
A generational commitment is needed to solve New Mexico’s safety issues, attorney general says
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It will take a generational commitment to solve New Mexico’s public safety problems, the state’s top prosecutor said Friday, urging policymakers to listen to those on the ground who are working with people in need of mental health services.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez spent hours listening to providers and other experts from around the state. It was the second such summit Torrez had hosted. The first in September brought together law enforcement officers and prosecutors to share ideas for curbing violent crime.
The meetings come as New Mexico continues to grapple with a crime rate that remains well above the national average. Torrez said most violent crime has its roots in child abuse and neglect, substance abuse and intergenerational trauma — all problems that are addressed now in silos, with professionals working separately.
He and others talked about breaking down those silos and reducing bureaucracy in order to get people the help they need before they end up in the criminal justice system or dead.
“This is going to be a long and complicated and intensive effort,” Torrez said at the summit. “It has to be if it’s going to be successful.”
The attorney general’s office said it plans to use what has been learned during the meetings to make recommendations to the governor and state lawmakers in hopes of creating a comprehensive public safety package ahead of the legislative session in January.
The session will be focused on budget issues, and Torrez said there will be no shortage of resources that lawmakers can funnel toward more efficient programs as New Mexico stands to see another financial windfall from record-breaking oil and gas production.
Nick Boukas, director of the Behavioral Health Services Division within the state Human Services Department, said more conversations like the ones had Friday are needed to figure out how New Mexico can do things better. He said he speaks with his counterparts in other states every month to share lessons learned.
Dominic Cappello, co-founder of the Anna, Age Eight Institute at New Mexico State University, said each state and how it takes care of its most vulnerable populations can be considered as separate social experiments, with some doing better jobs than others.
He pointed to annual rankings put out by The Annie E. Casey Foundation that are based on indicators related to child wellbeing. He acknowledged that New Mexico is usually last and that there are things to learn from states in the top 10.
“There’s all the research in the world out there on what you do,” he said, referring to addressing social determinants of health. “Some states invest more in this and others don’t. So it really comes down to that.”
Mental health providers who were at the summit said lawmakers are universally supportive of making it easier for people in their communities to access services.
“Republican, Democrat — it doesn’t matter. Everybody wants this in their community,” said David Ley, president of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Providers Association. “I think we just need to be able to give them the answers and ideas.”
New Mexico
Behind the scenes of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Metropolitan Court of Bernalillo County had another packed docket Saturday morning.
“We are the busiest courthouse in the state. We see more than every other courthouse does, from the traffic tickets to the misdemeanor cases and the initial felony cases that are filed here,” said Metropolitan Court Chief Judge Joshua Sanchez.
Sanchez says the court oversees about 100 cases a day and Saturday New Mexico’s top judge, Chief Justice David Thomson of the New Mexico Supreme Court, got a firsthand look at the court’s caseload.
Sanchez says he welcomes the visit.
“We go to these statewide meetings, and they hear about how things happen. But until you actually kind of sit there with another judge and see what happens, it’s kind of eye-opening to see the kind of controlled chaos that we have on a Saturday morning,” he said about the visit.
He adds their biggest challenge at Metro Court is the case load.
Thomson says he plans to visit courts statewide to see these challenges for himself.
“I think it’s a good idea just to come down and see it. And what you see, if you watch these, is you see all the interactions between what we face, just not as a court system, as a society, right?” said Sanchez.
Just from one morning sitting in on court proceedings, he said it’s clear mental health plays a huge part in a lot of the cases metro court hears.
“If there are questions of competency, we can catch those questions here, rather when they get transferred to felony court, that’s one, can they be assessed early on,” Thomson said.
He also noticed a lot of repeat offenders.
“I think it’s very helpful to see it firsthand. On a few of these individuals. I’ve actually asked to look at some of the criminal history, so I have an understanding of the particulars,” said Thomson.
Sanchez said he hopes for more visits like this in the future.
“It’s just nice to give some real perspective and validates, I think, a lot of the things that we do communicate to AOC and the Supreme Court and things that we’re seeing,” said Thomson.
New Mexico
‘Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light’ documentary illuminates the artist’s NM connection
New Mexico
CSU-Pueblo crushes New Mexico Highlands | KRDO
The CSU-Pueblo football team exploded for a 67-28 win over New Mexico Highlands.
The Thunderwolves reached the 66 point mark for the second straight week.
CSU-Pueblo improves to 5-1 this season.
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