Saturday, March 15, 2003

Bosque Farms reports lowest crime rate in county

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Bosque Farms When Bosque Farms incorporated almost 30 years ago in 1974, it was known as a quiet and charming farming community. Today, people are attracted to the small municipality for those same qualities.

The Bosque Farms Police Department's mission is to keep the small village, with its population of just over 3,900 safe and secure. There are 11 police officers, including the chief, who make sure the streets and neighborhoods are safe.

According to the police department's crimes statistics, the amount of crime in the Village of Bosque Farms is low in comparison to other municipalities in Valencia County. The small village hasn't had a homicide since the late '80s.

Police Chief Louis Burkhard said although he believes homicides are usually not preventable, it has more to do with the people who live in Bosque Farms. Citing the demographics that may be a major factor in the statistics, Burkhard said he believes the small-community atmosphere tends not to attract that type of violence.

"Those are not crimes that you could predict or be proactive in preventing," he said. "We do have a lot of people traveling through and some do stop — but, for the most part, the traffic is coming from Albuquerque and Los Lunas."

In 2002, there were two rapes reported to the Bosque Farms Police Department compared to none in 2001 and 2000. A Bosque Farms man was arrested on charges of raping two female juveniles at his home during a party on Oct. 24.

The suspect was charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, two counts of false imprisonment and one count of tampering with evidence.

"We have a very good case put together on that, and it's pending," Burkhard said. "I would say that, again, the size of the community plays a part in these numbers."

For the past three years, police officers have witnessed a decrease in the number of burglaries in the Village of Bosque Farms. In 2000, 21 people reported they were victims of the crime. A year later, the number dropped to 18 and in 2002, 14 burglaries were looked into.

The decrease is attributed to several things, Burkhard said. For one, he says, the volunteer community-watch program has contributed a great deal by patrolling the neighborhoods.

"They come out and patrol the neighborhoods when most burglaries occur, and that's usually during daytime, when people are away from their homes," he said. "The number of volunteers, fluctuates. Sometimes, we get a lot of volunteers and there are times when they take a leave of absence for one reason or another."

The police chief said the community watch program is very valuable because it gives the village extra sets of eyes and ears. The volunteers are very visible in the community and people are aware they are out and looking, the chief said.

He also credits community involvement and the open communication that the police department has with the residents of Bosque Farms.

"We also have a police department that is very visible and very aggressive," Burkhard added. "I think that deters a lot of our property crime here in the village. We encourage our police officers to be visible for that reason.

"I think people do realize that, in Bosque Farms, there are always officers on duty and looking for something that doesn't look right."

Although the number of burglaries has declined in the village, reports of larcenies more than doubled last year in comparison to 2001. In 2002, 71 reports of larceny, which includes shoplifting, were reported to the police department, compared to 34 in 2001. A total of 53 larcenies were reported in 2000.

"I think a lot of these larcenies are committed out of businesses like the gas stations," Burkhard said. "Both gas skips and shoplifting are considered larcenies and anyone who reports any property stolen."

Burkhard said the increase in larcenies may be attributed to the types of businesses that are in the village and the amount of traffic flowing through. He also said another reason the numbers multiply could be because people are reporting the crime more than they had in the past.

"One of my policies is that, if anyone asks for a police report, we'll certainly take one," the police chief said.

Another crime that has steadily declined is assaults. In 2000, 49 reports of assaults were filed, compared to 34 a year later. Last year, 22 assaults were reported to the police in Bosque Farms.

Burkhard connected the decline in assaults with a greater understanding of the consequences of domestic violence. He said people are aware that they can't get away with domestic violence anymore.

One type of criminal activity that the Bosque Farms Police Department makes an extra effort to curb is DWI. Even though the department is the smallest in Valencia County, it makes the most DWI arrests.

Last year, 116 people were arrested for drinking and driving. The total increased from 60 in 2001 and 121 in 2000. The police chief said the reason for the fluctuation in DWI arrests is because of the decline in the number of officers in the department. When more officers were hired, the number of DWI arrests again began to increase.

Burkhard also credited the high number to the officers' aggressive patrolling.

"Our officers are out there, making a lot of traffic stops; we're making a lot more warrant arrests and DWI arrests," Burkhard said. "We patrol the entire village aggressively — not just strictly on the boulevard.

"Our goal is to reduce crime and make our village a safer place," he said. "I think an aggressive traffic policy does bring down the amount of traffic accidents that occur within our jurisdiction.

"People actually do slow down because we do have a reputation for being very aggressive with our traffic enforcement," he said.

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