ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Three months ago, dozens of New Mexico State Police officers came into the Albuquerque area to help tackle the problems as part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s public health order. 

Now, the numbers show those efforts are making a difference. State police released data Monday showing the impact of their operations in the past three months.

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen welcomed the idea. 

“We need help with any agency. State police is great, that’s where I came from, anything that’s a force multiplier like I said to make sure that we’re policing proactively,” said Allen.

According to NMSP, they’ve arrested 211 people, including 86 repeat violent offenders. They’ve gotten 21 guns off our streets, and recovered 23 stolen vehicles. They’ve also handed out more than 3,000 traffic citations. 

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina says while crime is still too high, we’ve seen some progress in 2023. 

“Homicide is down, I believe 22%. There is a good strong possibility we could come in under 100, we’re getting down pre-pandemic numbers which is important,” said Medina. 

According to APD, the department has investigated 94 homicides so far this year – that does not include homicides handled by BCSO, or state police in the metro.

But how long will state police have this influx here, if it seems to be working?

A spokesperson for the governor says she plans to keep those extra officers here as long as they’re needed, and wants to secure more money in the upcoming session for additional officers. 

Mayor Tim Keller has said his goal is to have 1,200 APD officers on staff.  KOB 4 didn’t get an answer on the current staffing levels, But we know BCSO is short 40 deputies.