I am not a fan of the old adage “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” I have been known to rebut with “Well, then I’d just as soon hold his head under.” But then again, that could lead to a drowned horse.
I tried to appeal for specific criminal justice reform policies, during public comment, at last year’s city council meeting at which they were discussing the 2025 City of Las Cruces legislative policy priorities, prior to the 2025 legislative session. And yet, what we ended up with were the most vanilla, vague requests, such as, “The City of Las Cruces supports legislation to reform the Inspection of Public Records Act and public safety statutes.”
That was it as it pertained to crime, public safety and justice reform, despite the influx of repeat, violent offenders and juvenile delinquents in Las Cruces even then.
I called in and provided testimony when the judiciary committee was considering pretrial detention and other crime bills during the 2025 session. I called in during a local radio segment, and asked the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Joseph Cervantes, specific questions about criminal justice reform prior to the legislative session.
All appeals were roundly dismissed by our elected leaders, and we saw no substantial changes to the revolving door justice system that perpetuates anarchy and a complete lack of accountability.
This year, I’ve already emailed a majority of councilors and the mayor with the same plea: the Las Cruces City Council needs to put the weight of its official station behind specific criminal justice reform policy requests that the police chief has already contributed to and even helped draft, in some cases.
Chief Story has provided a comprehensive list of specific components that can be enhanced to help bring justice to our land of lawlessness. I’ve heard back from exactly one councilor.
In a public forum, I asked the mayor this exact question, with the associated backstory of last year and the lack of specificity that makes it look like Las Cruces doesn’t have a repeat offender problem.
He took the non-committal stance of saying the Las Cruces City Council can only do so much and that he supports everything that Chief Story is doing and there are other political issues to overcome and that certain legislators have an exorbitant level of power, etc., etc. Filled me with great hope, lemme tell ya’.
So, I will continue to question and continue to advocate and continue to hold that horse’s head under water, because he is clearly far from drowned in the uncomfortable fact that our criminal justice system requires revisions to address the mounting, dire need.
I am just one person. It will take a whole host of citizens to stand up and say “enough is enough.” Aren’t we all tired of the revolving door, the apathy, the crime?
That should not be a Democrat issue or a Republican issue. That is a simple quality-of-life issue that we should demand be maintained by our elected leaders. Our voices should be so loud that they can no longer ignore calls for change. Recidivism is not just the criminals’ fault – it is ours if our society is such that it is easier to reoffend than to be rehabilitated. And currently, our society is led by people who are just hoping the problem goes away. Or worse, they think there is no problem at all.
Shawna Pfeiffer is a life-long Dona Ana County Resident, graduate of NMSU, small business owner, hobby farmer, dog-lover, outdoor enthusiast and mother to two young children. She can be reached at srpfeiffer1@gmail.com.
