Albuquerque Police Department releases crime data for 2023

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Albuquerque Police Department released updated crime statistics painting a picture of where we are at for 2023.

Five categories are down from this point last year (January-August 2023 vs. January-August 2022):

1. Robbery: -42%
2. Homicide: -22%
3. Burglaries: -20%
4. Vehicle theft: -13%
5. Theft: -3%

Regarding homicides, from January to August, there were 73 homicides. As of Oct. 20, we’re up to 80 homicide cases with 84 victims. Last year at this time, we were beyond 100 homicides.

These categories, however, are up from last year:

• Drug offenses: +139%
• Weapon violations: +24%
• Stolen property: +11%
• Aggravated offenses: +6%
• Destruction and vandalism cases: +2%

APD officials say the increase in weapon violations could have something to do with the ShotSpotter coverage throughout Albuquerque. Each time an officer is sent to a gun detection activation, it is included in the crime stats.

As far as the increase in drug and narcotics offenses, it reflects more aggressive enforcement of drug possession crimes.

“We’re starting to see officers taking more and more of those suspects into custody for those drug offenses,” APD Chief Harold Medina said. “Our narcotics teams are as busy as ever and quite honestly there is a lot of fentanyl on our streets.”

To see the full crime statistics, click here.