Discussion held with business in Santa Fe about crime

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – At the start of tourism season, some Santa Fe businesses say they’re seeing a “surge in crime”. And Thursday, some of those businesses called on city leaders to talk about solutions.

The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce called the meeting which started with a presentation on organized retail crime. One business owner questioned how officials can help smaller businesses saying, “But you have this great system. Work with Walmart’s, work with the Lowes and all those people. But for us small businesses, the Santa Fe Police Department should be populating the system with every property crime because I’m sure those people that are doing that are also shoplifting.”

The New Mexico Department of Justice discussed organized retail crime and the software called “Auror” that its now using to track repeat offenders. However many small business owners feel the City of Santa Fe isn’t doing enough to help them deal with the day-to-day issues around their businesses.

The conversation quickly shifted from retail crime to how businesses feel about homelessness and the property damage being found at stores. One business owner stood up saying, “That frustration, that all of us have.”

“We are working on a number of different fronts to try to find additional resources to reduce the impact of homelessness and homeless individuals, up and down the Cerillos Road Corridor,” said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber.

A few businesses placed blame on a homeless shelter called Pete’s Place along Cerillos Road. The mayor mentioned that the shelter’s lease is up in October and the shelter’s future is unclear.

He also advocated for opening a new location for a shelter encompassing more resources for the homeless.

The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce had to end that meeting after an hour and half of heated discussion. But the chamber says they’d like to hold more similar crime-focused forums in the future.