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Albuquerque mayor wants tougher penalties for auto thieves
Auto theft numbers
Here are yearly auto theft totals for Albuquerque.
2002: 4,050 vehicles
2003: 4,088 vehicles
2004: 3,845 vehicles
2005: 3,796 vehicles
2006: 5,515 vehicles
Source: Albuquerque Police Department
Thieves' favorites
Frequently stolen vehicle models for this region include:
Ford F-series pickup trucks (heavy duty 4x4 F-350, F-250 F-150)
Chevrolet Sierra pickup trucks (heavy duty 4x4)
SUVs of popular makes
Honda Accord
Pontiac Grand Am
Source: Albuquerque Police Department
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Albuquerque officials will ask the Legislature this month to pass a bill that will punish auto thieves with tougher sentences.
Mayor Martin Chavez, a backer of the bill, said harsher punishments are needed to discourage auto theft, which is on the rise in Albuquerque.
"We saw a big spike in auto theft," Chavez said at a news conference Monday. "It was simply epidemic."
More than 5,500 vehicles were stolen in Albuquerque in 2006, about a 45 percent increase compared with 2005.
City officials say the new law would add more teeth to auto theft punishment, including tougher sentences for repeat offenders and charges of racketeering for thieves involved in auto theft rings.
Most offenders are slapped on the wrist with a fourth-degree felony because they aren't caught stealing the vehicle, Chavez said.
If legislators pass the new law, offenders would be charged with third-degree felonies.
The new law could help decrease crime because most auto thieves are involved in other criminal activity, such as trafficking drugs, said Chief Ray Schultz of the Albuquerque Police Department.
Large Ford pickups are the most commonly stolen vehicle in Albuquerque, Schultz said.
Chavez tried pushing the same legislation last year, but it stalled in a House committee.
Terri Cole, president of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said tougher auto theft laws would benefit the whole city.
"It'd be a place that is safer," Cole said, "where auto theft isn't easily done."
