A question about the Broken Windows Theory led state and local law enforcement officials into a discussion about violent crime, police recruitment and police safety, during the Department of Public Safety Town Hall Aug. 21 at the Farmington Civic Center.
The town hall occurred two days after Fernando Silva, 40, of Farmington, allegedly opened fire on New Mexico State Police Officer Andrew Blea during a routine traffic stop. Silva reportedly used an AR-15-style rifle to shoot 50 rounds at the officer.
“This guy should be sitting in jail for the longest time. He should not see the light of day for many moons,” Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said about the shooting.
“Recruiting police officers is a difficult business – we still are fumbling around when somebody steps out of a car and fires 50 rounds at a cop. He should be in jail for a long, long time – see ya,” Hebbe said.
Farmington resident Donny Ortiz started the conversation by asking whether the Broken Windows Theory was correct in that having police “address the smaller things” leads to a decrease in violent crime in the region.
The Broken Windows Theory was proposed in 1982 by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. It used broken windows as a metaphor for criminal activity in neighborhoods making a link between incivility and serious crime.
“There actually is true evil in society. Some people absolutely belong in jail and should be there for a very long time,” Hebbe said, adding that it is important to “get to the foundational levels for the smaller crimes we see.”
There are two issues at play: the revolving door of the jail and the low number of police officers and law enforcement recruits statewide.
New Mexico Department of Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie said the calls for service are high and the number of officers is low.
“I think one of the things that is really important is to try to get back to a place to address issues in the community to address quality of life,” Bowie said. “We are taking calls for service and going from call to call to call.”
Bowie said “priority one calls” come first, because they “putting life and limb in jeopardy. As long as these police officers are addressing that, they don’t have the time to address the other issues.”
Bowie said he has strong feelings “that when you pick up and call for emergency services … you should get it in short order.”
However, Bowie said “these law enforcement officers are arresting the same people over and over. We are not sending a strong message to anyone in the community that we will address crime.”
Part of the issue has been legislation previously passed to keep people out of jail, while awaiting trial, and many of these alleged offenders are violent criminals.
Hebbe spoke about Jordan Keith Armijo, 53, of Farmington, who was arrested for allegedly stabbing someone, was let out of jail and stabbed two more people nearly killing one of them.
“We need to get legislation to keep hardened criminals off of our streets,” Bowie said.
New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said it is as if a pendulum has swung so far that there has not been accountability for illegal activity.
When he began his law enforcement career it was, “If you take care of the little problems and address the little things and have low tolerance or zero tolerance the bigger things never happen.”
However today, “the root cause is extreme violence,” said Benjamin Baker, senior public safety adviser in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office.
Baker added that the frequency of felons being charged with having handguns in their possession has gone up 30%.
“The little things are a big thing,” he said. “We are having to deal with a person getting out of their car with a rifle and shooting at a police officer.”
Hebbe added, “Let’s hold that guy (Silva) in jail for 25 years for shooting 50 rounds at a cop on the streets of Farmington.”
The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to keep Silva in jail until his trial, and his case was transferred to the 11th Judicial District Court. Judge Curtis Gurley will consider that motion at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 28 in his Aztec courtroom.
Hebbe said being a police officer is a “demanding profession,” and they are significantly held accountable. “We scrutinize the heck out of our officers, we also need to support them.”
Baker said part of the issue is that some state legislators don’t understand what it is to be a police officer. He brought up a recent debate with a legislator, who implied people don’t want to get in law enforcement because of police corruption.
“Every law enforcement officer in this rooms does not do it for the money,” Baker said.
“That’s some of the mentality in Santa Fe right now – for one of our elected leaders to be talking about the reason I can’t hire police officers is because of the culture of corruption, it is indescribably ignorant,” Hebbe said.
He added that some people “bad-mouth the police in the worst way” and then want to “throw a bunch of money at” them as a solution.
“You do policing for public service to protect your country, to protect your community,” Hebbe said. “They don’t understand the fundamental reason you become a cop.”
San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari echoed Hebbe’s sentiments.
“Emboldened criminals paint us as the bad guy. They peg us against people who are doing wrong,” he said. “The difficulty of recruiting is something like I’ve never seen before.”
Retention bonuses and higher pay for officers, while nice, is really just “throwing money at the problem,” instead of fixing the public perception and holding law breakers accountable. Ferrari said.
Baker said the question needs to be asked, “What does accountability look like?”
“Hesitation equals danger for the officer, for the community, for the recruits,” he said., adding he “can think of 50 felons in possession who have murdered people in a community.”
Baker also encouraged both law enforcement and the community to be active in voicing their concerns. “When we start to see those legislative initiatives – anything that might have a negative impact on the recruitment of law enforcement – speak out against it.”
