Michelle believes that every New Mexican deserves to feel safe in their community. From her first days in office, Michelle has executed an all-of-the-above approach to public safety, including addressing the root causes of crime, and ensuring law enforcement offices across New Mexico have the resources and the tools they need to keep communities safe.
In order to promote public safety, New Mexico must address the root causes of crime. That’s why Michelle has taken critical steps to reduce poverty, invest in behavioral health and addiction services, remove financial barriers to higher education and career training, and bring more jobs to New Mexico. Michelle eliminated copays on behavioral health visits, so that mental health care and addiction counseling could be affordable for New Mexicans. All of Michelle’s work to lower costs for families and workers and invest in critical services has lifted countless New Mexicans out of poverty. When New Mexicans have the resources they need to thrive, crime rates go down.
- Addressed the root causes of crime, like behavioral health issues, addiction, and poverty
- Invested in recruitment, hiring, and training for public safety officers across the state
- Funded the needs of law enforcement officers across the state
- Increased penalties for violent criminals
- Reduced the threat of gun violence with common sense actions
Michelle has been consistent in her support of the dedicated men and women who protect New Mexicans every day. Michelle knows that keeping communities safe starts with law enforcement officers who answer the call to serve their communities, doing everything from knocking on seniors homes in Chama when the power goes out during a winter storm, to cracking down on driving under the influence, to keeping violent offenders off of Albuquerque’s streets. Michelle implemented 16% raises for state police officers and made critical investments into our law enforcement, allocating over $100 million to give law enforcement in New Mexico communities– large and small–the tools they need to keep New Mexicans safe. Michelle championed funding to hire, recruit, and retain law enforcement officers, build new facilities and improve existing ones, create a new state-of-the-art crime lab, repair and replace critical protective and analytical equipment, and acquire new vehicles for law enforcement officers.
Keeping New Mexicans safe also means keeping guns out of the hands of criminals—and keeping violent offenders off our streets. For the past two years, Michelle has passed bipartisan crime legislative packages that increase the sentencing for gun crimes, particularly for felons, in order to deter gun violence. Michelle championed many measures that will save New Mexican lives and curb the scourge of gun violence; she pushed for universal background checks for gun purchases and signed legislation that allows the courts to temporarily disarm individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others. While balancing the right to bear arms and public safety, Michelle is making sure fewer New Mexicans suffer from violent acts of crime.
