In 2018, America’s average violent crime rate was 342 crimes per 100 thousand people and the average property crime rate was 2306 crimes per 100 thousand people. New Mexico’s violent and property crime rates were significantly higher than the national average by 57 and 35 percent, respectively(1).

At 57 percent, New Mexico has the fourth highest recidivism rates in the country(2).

In 2018, New Mexico’s poverty rate was the second worst in the nation at 19.5 percent. While the U.S. state imprisonment rate decreased by 7 percent between 2000 and 2016, New Mexico’s imprisonment rate increased by 31 percent(3).

Substance abuse related cases have also grown significantly. Technical parole violations have played a significant role in driving New Mexico’s overall prison population. In a sample of parole files closed in 2016, 67 percent of parolees violated conditions at least once; among violations, 75 percent we substance use or absconding. In total, 43 percent of parolees had their parole revoked and were sent back to prison after an average of 2.7 violations in the course of about a year. As of 2013, 85 percent of people under the New Mexico Corrections Department Jurisdiction were reported to have substance abuse problems(4).