By Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
The math tells part of the story: Albuquerque has tens of thousands of small businesses and the Albuquerque Police Department is staffed with about 900 officers. The ratio can seem like one that would favor vandals, thieves and worse — and to be sure there are times when it does.
But APD officials say a little-known (and free) crime prevention program it offers can help business owners in a big way. Trained civilian specialists will visit a business once during the day and once at night to do a vulnerability assessment — a security survey that takes the interior and exterior of a property into account. About a week later a report with recommendations is given to the business owner.
APD spokesperson Franchesca Perdue said the specialists analyze access points, whether there’s subpar or missing lighting, if there’s shrubbery that could be used as a nefarious cover and assess where a well-placed security camera would come in handy. Purdue, who was previously a crime prevention specialist for APD, said it’s based on the broken-window theory.
“If it looks like a business is not being taken care of it’s going to attract other criminal elements,” she said. “The first two times I did it I can remember thinking, ‘Well, this is such a small thing, you know, to add lighting, to fix a fence’ — but there’s so many things that you don’t necessarily think about that these surveys will help you see.”
Laura Kuehn’s been doing it the longest at APD — more than 27 years. She points out that the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) program is also open to Albuquerque homeowners.
“We have had businesses that have reported positive results from implementing our recommendations,” Kuehn, who did 19 assessments in the Downtown area last year, said. “We’ve received similar feedback from houses of worship and private home owners.”
While some of the recommendations cost money, Kuehn and Perdue said specialists keep that in mind as most small businesses operate on tight profit margins.
“Some of these businesses don’t have enough to put up a whole camera system — but there are those smaller things,” Perdue said. “We’re not going to generally recommend that a small mom-and-pop business build a 50-foot wall. It’s really with the simple concepts in mind.”
Presentations, periodic watches
The CPTED assessment and report is one of several options that APD offers. Another, which is also little-known, is a presentation organized by crime prevention specialists for business employees. The free presentation covers what to do if you’ve been burglarized, robbed or vandalized. The specialists give tips on how to deter shoplifting and how to best report crime.
“Maybe your employees are feeling a little uneasy,” Perdue said. “We can bring in somebody to talk to your employees and tell them how they can move forward.”
Interim Deputy Commander Jose Sanchez, who heads the APD unit encompassing the Downtown core, said the programs serve as a way for owners to be advocates for their business and property.
“I can tell you that we don’t have enough officers to be private security for each individual citizen and business,” Sanchez said. “But we do our best to be proactive.”
His Downtown unit consists of about a dozen officers and a substation at Fourth Street and Central Avenue that opened in 2022. Sanchez said he tells his officers that it’s important to partner with businesses and get to know owners.
“It’s getting ahead of the issue. It’s the officers trying to address these challenges that we’re seeing and not be reactive,” he said.
Businesses can also request that APD do a periodic watch in a specific area — for example if there’s a time of the day or night when people are gathering near a storefront and deterring customers.
“I don’t think that a lot of people know you can call and request one,” Purdue said. “As a business owner, you’re there every day. You know what’s happening at your business, and so you identify a trend and you report it and request a periodic watch.”
Purdue said it’s a way for business owners to forge relationships with law enforcement.
“It falls back to advocating for yourself — to come together at some point and bring the community together to come up with the ideas and solutions to the problems that we’re seeing,” she said.
To request a CPTED assessment, contact Kuehn at (505) 768-2006 or lkuehn@cabq.gov. For information on other crime prevention programs, click here.