On March 11, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce held its 8th annual CrimeStat Luncheon featuring Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman at the Embassy Suites.
The Chamber has supported important changes to public safety over the years and uses the luncheon as an opportunity to keep the business community involved in the progress. On Wednesday, Bregman highlighted the community’s latest crime trends, crime-fighting initiatives and policies in front of a sold-out audience of business and community leaders.
Bregman discussed his efforts with the District Attorney’s Office to combat crime in New Mexico.
He highlighted a 34% increase in the general fund to $37 million since FY23. He noted a 33% rise in felony arrests and a 34% drop in homicides.
Bregman then emphasized the importance of funding for the public defender’s office and the judiciary.
Since being appointed to the position, Bregman’s department has hired 214 employees, including 87 attorneys and 127 support staff. It has also reduced homicide caseloads from 50 to 23 per prosecutor. This is due to the efforts across multiple agencies to begin to move the needle.
“I’m very, very grateful to the staff at the DAs office, who does a tremendous job,” Bregman said. “In 2023, the first year I was in office, we had 18,770 cases referred to my office. At the end of 2025, we had 26,000 cases referred to my office. That is not to say that crime is going up. It is a recognition, however, of all the good work that law enforcement is doing out there. … Our volume has certainly increased. Overall crime trends in Albuquerque, homicides down by 34% aggravated assault down by 11. Robbery down by 22%, rape is down by 9%, burglary down by 14% vehicle theft is down by 43% and shoplifting is down by 63%.”
Bregman also addressed juvenile crime, fentanyl addiction, and the need for better behavioral health services and legislative reforms.
“The programs aren’t matching up to get the help people need,” Bregman said. “We need to do better at getting these programs to work together.”
He also highlighted:
- The Metro Division’s efforts in handling DWI cases and the ongoing issue of drunk driving in the community.
- The success of Operation Route 66 in making arrests and clearing warrants, emphasizing the collaboration with various law enforcement agencies.
- The success of the pre-prosecution diversion program (PPDP) in reducing recidivism rates.
- The increasing trend of juvenile crime, particularly violent crimes involving guns.
- The need for better intervention and support for juveniles entering the criminal justice system.
- The importance of updating the children’s code to better address current issues.
- The need for stronger penalties for felons in possession of firearms and the importance of addressing human trafficking.
“I am not about locking away kids and throwing away the key,” Bregman said while talking about recidivism and coordination among agencies for juveniles. “We haven’t updated the Children’s Code since before the first iPhone was created or before 1993. We can do a lot better than that.”
Bregman was asked by Margaret “Meg” Meister, of Modrall Sperling Law Firm and a Chamber board member, about the biggest challenge his team faces in prosecuting criminals.
“If you want to get down to the juvenile level, it’s the current statutes in the gun culture amongst our young people right now,” he explained. “A general driver of crime throughout this community, I would say fentanyl is the biggest single issue overall. Though holding people accountable who are violent in this community, we need to make sure we’re doing that at every step of the level, at every step of the way, and making sure it’s being effective and having consequences.”
Andres Garcia of Capra Bank and a Chamber board member asked what Bregman would tell someone who is asking if Albuquerque is a safe city.
“We need to be a place where you feel safe walking down your neighborhood street regardless of your zip code, and we’re not even close to that,” Bregman said. “That needs to change. I want to say it’s not a lack of effort by law enforcement. I don’t think law enforcement ever operated collectively and collaboratively so well as we are right now. All the agencies — county sheriff, APD, state, probation and parole — all work very closely together, but we have a crime issue, and so I’d be very frank with them. Well, it might depend a little bit on your neighborhood that you’re moving into, but I think everybody knows that, but we can do so much better.”
Rep. Nicole Chavez (R-Bernalillo) has advocated for public safety for 10 years, even bringing pretrial detention bills, as well as being co-sponsor of a bill adjusting the juvenile children’s code. To date, the bills have always died in its first committee. She asked for advice on what legislators can do to get movement with the bills.
“I’m not going to give up on that issue,” Bregman said. “I’m going to continue to work my tail off to express how important this is to every legislator that comes into contact with every stakeholder out there. This is too important. We’re losing too many young people. We are going to lose, not only to death, but to incarceration in the next decade, hundreds, if not 1,000s of kids. This is unacceptable.”
