Albuquerque mayor pleads with lawmakers to help with crime
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller told a panel of state lawmakers Friday that they need to help New Mexico's largest city deal with its persistent crime problems by clearing the way for the most violent defendants to be kept behind bars pending trial.
While making his latest plea, the Democratic mayor said residents are “screaming for the Legislature to help our city.”
“We are doing everything we can and we need your help," he said. “So if that means amending things later, if it means new bills, that’s fine. We just need your help.”
At issue is legislation that would create a specific pathway for keeping defendants accused of murder, rape and other violent crimes jailed pending trial. District attorneys contend it would help close a revolving door in the criminal justice system, but public defenders and civil rights advocates say there are constitutional concerns and have questioned whether it would address the problem as intended.
Republican Rep. Greg Nibert, an attorney who represents constituents in a rural district 200 miles away from Albuquerque, said he has been working for years to fix what many have recognized as a broken system. He likened the current state of criminal justice to a slap on the wrist.
“I know that we as a legislative body have got to get a handle on crime if we have any reasonable expectation of having economic growth and having more prosperity for our citizens,” he said. “Businesses will not come to a place where there is rampant crime.”
The legislation comes as residents voice frustration about the shortcomings of New Mexico's 2016 bail reform effort, which was designed to do away with the cash bail system and keep low-level offenders without financial means from languishing in jail. It also allowed prosecutors to seek...