New Mexico crime · Crime in New Mexico
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Crime in New Mexico
Crime in New Mexico
Albuquerque has a crime rate that is higher than average for an American city, but most of it is property crime that affects residents more than visitors. The "South Valley" and the region between the University of New Mexico and Kirtland Air Force Base (as well as the infamous "War Zone" near the state fairgrounds, the site of some nasty drug-related crime) are best avoided by solitary travelers after dark. Otherwise there are no specific violent-crime issues that unduly threaten the visitor.
Illegal immigrants are a problem in the southern region of the state, although less of one than in neighboring Arizona. Use caution when picking up hitchhikers (or hitchhiking yourself) here. There are checkpoints along major highways leading north, at which the Border Patrol checks vehicles for illegal passengers. Behave sensibly at them and you won't have any problems.
There are some social problems associated with the drug trade that may create unpleasant situations for the unwary visitor in some areas. The world-wide cautions regarding packages from strangers, etc., apply here too, and in addition, some caution is indicated in rural areas of the north central and northwestern regions. The former is a notorious "pipeline" for narcotics entering the country from Mexico, and you really don't want to blunder into a drug deal being transacted in the hinterlands. The main drug-related hazard in the rugged northwest is that it is a "drop zone" for contraband delivered by light plane. If you see a small plane drop below the local horizon when you know there is no airport around, don't investigate; chances are good that a shipment of something illegal has just been delivered to waiting, unfriendly people on the ground. This is less of a problem today than 20 years ago, but can still lead to decidedly hairy situations.
Drunk driving is a notorious social problem in New Mexico, particularly in the northern half of the state. There is no hour of the day, and no road, immune to DUI. Simply drive defensively.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about New Mexico
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New Mexico Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.