Republican state lawmakers held a meeting in Las Cruces that looked into crime around the state. The meeting was attended by police chiefs, victims' families and school officials all discussing what they have experienced with crime.
State Senator Crystal Brantly was joined by five other lawmakers at the meeting which focused on many factors surrounding crime in the state.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story joined Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe in a presentation on what they have been seeing in their towns. Story presented clips of crimes that were posted on social media including drive-by shootings, theft, and muggings; and he says young people are largely to blame.
"We are seeing far too much death and destruction from our juveniles and the amount of shattered families and lives is very hard to quantify" Story said.
Story continued by saying that some of the newer trends that they are seeing involve online arguments escalating to real world violence, a higher prevalence of guns, and videos of the crimes being posted for internet clout.
According to Story and many other people at the meeting, some of the blame for this crime can fall on the competency laws in New Mexico. Story shared transcripts that showed kids saying that they could fail a competency test and get found incompetent to stand trial. To address this, some juveniles are being charged in the federal system.
"Every juvenile that we have had that has been found incompetent under the state competency system has been found competent in the federal competency system," Story said.
Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Jason Bowie says that the punishment for crimes isn't adequate and that there should be high minimum punishments for crimes.
"I still believe and have the feeling that if I commit a felony that I am going to go to jail even for a 4th degree felony and spend some significant days in jail or prison. The reality is that is not true,” Bowie said.
Representative Nicole Chavez's son was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2015. One of the people charged in the murder was released early. Chavez says she hopes to be able to address these issues at the next session.
"My hope today that this is not all for nothing and that this legislative session we take what we hear both today and at the beginning of the month, we confront the failures of our system and pass meaningful, responsible legislation that prioritizes public safety and real juvenile reform while remembering the victims,” Chavez said.
The next legislative session is scheduled to begin January 20th.
