Santa Fe police report: homicides up but most crimes and thefts down; staffing improves

Police Chief Ben Valdez briefed the committee on department trends and staffing, saying year-to-date homicide counts were up 33% with four homicides in 2026 compared with three at the same point last year. He reported declines in several categories year-to-date: robbery down 30%, motor-vehicle theft down 54% and burglaries down 27%.

Valdez highlighted operational indicators for June: the department recorded its highest month for arrests (314) and for case numbers (1,038), and the month had 7,738 incidents. He credited an active DWI enforcement unit for increased traffic enforcement numbers and said the department recently made arrests of an alleged career criminal who was active across northern New Mexico.

On staffing, Valdez said the department had three sworn vacancies but swore in one officer that day and expected two laterals to start Aug. 1 and another lateral in mid-August, projecting the department would be at zero vacancies by mid-August. He also noted recruitment and background work for civilian roles including crime analysts and evidence technicians.

Valdez described a response to a shots-fired incident at a Motel 6 early the same day: officers found a door with bullet holes, called in a SWAT response and took a suspect into custody after an armed confrontation; no officers were injured. He closed by praising recent enforcement results and reiterating that while progress has been made, "our work is not done."