ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) \u2014 New Mexico\u2019s top prosecutor wants to start a conversation with lawmakers and the governor in hopes of charting a new course for a state beleaguered by violent crime, poor educational outcomes and persistently dismal child welfare rankings.
\nAttorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez, who took office Jan. 1 after serving as the district attorney in New Mexico\u2019s busiest judicial district, wants to focus on the civil rights of children by providing them with legal representation.
\nThe Democrat says New Mexico is off the charts when it comes to abuse and neglect \u2014 and creating a special unit within the attorney general\u2019s office could help turn the tide when it comes to combatting adverse childhood experiences that often result in youth ending up in the criminal justice system.
\nTorrez outlined priorities for his administration and for the legislative session that begins Tuesday in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
\nWhile acknowledging the suite of public safety, bail reform and gun control bills to be introduced by lawmakers, he said he wants more of the focus to be on the role that child well-being plays in the state\u2019s problems.
\nTorrez worked on one of the state\u2019s highest profile child abuse cases while in private practice and was often asked as district attorney about the source of Albuquerque\u2019s crime and public safety problems.
\nHe said there\u2019s been a lot of talk about drugs and guns but he believes it comes back to what happens when children end up in dangerous or destabilized homes or don\u2019t get the help they need in the classroom.
\n\u201cThe people that we\u2019re trying to detain today are usually kids that have been failed by the system 15 and 20 years before. That\u2019s where they end up,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so what I\u2019m trying to do now is move the lens and move my focus not away from public safety, but further upstream to see if there\u2019s a way for us to prevent people from coming into contact with the criminal justice system in the first place.\u201d
\nAdvocates who have been pushing for years for child welfare reforms in New Mexico are excited about the prospects. Some describe it as a \u201cpublic health crisis,\u201d pointing to scientific research that shows abuse, neglect and other adverse experiences have been known to result in negative outcomes later in life.<\/p>\n