SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 38

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO CREATE A GANG REDUCTION, INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION PROGRAM TO CONSOLIDATE AND CENTRALIZE STATEWIDE EFFORTS ON GANG ACTIVITY.

     WHEREAS, the 2008 United States department of justice national gang intelligence center report shows that criminal gangs in the United States have swelled to an estimated one million members and are responsible for up to eighty percent of crimes committed in communities across the nation; and

     WHEREAS, the national gang intelligence center estimates that there are six hundred eighty gangs with approximately thirteen thousand eight hundred members in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, there are approximately five to seven gang members per one thousand residents in New Mexico, making it one of the top five states per capita in gang membership in the nation; and

     WHEREAS, there are approximately four to six gang members per every law enforcement officer in New Mexico, the third highest ratio in the nation; and

     WHEREAS, according to the United States department of justice bureau of justice statistics, fifty percent of all crimes committed in Bernalillo county are gang related; and

     WHEREAS, in March, 2008, Crime State Rankings 2008 listed New Mexico as the third most dangerous state in the country; and

     WHEREAS, there is a large influx of gang members from other states to New Mexico;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of public safety be requested to create a gang reduction, intervention and prevention program to consolidate and centralize statewide efforts and resources for prevention, intervention and suppression of gang activity; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public safety.

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