Citizens need to stand and be heard on crime

Starting in January, the 60-day legislative session will begin in Santa Fe. Your representatives and senators are the only state elected lawmakers in the country that are unpaid for their service. Despite this, they are still required to represent their constituents. And we are tired. Tired of the crime – vandalism, shoplifting, burglaries. Tired of the reports of juvenile runaways committing drive-bys and worse. Tired of the revolving door at the jail. How ironic that the biggest issue with our current crime predicament is in the name of competence, when its passing now appears to be the definition of incompetence.

In Santa Fe, arguably the most powerful interim committee is Courts, Corrections and Justice, because of its involvement in deciding which bills come to the floor for a vote. The chair, state Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, and the vice chair, state Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, both ran unopposed this cycle. A town hall by Cervantes earlier in the year, largely in response to the governor’s assertions that her Democratic colleagues scuppered her special legislative session priorities including a large public safety endeavor, was attended by about 40 Las Crucens, only to hear that he can’t “pass laws to get people off their ass”. His resounding message, crudeness aside, was that we don’t need more laws for the issues we are faced with from criminals in our communities. Thanks for the help, Senator.

In Las Cruces, we have ceded competence to insanity. Progressive extremists wish to continue the same old tired mantra of catering to the criminal in the name of social justice. They’ve even gone so far as to begin entertaining the idea of dedicated spaces for drug addicts to imbibe, but that is a discussion for another time. The city council put legislative priorities for Las Cruces on Dec. 2 agenda, which included nothing that their own police chief has specifically requested as far as criminal justice reform. Not even the request to curb the startling increase of juvenile criminals warranted a mention from the city council. Nor did the request to address the competency issue, a request that also came from the governor herself last summer, after her daughter-in-law was violently attacked. Pretrial detention and felons in possession of a firearm also didn’t make the list from the city.

New Mexicans need help. Our communities are failing and we are faced with a crime wave that continues to grow. Citizens need to stand up and make their voices heard. Strong candidates need to run in elections, the city councilors need to hear your voice during public comment and your state representatives need to know their constituents are paying attention. I challenge everyone to attend a city council meeting or write to a state representative and ask for clarification on legislation that will make a difference. That is how we support our officers: by having their back. We, as citizens, need to demand that the efforts of our officers are not lost to the revolving door, that their sacrifices are worthwhile for a better community, that the law supports them and their communities honor them.

Otherwise, did the death of a beloved police officer really only buy Las Cruces a shopping cart ordinance?

Shawna Pfeiffer was born in Las Cruces. She is a small business owner and mother to two young children.