Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story, joined by representatives from the New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico State University police departments, shared the final stats for Operation Not in Vain.
During the press conference, the police chiefs presented some statistics showing that the operation netted six felony arrests, 44 misdemeanor arrests, three seized firearms, one stolen vehicle recovered and more.
These statistics come from the 2026 iteration of the Not in Vain Operation which began in May and ended this July.
Operation Not in Vain was named to honor LCPD officer Jonah Hernandez, who was killed in the line of duty in 2024 and has been conducted annually since.
The operation increased patrols around the city in coordination with other departments and mainly focused on crime hotspots and worked to prevent crime before it happened.
According to Chief Story, because of the proactive element of this operation, overall crime rates in the areas they worked dropped by 20% including a nearly 32% drop in crime in the West Picacho area, and a nearly 23% drop near Apodaca Park.
“Year-to-date for the entire city, we had a 13% reduction in overall crime which is still great to have an overall reduction but we see that the areas we worked exceed that, almost a 20% reduction in crime,” Story said.
As for any future operations, Story said that similar programs are ongoing, but another operation focused on violent crime is in the works.
