Last September, the FBI released its national crime statistics for 2023. The numbers for New Mexico can be described only as catastrophic.
New Mexico had the highest per capita rate for violent crime of any state at 7.8 incidents per thousand and the highest rate for any state for property crime at 29.84 per thousand. Violent crime includes the offenses of aggravated assault, homicide, rape, and robbery. Property crime includes arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.
I wanted to do a deeper dive into the crime stats for New Mexico’s five largest cities and compare those stats to the national averages and the figures for El Paso. Here are four tables.
FBI Crime Stats for 2023
City
Population
All Violent Crime
Per 1,000
National average per 1,000
560,274
7,408
13.22
3.64
114,892
671
5.84
3.64
110,660
453
4.09
3.64
89,167
766
8.59
3.64
47,109
429
9.11
3.64
678,958
2,294
3.38
3.64
City
Population
All Property Crime
Per 1,000
National average per 1,000
Albuquerque
560,274
26,788
47.81
19.17
Las Cruces
114,892
6,297
54.81
19.17
Rio Rancho
110,660
1,639
14.81
19.17
Santa Fe
89,167
4,453
49.94
19.17
Roswell
47,109
1,348
28.61
19.17
El Paso
678,958
11,084
16.33
19.17
City
Population
Motor vehicle theft
Per 1,000
National average per 1,000
Albuquerque
560,274
5,837
10.42
3.19
Las Cruces
114,892
840
7.31
3.19
Rio Rancho
110,660
177
1.60
3.19
Santa Fe
89,167
725
8.13
3.19
Roswell
47,109
138
2.93
3.19
El Paso
678,958
2,345
3.45
3.19
City
Population
Murder
Per 1,000
National average per 1,000
Albuquerque
560,274
108
0.19
0.06
Las Cruces
114,892
8
0.07
0.06
Rio Rancho
110,660
2
0.02
0.06
Santa Fe
89,167
5
0.06
0.06
Roswell
47,109
7
0.15
0.06
El Paso
678,958
34
0.05
0.06
Why do the five largest New Mexico cities have so much more per capita crime than El Paso? The demographics and income statistics are quite similar. Is New Mexico law enforcement less competent than El Paso’s? Are New Mexico criminal courts more lenient than criminal courts in El Paso? Are New Mexico district attorneys less likely to indict than their El Paso counterpart? Are potential criminals in El Paso less likely to attempt a criminal act because of a greater fear of capture and incarceration than in New Mexico? Does New Mexico have a crime epidemic because the political party that has run the state for most of the last 90 years simply not have the political will to do what is necessary to control crime?
