ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Homicides are down in Albuquerque, according to the city’s police department.

Gilbert Gallegos, APD spokesman, says this year there were 96 homicide victims – that’s 20% lower than last year. In 2022, there were 121 homicides investigated by the Albuquerque Police Department.

Gallegos says the nation is also seeing a downward trend for homicides. He also says APD has made lots of arrests this year, which separates the city from others across the country.

“The rest of the country is seeing low clearance rates,” Gallegos said. “Right now we’re at 90%, and last year, we were at about 95% clearance rates. What that means is this year, we’ve actually arrested or charged 117 people for murder. Last year, we charged 119 people.”

It’s important to note APD uses non-negligent murders to count homicides. Those are cases where someone killed someone else with the intent to kill them, meaning that deaths that are considered “justifiable” or negligent aren’t included.

Negligent murders include ones with manslaughter charges. Justifiable homicides are ones that don’t include charges – that can also include when an officer fatally shoots someone.

APD keeps track of those murders separately and reports them to the FBI.

Gallegos says that this year, 15 cases are being investigated as justifiable. Half of those are still under investigation, which will determine if charges are filed.