New Mexico is Safe

I believe that New Mexico is a very safe state compared to most cities.
I havent been to most the huge crime cities personally, but Ive heard that
you dont want to be walking around in some parts of town. Some cities that
come to mind for me are Detroit, New York City, and Los Angeles. Concerning
New Mexico, I have done some research that has shown that New Mexico
isnt all that dangerous. Statements that probably had an effect on peoples
opinions regarding New Mexicos safety were: New Mexicos educational
system being poor and at the bottom of the nation, New Mexico being next
to the Mexico border which means there are illegal activities, and the
unemployment rate that New Mexico is also ranked poorly on. New Mexico
has a partial bad reputation for just having Mexico in its name! How crazy is
that! If people actually got to know the state and people, they would realize
quickly that the reputation wasnt actually the case.
The first problem that plagues New Mexico, was that the bordering of
Mexico could be a problem for the state. Most borders, if not all, between
countries bring trouble. Some of the highly popular trouble that it brings is
illegal immigrants, trafficking drugs, and trafficking other supplies in order to
profit. All of this happens across the span of the border every day, every
hour. For example, illegal immigrants bring untaxed drugs, untaxed work,
and are basically taking advantage of not being taxed. But do to the changes
in 1995, the border has been very militarized. From Changing the United

States and Mexico Border, Since 1995, the United States government has
spent over 200 percent more on border enforcement . . . In 2010, additional
National Guard troops were sent to Arizona and New Mexico for more border
protection. As we can see, the government hasnt been ignoring this issue.
They are trying to take care of this in as least time as possible.
Another proposed problem that New Mexico faces, is that the police
department isnt doing their job to their fullest potential. I have heard a
number of amazing feats done by the police departments in New Mexico. I
have heard many more great things, such as catching the immoral people
doing horrible deeds, compared to fewer and smaller incidents that the
department did badly on. There have been changes to the police
departments in New Mexico very recently. For example, Obama is calling for
263 million in federal funding to help pay for body cameras and the training
of the use of cameras across the United States. . . As part of a federal
agreement, the Albuquerque Police Department is required to use their lapel
cameras during encounters with the public, as well as most other
departments in the state. (Obama, NM police departments push for strict
lapel guidelines) There is a plain example of how the department is
increasing their full potential on the job. I believe that, with this camera,
most crimes will be accounted for with most the offenders being caught. Also
I believe that the departments in New Mexico have higher stats than other
departments regarding crime rates and safety. For example, looking at the
source Crimemapping.com it is very easy to see how drastically different

the crime rates are compared to huge cities known for being involved with
large amounts of crime.
Another argument that people try to use, is that the New Mexico
unemployment rate is higher than the countrys average. From personal
experience, I can say that New Mexico is pretty even or even above the
percentage compared to the average of the United States. The more jobs
available, the better New Mexico will supposedly become. Using statistics
from the National Conference of State Legislatures, I can definitely confirm
that New Mexico isnt in the top five states with the highest unemployment
rates. For example, New Mexico is at 6.1 percent compared to: Alaska,
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Oregon, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan,
Mississippi, New Jersey, and plenty of other states with higher
unemployment rates. Considering these statistics, I wouldnt assume that
unemployment would have a huge factor, if any, on the New Mexican crimes.
The last point that most people think New Mexico is a bad place to live,
is New Mexicos poor education scores compared to the nation. I dont
believe that poor education would lead to crime, as the individual would still
have common sense and morals. For example, People (of any income level)
who rob, rape, and murder do so because they lack a functioning conscience
and moral self-control. It is not poverty or poor education that causes crime,
but poor character. (Prager) So just because a person is poor, doesnt mean
that they lack the moral self-control to contain themselves in a crime free
manner.

Considering all these points, I think that any changes in these ideas
would affect the rates of crimes in New Mexico substantially. Although all
these points are valid, I believe the crime is mostly a cultural thing, not an
actual defined problem. Maybe some vast research would improve these
ideas and transform them into something more effective. Maybe some
changes in legislation would drastically change the outcome of New Mexico.
For example, cutting down gang activity, illegal border crossing, and actions
improving schooling and jobs.
I did see a chart where it showed the monies spent for schooling in the
nation and New Mexico was pretty much average. We need to use the
monies received effectively instead of using them in some twisted way that it
actually never gets to the schools and students.

Works Cited
Ingolf, Vogeler. Types of International Borders along the U.S.-Mexico Border.
Types of International Bordersa. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.
http://www.siue.edu/GEOGRAPHY/ONLINE/Vogeler/US-MexciodBorder.htm.

Obama, NM Police Departments Push for Strict Lapel Guidelines. KRQE

News 13. 2 Dec. 2014. Web. 2 Feb 2015. http://krqe.com/2014/12/02/obamanm-police-departments-push-for-strict-lapel-guidelines/.

State Unemployment Rates | December 2014. National Conference of

State Legislatures. Web. 2 February. 2015.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-unemploymentupdate.aspx.

Prager, Dennis. "Poverty Doesn't Cause Crime, by Dennis Prager, National

Review." National Review Online. 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/392865/poverty-doesnt-cause-crimedennis-prager.

"National Map." CrimeMapping.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.