New Mexico Indian Pueblos Launch Public Housing Anti-Drug Campaign

U.S. Department of Justice
David C. Iglesias
United States Attorney
District of New Mexico
201 3rd Street NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103

CONTACT: Rumaldo R. Armijo, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney, (505) 224–1509

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 27, 2006

The New Mexico Indian Country Pueblos of Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh conducted community-wide Community Policing outreach operations in May and June to kick-off their Project Safe Pueblos (PSP) initiative. Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh Pueblos were recently awarded $600,000.00 to implement the Department of Justice's Public Housing Safety Initiative (PHSI) which has been locally titled Project Safe Pueblos. The United States Attorney's Office nominated the Pueblos for the grant and will coordinate efforts to reduce illicit drug activity in public housing located in these two northern New Mexico communities.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the money was ear-marked by the Justice Department for drug abuse and crime suppression in Indian Country. The U.S. Attorney chose to nominate the Pueblos because of their location within a high drug trafficking area and an existing partnership with the Espanola Weed and Seed program. Weed and Seed is another Department of Justice counter-drug initiative.

Picture of a refrigerator magnet designed for the Project Safe Pueblos. Click here to see a larger version of this picture.

The Pueblos are the only Indian Country site out of ten nationwide sites selected to implement PHSI over a two-year period which ends in October 2007. The grant is divided between the two Pueblos, of which, $400,000.00 are to be used for drug-crime interdiction, which includes officer overtime, equipment, supplies, and training. The remaining $200,000.00 will be used for drug prevention and intervention. The Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh Police Departments have performed knock-and-talk operations in the Pueblos' public housing sites and distributed pamphlets and refrigerator magnets in the shape and color of their patrol cars that have an anti-drug message and a telephone number that citizens can use to report crime. The magnets were paid for with PSP grant funds. "The residents that we have contacted were very receptive and appreciated the presence of our officers in this non-threatening Community Oriented Policing activity," stated Santa Clara Police Chief James Baca. "This knock-and-talk operation and the magnets will help us maintain closer ties with the public housing residents," he added.