New Mexico Law Enforcement, Public Safety Funding Get Boost Ahead of Gubernatorial Election

The race for governor is tight in the state of New Mexico this coming November election. Incumbent Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is vying for the spot, and Republican nominee Mark Ronchetti is challenging him.

Three months before the elections, Lujan Grisham launched her new public safety funding initiative for New Mexico's police force in an effort to bolster recruitment and training for law enforcement.

Ronchetti has launched an attack against Lujan Grisham's crimes and public safety policies, saying that New Mexico became the second most violent state in the country during her term as a governor.

New Mexico Launches Public Safety Funding for Law Enforcement

According to Associated Press, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was in Albuquerque on Tuesday to announce the new funding for the state's police officers.

Through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the state was able to provide an $800,000 investment for the training of 80 new police officers in New Mexico.

Recruitment and training of police officers have become an overarching problem across New Mexico and the country recently, State Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie said.

For Bowie, the new funding from the state incentivizes the recruitment of more police officers amid the ongoing "shortfall" in police officers.

The AP also reported that legislative analysts also pointed out that New Mexico had fewer officers per capita than the national average at the beginning of last year. To reach the national rate, the state should employ more than 400 police officers, hence, the new funding.

The move to bolster law enforcement recruitment funding came months before the 2022 November elections in which Lujan Grisham is running to reclaim her spot. She has been criticized mainly by conservatives because of her laid-back policies on curbing the state's crime rate.

GOP Mark Ronchetti Hits Michelle Lujan Grisham's Public Safety, Crime Policies

In an effort to "Take Back Our Neighborhoods," GOP standard-bearer on New Mexico's gubernatorial race, Mark Ronchetti, has taken aim at Michelle Lujan Grisham's current public safety and crime policies.

Las Cruces Sun-News lists New Mexico among the most violent states in the country, especially with record-breaking homicide and suicide rates.

In his Crime and Public Safety Plan, Ronchetti alleged that under Lujan Grisham's watch, New Mexico became the second most violent state in the nation. Funding law enforcement training was also a key program in Ronchetti's crime plan.

According to Ronchetti, Lujan Grisham "made it easier" for police officers to be sued because of the weak laws she pushed for. Should he win, the Republican Party candidate promised to elevate the state as a training hub for law enforcement in the southwest, opposing federal agency interference in local cases.

Meanwhile, on her campaign website, Lujan Grisham reiterated that she has consistently supported law enforcement but made little to no specific mention of alleviating the state's alarming crime rates.

The 2022 gubernatorial elections will take place on November 8. Lujan Grisham is gunning for a second term, while Ronchetti attempts to score his first.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Ivan Korrs

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