On Nov. 13, community and business leaders arrived at the Albuquerque Convention Center to hear about crime in Albuquerque – more specifically, how to best address it.
The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce held its annual CrimeSTAT meeting with Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman as the keynote speaker.
Janice Torrez, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico president and vice chair of the Chamber’s Public Safety Bold Issue Group, introduced Bregman to the attendees.
Torrez said Bregman is on the front lines of the state’s fight against crime.
Bregman was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in January 2023. He recently was re-elected to the position by voters on Nov. 5.
“I’m so honored that the people of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have chosen me to fight crime,” Bregman told the crowd.
As Bregman took the stage, he began with statistics from the state. He talked about the SAKI Cold Case Rape Team, which has convicted 18 people tied to 37 cold-case rapes.
He then dove into prosecuting retail crime, which included his office filing these charges:
- 38 aggravated shoplifting
- 45 aggregated shoplifting
- 10 organized retail crime
- 885 misdemeanor shoplifting
“I understand the demands of running a business, and it motivates me to fight crime,” he said. “My office was broken into five times when I had my private practice.”
As far as pre-trial detention, Bregman said the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office has close to a 60% success rate and has filed the most party-directed mediations (PDMs) in the history of the office.
Though his office has made strides, he said there’s still work to be done.
Bregman said in 20 months, his office has hired a total of 72 attorneys and 93 support staff. But even with those numbers, there’s still so far to go, he said.
He laid out his office’s legislative priorities, which include addressing:
- Children’s Code revision
- Human Trafficking
- Competency reforms
- Resources for mental and behavioral health treatment (Fentanyl and juveniles)
- Gun switches
- Funding – DA’s Office and Organized Crime Commission
Bregman said there is currently no state law for gun switches and the last time the Children’s Code was modified was in the 1990s.
As far as juvenile crime goes, he said from Jan. 1, 2023, through Nov. 7, 2024, there have been 1,448 cases referred. Of those, 24 are charged with homicide. Three hundred and eighty-six cases involved a firearm, 49 were armed robbery and 69 were shooting at or from a motor vehicle or at a dwelling.
“The Children’s Code hasn’t been updated since last century, more than 30 years. We need to update the Children’s Code with consequences,” he said. “I’m not about locking up kids and throwing away the keys. … We have to change with the times. The world is more dangerous today.”
Prior to Bregman’s keynote address, he and Terri Cole, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, awarded the inaugural Prosecutor of the Year to Larry Hansen.
Cole said the Chamber created the award because “while getting justice starts with our law enforcement officers and ends with our judiciary, it’s that hard work in the middle that too often can go unnoticed.”
Bregman said three years ago, Albuquerque got lucky when Hansen – an attorney from Indianapolis – decided to move here and work in the DA’s Office.
Hansen is the leader of the DA’s Homicide Team and has resolved 20 murder cases since beginning at the DA’s Office.
As part of the program Scott Hindman, GACC Public Safety Bold Issue Group chair and executive director of Excellent Schools New Mexico, updated the guests on the Chamber’s public safety priorities.
Hindman said along with District Attorney Sam Bregman, the Chamber is highlighting its top concerns as retail shoplifting, guns in our schools, fentanyl trafficking and juvenile crime.
“We appreciate how forceful he’s been in telling the Legislature and the courts that our current system of releasing most criminal defendants prior to trial — even dangerous and repeat offenders – is wrong and must be changed.”
During the meeting, Bruce Stidworthy, Bohannan Huston CEO and President and GACC past chair, recognized three new Chamber members. They are:
- Carrie Tingley Hospital Foundation
- ACTenviro
- Onin Staffing
