The Las Cruces Police Department releases an update on the city's crime statistics

On Thursday evening, the City of Las Cruces held a town hall meeting to present the city's latest crime statistics and discuss the impact of drugs such as fentanyl and meth on the community.

Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story discussed the increased drug use in the city with experts from various fields related to the fentanyl crisis and answered questions from the public.

According to the latest statistics from the Las Cruces Police Department, there were 424 documented cases of violent crime through August of this year, a 46% increase over the same period last year, while the total number of property crimes remained relatively stable at 3,773.

In addition, the department said it has seized over 64,000 fentanyl tablets and 7 kg of fentanyl powder so far this year.

Police Chief Jeremy Story said coordinated efforts by all community stakeholders are needed to treat addiction cases and reduce crime.

“If you could wave a magic wand to eliminate fentanyl and meth and the addictions associated with them, there would still be crime and homelessness. But those things would go down dramatically.”

Ideal Option health professional Athena Huckaby joined Chief Story at the town hall meeting and said that to combat addiction, it is imperative that individuals have access to effective treatment options such as buprenorphine and methadone, an area that is lacking in southern New Mexico.

“Only one of our hospitals in the city both accepts medication-based treatment for patients with opioid addiction and continues treatment if they end up in the hospital,” Huckaby said.

Chief Story went on to say he hopes the approximately $24 million in settlement funds for the city and county in the opioid case will not be spread too thin.

“If we try to do too many things with it, we're not going to end up getting anything done,” Story said. “The state also spends a lot of money from its settlement funds, so we don't want to duplicate efforts. I want to use the money to fill in the gaps and not duplicate the state's efforts or what's already happening here.”

Given the rising crime rates and growing drug crisis in Las Cruces, Chief Story emphasized the importance of collaboration among all parties involved and strategic use of settlement funds to maximize impact on the community.