ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has extended her executive order declaring gun violence a public health issue for another 30 days.

The governor cited recent crime data, but not everyone is sold that it can be attributed to her order. Since Sept. 8, 2023, there have been 1,441 arrests, 86 guns seized and 2,511 traffic citations issued.

In a statement, the governor said, “The work of local and state partners, especially law enforcement, in the last two months is yielding real results.”

“This isn’t rocket science right, the public health order has absolutely no bearing. The facts are she increased police staffing in the city of Albuquerque, all of those statistics are like shooting fish in a barrel in this community,” said Shaun Willoughby, the president of the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association.

According to the governor’s website, the data comes from the Bernalillo County Violent Crime Reduction Operation – using stats from APD, BCSO, NMSP, the district attorney, and the New Mexico Corrections Department.

Part of her order was sending New Mexico State troopers to Albuquerque.

“We definitely need the help, our officers love the help, love to see state police on our freeways. The most embarrassing part or attribute of this is that she doesn’t need a public health order to increase state police staffing in the city of Albuquerque,” Willoughby said.

KOB 4 also reached out to the governor about the crime data and attributing it to the public health order. Here is what her office had to say:

“We are confident that there has been a concentrated effort to intensify crime-fighting efforts in Bernalillo County and Albuquerque, including through the addition of 70 State Police officers in Albuquerque. The governor is, as always, incredibly grateful for the work that law enforcement does every day to protect our communities and hold criminals accountable. The people of Albuquerque should continue to expect this level of momentum going forward, and the focus must remain squarely on improving public safety and well-being.”