The third installment of the city’s property crime offender advertisement was published in the Albuquerque Journal today.
The third installment of the city’s property crime offender advertisement was published in the Albuquerque Journal today.
The ad features 30 of the city’s most wanted property crime offenders. The city began running the ad in December as a part of Mayor Richard J. Berry’s initiative to combat property crime. It appears in the Journal every third Friday.
Of the two previous ads, 23 offenders have been taken into custody. So far 60 have been profiled in the Journal. The city also publishes offenders on 10 electronic billboards.
“I want Albuquerque to be a bad place to be a criminal,” Mayor Berry said. “The thieves are starting to find out that we mean business.”
A copy of the ad can also be downloaded on the police department’s web site at cabq.gov/police. The ad has generated hundreds of Crime Stoppers tips and officers have been known to carry the ad with them in their patrol cars. Businesses have also posted the advertisement in their stores. People who call Crime Stoppers reporting the whereabouts of an offender are eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
The ad costs about $4,000 and is paid for through DWI seizure money.
“This ad accomplishes so much,” Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said. “It embarrasses the thieves, it gets the community involved in fighting property crime and it holds criminals accountable.”
