Prosecutor Theresa Romero will be the first are community prosecutor to head up the new Community-Based Crime Reduction grant initiative, a pilot program that's opening an office at the Southeast Area Command in the International District thanks to a $1 million grant from the Department of Justice.
The position is one of a kind in New Mexico and Romero, who has been in the District Attorney's office since 2015, will be acting as a liaison between the neighborhood community and law enforcement. The newly created position is part of the federally funded program with a goal of reducing crime in the area.
“What I do is engage with community members and make them part of the decision-making process,” Romero said to the Albuquerque Journal. “Hear from them about what they perceive as the big issues here, what they perceive as quality of life and crime problems in their own neighborhoods, and brainstorm with them about what solutions would be appropriate to address those things.”
The hope is that Romero can help make the city's International District a safer place as well as gain crime reduction in the area over a three-year period in the position.
Office hours for Romero will be most Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Her doors are open to the public for concerns with crime problems in the neighborhood and also to brainstorm solutions.
“I feel like our office downtown is not as accessible,” Romero told the Journal. “We’re looking at accessibility; we’re looking at knowing that someone is going to be here at a certain time and is willing...to speak to you and listen to you about what’s going on in your neighborhood.”
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