Why does a court mandate seem to be the only thing left to try? One example comes from a recent letter the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Chief sent to the Walgreens district office. In the letter, Chief Medina relates how many times police have been dispatched and how much it’s costing taxpayers. What he doesn’t mention is that response times can be an hour or more and no enforcement action is taken in many cases when they do arrive.

The chief suggested Walgreens should pay for armed security guards and provide police with evidence of crimes being committed. He doesn’t mention how much businesses are already paying each month for private security. Also left out of the discussion is the amount of taxes Walgreens has paid to help fund police. It has provided multiple video recordings to APD that are clear evidence of crime (with offender(s) identifiable) yet no action is taken.

Finally, Chief Medina says Walgreens should do a better job of reporting crimes, like when crooks run out with alcohol and other products without paying. He doesn’t mention that businesses that report lots of criminal activity can be targeted for closure as a ‘public nuisance.’ It’s happened before and most businesses know it. Read the full letter from Chief Medina to Walgreens HERE.

NMBC fully supports officers who put their lives on the line each day to protect the community. We do not support policies or government officials who demonize businesses/victims rather than increase actions towards the criminals. The problem in Albuquerque is leadership and policy decisions from Mayor Keller on down. Nothing else seems to be working so Court action is a last resort.