Albuquerque police want help identifying the growing problem of drug houses around town. Officials hope getting community members on board with their plan can curb the issue. The city is holding a community meeting on the problem Thursday night.
“Specifically, when there might be narcotics activity in your neighborhood, we want to be able to teach residents how do they deal with it, how they recognize it, what are the signs of that kind of activity or any kind of suspicious activity,” explained Gilbert Gallegos, Albuquerque Police Department spokesman
There have been complaints from all corners of the city of Albuquerque. Homes, vacant or not, attracting drugs and crime to the neighborhood. APD says creating a partnership with neighbors will help deter that crime.
Primarily, the goal is for people to say something if they see something, as meth and heroin are a huge problem in the city. APD says people should call 242-COPS to report every incident so they can track hot spots for drugs.
People who KRQE News 13 spoke to understand why APD is doing this.
“I think there are a lot of drug houses in the community. It’s just kind of scary because you don’t know what you will run into,” said Rebecca, Albuquerque resident. “Even houses you would never think, even people you would never think.”
APD says one sign of a drug house could be lots of different visitors stopping by and at strange hours. Police also suggest jotting down descriptions of the cars they’re driving. They want to remind the public to call 242-COPS and to not approach anyone.
The community meeting is Thursday night at 6:30 at Saint Luke Lutheran Church in the Heights.
