“The safety of New Mexicans is my top priority,” she said in a statement. “By deploying our National Guard to support [Albuquerque Police Department] with essential duties, we’re ensuring that trained police officers can focus on what they do best — keeping our communities safe. This partnership represents our commitment to addressing the fentanyl crisis and juvenile crime with every resource at our disposal.”

The city’s police chief, Harold Medina, requested the state National Guard in a memorandum to Lujan Grisham on March 31, citing the fentanyl epidemic and an increase in “violent juvenile crime” as reasons for needing the added manpower. Medina said the problems could only be solved “with a consistent and visible presence of APD officers to Albuquerque’s citizens” but that the city’s police officers are busy with other tasks, such as transporting prisoners.

Medina said he sees the National Guard not as a military force but “as trained professionals dedicated to supporting and protecting residents.”

Lujan Grisham announced that the National Guard members will be supporting the police department in the following ways: scene security and traffic control, medical assistance and humanitarian efforts along Central Avenue, transit security enhancement, and more.

“This strategic deployment will allow APD to reallocate police resources to enforcement activities while maintaining 24/7 continuous essential services,” the governor’s office said.

Though an increased show of force was requested, violent crime is down in the city from 2023. There were three fewer homicides in 2024 than the year before, and aggravated assaults and shootings with injuries also fell by 11% and 14%, respectively. Property crime fell 2%, though burglaries and drug offenses rose 11%.

Medina and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said nearly every category of crime has come down since the beginning of the year because of the work already being done by the police force. Still, they lauded the governor’s move.

“We’re finally seeing a sustained positive shift in most crime trends for the first time in decades, and now is the time to build on that momentum. We appreciate the Governor and National Guard’s offer to help,” Keller said in a statement. “Given fiscal uncertainty from possible federal cuts to law enforcement, and local government challenges around the opioid funding, we will continue to push for every available resource for Albuquerque.”

“This type of civilian support has worked in other cities, and if it proves effective here, we’ll continue it — if not, we’ll send them back,” he added.

TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

New Mexico House Republicans criticized Democrats over the move, saying it wasn’t symmetrical with a crime decrease in the city.

“Democrats said crime in Albuquerque was down. Now a state of emergency has been declared [and] the National Guard is being activated… makes sense,” they said in a social media post.