In Albuquerque, New Mexico, city officials, state public defenders, and judges are addressing the problem of missed courtroom dates and arrest warrants for crimes committed outside that have resulted in a county jail population that is about half as many people are poor.
Judges in Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque, noticed an increase in homelessness-related claims 18 months ago, including for traveling outside the boundaries of the city and keeping personal property in the unconstitutional hands. They added that they noticed that some recipients of the quotes didn’t have addresses and didn’t show up for jury appearances. It’s hard for street dwellers to remember when to appear in court because they frequently lack permanent addresses and cellphones.
Left court appearances can result in warrants that, if the individual encounters officers once more, could put them in jail.
According to a letter from presiding legal department judge Michelle Castillo Dowler, Albuquerque police did program related court appearances for Fridays starting on July 1, when they will cite citations for nine offenses connected to homelessness. The judges anticipate that having a specific week for the area law cases will result in fewer court appearances and fewer permits for failing to appear.
Officials will also try other ways to address the issue during the fixed hearings. A representative from the New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender and a worker may be present for the trials on Friday. According to Dennica Torres, the district attorney for the public defender’s office, the public defender’s office is working to have nearby therapy and service providers present outside the courthouse.
She said,” It’s like a one-stop store on Fridays.” Since last year, her office, the district attorney’s office, and the courts have been working together to deal with the burden involving homelessness. According to Torres, the capital of Albuquerque has also allocated$ 200, 000 to hire a town attorney or professional to help with the Friday work.
At a recent press conference, governor Tim Keller said,” We can’t just pattern vulnerable people through prison and back out on the street.” ” Both of those are not the proper response.”
The changes come after ProPublica reported in March that costs for legislation relating to living on the street have soared since Keller’s career. More than 3, 000 intruding charges were issued in 2025, the highest quantity for any time since 2017, and cases of unlawful traveling increased to 704 from 113 the year before, according to previously unreported state data. This is almost six times the number of cases in the previous eight years combined.
According to court records, costs for the nine acts that will be heard on Friday at the courtroom continue to rise, rising from 579 between January and April of this year to 2,072. Trespassing was not included in the Friday intruding charges by the judges.
According to ProPublica, Bernalillo County’s Metropolitan Detention Center has a record high of people who are” transient” or poor in recent years, reaching nearly 12, 000 in 2025 from 3, 670 in 2022. Roughly 53 % of those booked into the jail were last year found to be homeless.
Keller did not respond to questions or comments submitted by ProPublica. However, he recently told the news outlet that poverty, which is a contentious issue in Albuquerque, cannot be solved by arrests and citations. While the state’s homeless people increased by more than doubling from 2022 to 2025, the county’s homeless population increased by more than doubling.
Since becoming president in 2017, Keller has responded by increasing the number of capital crews working to clear encampments and by boosting the volume of crimes committed while being one. Prior to this, Keller defended the activities of the Albuquerque Police Department.
He claimed that “what we’re doing is going against the law.” There are much more harsh things that we don’t perform because they’re inappropriate, as I’m sure many people may want.
The first article on ProPublica: Albuquerque Leaders Take Steps to Curb Surge in Citations and Jail Stays Related to Homelessness appeared first.
