Good Afternoon, Community Partners –

Please see the below message from Southeast Area Commander Luke Languit.

We appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Laura Kuehn, NCPS, ICPS

Crime Prevention/Crime Free Programs

505.768.2006

cabq.gov/police

Good Morning Everyone,

I’m sending this email in need of your help!!! I like to believe as community we help each other, especially in times of need. Driving through and patrolling the Area Command, it is evident that certain areas of our Area Command need the community’s help and assistance…If I was a criminal offender at the intersection of Wisconsin and Chico Rd NE, I may think “you know what I’m going to commit this crime here because look around no one cares…The residents and businesses don’t care, the police department and the city doesn’t care”      

Of course the above thinking/statement is not true or accurate, but let’s be fair, it could be the perception when there is a large amount of trash and debris everywhere and it does not get cleaned up. Or there is less fortunate individuals that walk in circles or just stay on the sidewalks in that area and don’t ever leave. Of course it is the lack of resources to housing and food and substance abuse treatment which probably keeps these individuals walking in circles in this area.  

I do not know the exact theory or the name of the idea, but I do have to believe that cleaning up the environment and landscape of a neighborhood does affect crime. Sure it may not prevent all crime, but even if it prevents a few, in my eyes that’s a success and we should continue that effort.

We need a cleanup…. A cleanup of the environment/landscape to include litter pickups and street sweeping, and we need our social services providers to come out and contact all of those less fortunate that are walking in circles, give them resources and transport them away to providers.

On Friday March 25, 2022 I am calling for all of us to volunteer and conduct this cleanup…The area to be cleaned will be from Wyoming west down to Pennsylvania, and from Central Ave north to Chico Rd. We are coordinating with different departments within the city to have the dump trucks and street sweepers to come out, protective equipment to safely pick up the trash, and our social service providers to be there as well to work with the homeless and substance abuse population.     

With Earth Day coming up within the month, this is the APD Southeast Area Command’s Earth Day Initiative, however, what I believe this could do, is help the residents and Stakeholder who live in La Mesa Neighborhoods, or the South Los Altos Neighborhoods, or Trumbull Village, have access and an understanding of how to get regular scheduled cleanups and have a partnership with the city departments, to keep our community clean….it  has an effect on crime.   

I am in need of community volunteers to come out on Friday March 25, 2022 at 0730 and meet me at the northeast corner of Wyoming and Central Ave for a safety briefing and equipment handout, with the mission of cleaning up the street, sidewalks, and medians, from Wyoming down to Pennsylvania. Solid Waste will follow the teams to collect the trash that is picked up and then as mentioned above we will have the Community Safety Department and Social Service Providers working with the individuals.

Please get ahold of me if you have any questions or ideas…. I hope to see you March 25….The more volunteers the better!!!

V/R

Luke C. Languit

Commander

Southeast Area Command  

Albuquerque Police Department

(505)228-4259

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