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Judge pauses deadline for federal workers to accept Trump's resignation offer; CA state lawmakers take action to enact safeguards against federal immigration enforcement; Study shows air quality disparities from industrial ag in NC.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Governor urges NM lawmakers to address crime

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Wednesday, February 5, 2025   

Reducing crime and improving public safety are among this year's priorities for New Mexico's governor, who has called the state's crime rate "out of control."

In her annual address to the Legislature last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham blamed much of the crime problem on repeat offenders.

Lisel Petis, resident senior fellow for criminal justice and civil liberties at the conservative public policy think tank R Street Institute, said recidivism is reduced when court cases are quickly resolved.

"The chances of getting caught deter crime way more than the severity of the punishment should they get caught," Petis asserted. "We're seeing kind of record low clearance rates across the nation right now, so people are feeling that they're probably not going to get caught."

The Department of Justice has reported New Mexico's violent crime rate as twice the national average. Lujan Grisham called on lawmakers to enact stronger penalties for convicted felons who use firearms in the commission of a crime. But an editorial on the website ErrorsOfEnchantment.com argued the Governor must also propose and push legislative ideas to boost the state's low workforce participation rate.

The governor also wants to see updates to criminal competency laws to ensure individuals repeatedly cycling through New Mexico's courts receive treatment instead of being released.

Petis argued such policies offer solutions because repeat offenders often do not have stable jobs, they suffer from mental, behavioral or physical disabilities or they are homeless.

"How do you better address a mental health crisis, how do you better address a substance-use disorder? Because just throwing somebody in jail, 95, 99% of people are going to get back out of jail," Petis explained. "If you have not addressed those issues, they're going to come back out and create more problems."

Petis emphasized the majority of people released on bail do not commit another crime but those who are risk-averse may not be deterred. She added most people who commit crimes have not read the laws and do not know what the punishment might look like.


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