Crime in downtown Gallup eyed

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — The downtown crime problem was the prime topic at the District 1 Neighborhood Association meeting last week. According to Association member Bill Bright, the crimes are petty but costly, including front yard theft, tagging, and other acts of vandalism. And these crimes become much more prevalent, he said, when the weather starts to warm up.

“We heard it’s a rite of spring in Gallup,” Bright said.

So, the association wanted to raise the discussion of what to do about the problem. District 1 primarily covers the downtown area, and is the only association fully active in Gallup, according to President Claudette Perales. She said, though, that the rise in crime during the spring is not limited to District 1.

“I think it’s citywide,” she said.

She said that graffiti is the biggest problem and that the city had managed to paint over it. But to really have an affect on the problem, she said that it’s important for neighbors to keep watch over each other.

“We want neighbors to be aware of what’s going on,” she said.

This kind of community awareness, she explains, acts as a deterrent to vandals and thieves. Knowing that someone will catch them in the act makes them think twice.

The association also talked about keeping Gallup clean. Spring time is the time to get out and begin an organized effort to clean up, Perales said. It’s that time to pick up trash in yards and around the city and to take care of the weeds that begin to sprout once the snow melts.

“We’re hopeful everyone will help clean up Gallup,” she said.

She said that the group also discussed World Changers, which is a group of some 150 youths that come from around the nation to do house repairs and renovations for those that qualify for the program. Handicapped, elderly, and some low income residents can apply to have roofs repaired or replaced, wheelchair ramps installed, or painting done.

“Whatever they can do that needs to be done, they try to do it,” Perales said.

The group will arrive around the beginning of June and they hope to handle about 15 houses during that week.