Analysis aims to help agencies prioritize cases
Local law enforcement departments said they’ve created and are collaborating on their own most dangerous offender list to help them better prioritize criminal prosecutions.
On Tuesday, officials with Albuquerque police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced the new “AnalysisLed Recidivism Team,” or ALeRT. Data analysts hired by Albuquerque police’s Real Time Crime Center are working to identify certain suspects using a person’s history of felony arrests, propensity for failing to make court appearances and the type of crimes they are accused of committing. The agencies involved in the team meet weekly to discuss the suspects.
Once a suspect that’s part of the program is arrested, a signal will be sent to prosecutors so they can prioritize the case from the first appearance through the judgment and sentencing. Some defendants will be targeted for a vigorous prosecution because they are accused of crimes that are spiking around the county, like auto theft currently is, according to an Albuquerque news release.
“This alert system ... will help us prioritize the most serious and dangerous offenders in our com-
munity and get them out of the community,” District Attorney Raúl Torrez said. But he said his office will also be making “tough hard judgements about who the most dangerous offenders are.” Torrez has said that overall, his office plans to prosecute fewer cases per year than the previous district attorney did.
Police said only the most “habitual” offenders will meet the criteria for the alert. So far, 43 people are in the alert system, said Celina Espinoza, a police spokeswoman. But she said police expect that number to grow.
“That’s never been done before and it gives (prosecutors) a great tool,” Police Chief Gorden Eden said.
The FBI is also part of the program. Terry Wade, the special agent in charge of the FBI in New Mexico, said federal authorities could charge some of the suspects with violating federal laws, which does already happen in Albuquerque on occasion.
“There’s different federal laws you can take into account,” Wade said. “We’re looking for these repeat offenders that are identified through here ... and there’s a number of things we can do.”
Wade said federal charges could be filed, for example, when someone is suspected of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in some cases when a fugitive crosses state lines, or when someone is suspected of violating interstate commerce laws.