What's going wrong in New Mexico? (Santa Fe, Clayton: home owners insurance, crime rate, home)

[shammy]

According to latest stats, only Louisiana has a worse crime rate than New Mexico and only Mississippi has worse schools. What is happening to my home state in the name of progress and growth?

[GregW]

Dope smuggling I'll bet.

[Towanda]

Just asking because I really don't know the answer, but where did you see that the crime rate "is happening ... in the name of progress and growth?"

[lacey]

There are many factors used in these "studies". New Mexico has a lesser population than many other states and a higher percentage of non-English speaking residents. When students are tested, they test in English, whether they are proficient or not. Also, bear in mind that many parents seem to think the schools are a dumping ground for their kids and the teachers should be responsible for education. Parents that are submerged in drugs, etc. do not make the effort to ensure their kids do well in school, it is seen as someone else's job. Because many of these parents have no education to speak of themselves, they fail to see the advantages of higher education and thus limit themselves to mediocre lifes with less than mediocre incomes on public assistance. Crime stats, factor in rural and metro areas and average it all. Maybe New Mexico has a higher level of people that report crimes????

[councilor j]

I would say a higner number of people that dont report crimes, I know of many people that just let things slide,and anyways what it is, is there is alot of crime in New Mexico and Im talking all over the whole state,not just the cities.Most towns and cities in New Mexico have an above average crime rate and most other states dont.
This is what I copied from a AOL webpage about the most dangerous states-

New Mexico's coiffed tourist image of open desert spaces, Earth-conscious living and colorful hot-air balloons belie a serious crime problem in this border state.

Rankings in Crime

Murder: 6
Rape: 2
Robbery: 25
Assault: 2
Burglary: 2
Motor Vehicle Theft: 14

[BrianH]

In regards to crime rates its hard to tell, i can only speak for Clayton. I can tell you for definate that our crime stats have gone up. I wouldnt say that crime has gone up (as much as the stats would show) but that the police are actually doing something about it now. Weve had the current Police Chief for 1.5+ years now and he is great. He is making a genuine attempt to curb crime that previous Chiefs ignored, thats why we would show our stats are up.

[shammy]

Towana - I will let you duplicate my research since that is the only way you personally will get the picture between growth and crime, especially in Santa Fe. Here is what I did: I charted the growth stats for the past 25, 20, 18, and 15 year intervals against national reported crime stats.
For every approx 1% growth in Santa Fe the crime has increased from 1.5% to 2.2% per year until Sf and NM have gone from 47% below the national crime average to approx 59% above. Do this yourself and it becomes obvious. This year, for 2007, SF will easily surpass the 600 rating in city-data FBI based stats. Watch and weep. SF had been in the 500's and national average is approx 320. Even Eldorado where I live now has crime and we have friends nearby who were victimized to the tune of approx $20000 in theft and damages this year. Alarm company signs are sprouting all over properties in SF (and Eldorado)- just look!
I have friends in NM State Police and they pretty much tell me how bad it is getting, and much of it is California and Mexico imports. So you can be pro-active and careful or you can accept what comes your way - good or bad.
Choice is yours - nice to have choice.

[winnie]

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nmcrimn.htm

This table gives a pretty good picture..while crime seems to be going up (and it is) it is not worse than it was in the 80's and early 90's

One out of every 13485 people in NM were murdered in 2005. In 1986, one out of every 8700 people were murdered. You can grab a calculator and look up other states and compare population vs crime. I don't know about everyone else, but murder is my major concern when I look at stats, home owners insurance can replace belongings, auto insurance for my stolen car and 3 big rottweilers for the would-be rapists.

I think though what we are seeing is a national trend rather than a state trend. With increased drug use among our population, robberies and murders are sure to climb. And on top of that NM has a border with Mexico which leaves it open to drug trade and other issues.