Let’s look for solutions to problem

THE RECENT thefts of the Minnicozzis’ U-Haul — the couple moving from New Hampshire on their way to a new home in Arizona — and others traveling through here on their last stop before moving to the Southwest were extremely heart-wrenching. Having moved here last year from New York state, I can identify with folks from the Northeast seeking a new life here. It saddens me to think that this city would forever be a forbidden place to them and to others they would contact, although who could blame them in light of this theft “of their lives”?

I do hope the surveillance cameras help catch the guilty party/parties and that the Minnicozzis’ possessions can be delivered to them for a happy ending they truly deserve. I wish something could be done by folks here to help give them a less sour opinion of Albuquerque. My family really likes this area, though we are not oblivious to its crime problems such as this.

This, in conjunction with the article in the June 10 Journal reporting an average of 27 vehicle thefts per day in this area makes one who tries to look on the bright side ask, “This is a problem: what are the solutions?” We certainly do (not) want our hotels/motels and other businesses to suffer further. On the surface, it would seem that a multi-pronged approach is needed, because this is a problem that has existed for a while. Do we, as the Albuquerque police union chief suggests, need more officers on patrol? And, at the other end of the crime-fighting effort, more fingerprint staffers in the crime lab to provide physical evidence — IDs — to convict the guilty? In addition, can we find ways to reduce the number of repeat criminals, especially property thieves, out on the streets? How can we make long-term efforts to counter the attitude that crooks can commit crimes brazenly because they feel impunity? Are there alarm devices for moving “vans” that cannot be easily disengaged? Can/should there be more surveillance of hotel/motel lots, which would cost those owners more but might be an investment in retaining future hotel and motel occupancies that will be lost should word of this civic problem get more and more widespread? Are we going to need more surveillance outside our residences as well, which is certainly not an expense that can be borne by a lot of homeowners/apartment owners?

I certainly do not profess to have any expertise on this matter. I write as a concerned and proud citizen of the Albuquerque metro area, just raising questions about what can be done to help reduce this most serious problem. DAVE SHAMBACH Rio Rancho