APD releases 2021 Mid-Year Crime Stats

Aug. 31, 2021

ALBUQUERQUE – The Albuquerque Police Department released preliminary crime stats for the first six months of 2021. Overall, APD reported 31,438 crimes for the first half of 2021. That is down from 33,383 in the first half of 2020, a 9% year-over-year decrease.

Total crime is down 20% since 2018.

“We know homicides and gun violence have gone up dramatically during Covid, and we are doing a lot to address those spikes,” APD Chief Harold Medina said. “At the same time, our steady decline in property crime is significant. As we recover from Covid, I believe we will see results from initiatives like the Violence Intervention Program that will impact gun violence.”

APD also launched Operation Turn the Tide this week to dedicate more resources toward solving more than two dozen homicide cases where a suspect has been identified. Officers and detectives from across APD are prepared to move quickly to make arrests as soon as warrants are obtained. The operation is also targeting several armed robbery suspects.

APD publicly releases its crime stats using the same methodology the FBI will be requiring of all police departments in the nation. This is the fourth year APD is using the National Incident-Based Reporting System, known as NIBRS.

The NIBRS data provides a broader range of crimes and all crimes involved in an incident. The old system only required the highest reported crime for each incident.

Under the NIBRS format, the 2021 stats can only be compared to stats in 2020, 2019 and 2018. All crime stats from prior years are not comparable.

Below are mid-year comparisons for the past four years. More comprehensive charts are included in the links.

2021 Mid-Year: https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/2021-mid-year-crime-stats-final.pdf

2018-2021 Mid-Year Comparison: https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/2018-2021-mid-year-crime-stats-final.pdf