SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Senate Democratic Majority Leader Michael Sanchez said this week that violent crime decreased by 2 percent in New Mexico from 2009 to 2014. He also said that if Albuquerque wasn't in the mix, the decrease would be 13 percent.
More recent data paint a clearer picture, though, revealing violent crime is up in three of the state's six most populous cities.
Additionally, the state's violent crime rate was 67 percent higher than the national average in 2014.
Sanchez's comments may have been surprising to some, as the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney's offices have been saying New Mexico is the second-most violent state in the nation, per capita, for months.
"New Mexico is No. 2 in violent crimes in the United States of America," Attorney General Hector Balderas said in June 2015.
When approached Thursday, Sanchez's staff produced the FBI numbers they say cover 2009-2014. But Target 7 has acquired more recent statistics from federal officials, which compare murders, sex assaults, aggravated assaults and robberies in 2013 and 2014.
There was a spike of more than 400 percent in Santa Fe when it came to violent crime, according to that data. Increases of 14 percent in Albuquerque, 19 percent in Espanola, 5 percent in Farmington and 27 percent in Bernalillo were also listed.
Some places did see a drop, such as Las Cruces and Taos. Drops in those cities were 11 and 19 percent, respectively.
Clovis, Hobbs and Santa Rosa all saw drops in violent crime as well, according to the data.
Federal officials also say that a report coming out this month will show Albuquerque's murder rate jumped 53 percent from 2014 to 2015.
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Where Violent Crime Has Increased in New Mexico
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