District attorney to New Mexico lawmakers: You must act now

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The top prosecutor in New Mexico's busiest judicial district is telling legislators that the situation is growing dire and that the state's troubled criminal justice system needs to be reformed urgently. District Attorney Raul Torrez presented a series of charts outlining crime rates nationally, across New Mexico and in the Albuquerque area. When it came to the rates of auto thefts, property crimes, violent crimes and murder, Albuquerque far outpaced other areas between 2013 and 2016. Torrez spokes Wednesday to members of a special legislative panel that is studying New Mexico's criminal justice system. Torrez says the patterns that have developed in recent years indicate New Mexico's most populous area is headed in the wrong direction. He blamed the crime wave, a lack of resources and court rules that mandate how his office must manage its caseload.