Protecting the Community

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Crime is on the rise across New Mexico, and the effects of this crime is being felt across Cibola County. From the rural areas of the county to the Village of Milan and City of Grants. Now police have a suspect they believe has been targeting elderly women in Grants.

Both Grants and Milan Police Departments are working to tackle crime across the metropolitan area of Cibola County after a string of break-ins at both residences and businesses. The recent robberies are disrupting the economy of Cibola County, and hurting local business owners who are making their voices heard.

To prevent and better target break-ins in the community and more quickly apprehend the suspect, both Milan Police Chief Carl Ustupski and Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte have switched the gears of their department, moving to a statisticsbased- policing approach, wherein the departments identify trends that will allow them to prevent crime before it happens. They analyze trends like crime in a neighborhood or a rise or decrease in certain crimes, allowing them to better target problemareas within their jurisdictions and make the streets safer. Through this effort, MPD is determining how to make streets safer at night and has arrested at least one suspect, Through the effort, GPD has identified a suspect in a recent string of robberies targeting elderly women in Grants and hopes to soon have what it needs to make an arrest.

Protecting Homes

November was a dangerous month for the elderly of Cibola County.

Four home invasions, all tied to the same suspect, occurred in the month that specifically targeted vulnerable elderly women who lived alone. In at least two of the instances, the resident of the home was attacked by the suspect.

All of the home invasions have taken place in what Chief Monte calls the Northern neighborhoods of Grants, around Estancia Avenue. The first home invasion occurred on November 6 where the homeowner, an elderly woman, was forcibly held down until she finally talked the invader down. Nothing was stolen from her house.

The second invasion occurred on November 6, the homeowner was not present and the invader was unable to gain entrance inside the house but did cause damage to the outsides of the house. Nothing was stolen from the property.

The third invasion was on November 19, once again the homeowner was not present but their animal was. In this invasion, the suspect entered the house and was attacked by a dog who lives in the residence. This left behind blood that GPD is using as evidence to build their case. Nothing was stolen from the property.

The fourth and latest invasion occurred on November 20. In this invasion the elderly homeowner was home, she was assaulted by the invader. Once again, nothing was stolen from the house.

Only two of the four victims had video surveillance to protect their home. Working with the 13th Judicial District’s victim advocacy team, GPD Detective Ryan Thatcher was able to get video surveillance cameras for the victims who did not have it.

Chief Monte said that there is a threat on the streets targeting elderly residents, and that even though it appears that these victims in these four home invasions were specifically targeted, every resident should be on the lookout for themselves and their neighbor. To counter the rising threat, GPD has increased patrols in problem areas that it has identified through its statisticsbased- policing., Officers are going door-to-door to check on residents and are passing out fliers to help keep people aware of the threat, and give them helpful tips on how to keep themselves safe. Since GPD increased their patrols and their presence in the affected area, these invasions have stopped.

Grants Police Department has apprehended a potential suspect, but without concrete evidence will not be able to hold them. Chief Monte said that the suspect appears to have befriended each of the victims before the robberies and took advantage of their vulnerabilities.

The safety of the community is GPD’s top priority, Chief Monte said, and the department will continue working toward improving community safety, including by supporting Neighborhood Watch groups. Residents near the affected areas have started a watch group to protect each other’s houses, a move Chief Monte called “awesome” and said that if any resident is interested in starting a neighborhood watch, to contact GPD to make sure that there are resources available to help them.

“Be on the lookout. Report suspicious activity to the police. Even if it doesn’t look serious, let GPD decide how serious it is,” Chief Monte said. “Put up cameras and more lighting, and especially if you’re elderly and live alone: Have your family and friends check on you once a day at least, preferably twice a day.” Protecting Businesses

In November, a group of business owners in the Village of Milan protested at a regular meeting of the village’s Board of Trustees who govern the community. With one advocate speaking on their behalf, the representative for Milan’s business owners tore into the MPD Police Chief Carl Ustupski. They complained that the statistics driven policing that Ustupski had employed in the village was not working and complained that the statistics were useless.

Contrary to the thoughts of the representative, Milan Police Department has been able to narrow down problem areas to better target criminal activity and identify areas with poor lighting that can harbor criminal activity. The department is working with the village to get increased lighting in these areas.

Statistics-based-policing is working to identify traffic problems, the highcrime periods of the day and areas where crimes are most prevalent. Through this effort, police have been able to identify where several gunshots were being fired off of Elkins Road and stopped the frequency of crimes in high-crime areas.

Both Grants and Milan Police Departments are working hard to protect the businesses and people in their jurisdictions but are seeking the public’s help whenever possible. Chief Ustupski started a program at MPD called You Are Not Alone that allows elderly people or those with disabilities to have communication everyday with a police officer or the chaplain. Chief Monte said that she would like to start a YANA program in Grants to help protect the elderly population.