Facts
New Mexico Facts
* New Mexico has population of approximately 2 million people which is an increase of 9.1% since 2000.
* NM has the highest % of Latinos being 46% which 83% are natural born and 17% foreign; we have the second highest % of Native Americans being 10%, behind Alaska. 30% of New Mexicans speak Spanish and 4% speak Navajo (that does not include other Native languages).
* According to the 2000 United States Census,[42]:6 the most commonly claimed ancestry groups in New Mexico were: Spanish (18.7%), Mexican (16.3%), American Indian (10.3%), and German (9.8%)
* Our state constitution acknowledges Spanish and English as the languages of the state.
* Migration = 35,000 people; Asians 1.4%; Blacks 2%.
* The median income for a family of 4 in NM was $54,842.
New Mexico Incarcation Facts
* 2007 Census of juvenile offenders showed 378 children in juvenile correction facilities in NM.
* Adult prisons division is the largest division within the NM Corrections Dept, incarcerating approx. 6,300 inmates in 6 state-owned and operated prisons and 4 privately operated facilities. 9 of the 10 are male facilities.
* Average cost to incarcerate a NM corrections Department inmate is $39,000/inmate/year)
* New Mexico state-ran and operated facilities no longer accepts kickbacks/commissions. We are one of eight states. (We do not know if our four private prisons in New Mexico do)
* Widely known and researched correlation between prisoners who maintain contact with their families and those who are successful in staying out of prison after released.
* A new contract was just passed for state-operated prisons. It is now between $.59 (called party prepaid call) and $.69 (inmate prepaid and collect calls). International calls are now $5.00 per 20 min call. These are flat rate prices for a call up to 20 minutes. There are no longer activation or connect fees.
Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC)
* There is a 1% increase of people incarcerated at the Metropolitan detention center (MDC) from 2009 to 2010.
* Male held rates increased 1% as compared to FY 2009 and female held rates increased a significant 6%.
* All ethnicities experienced an increase, from 2% - 10%, in number being held at time of booking in 2010 when compared to the 2009 FY.
* In 2010, at MDC, Weapon Charges were 1% of ALL held crimes; Conduct Crimes were 6% of ALL held crimes; Drug and Alcohol crimes were 11% of ALL held crimes; Person crimes were 10% of ALL held crimes; Property crimes were 6% of ALL held crimes; warrants represented 55% of ALL bookings and 66% of all those individuals HELD at time of booking.