Protecting the people of New Mexico is a top priority for Governor Martinez.

Governor Martinez was a prosecutor for 25 years, specializing in child abuse and child homicide cases. She was twice named “Prosecutor of the Year” and was named “Woman of the Year” for her dedication to protecting children.

As Governor, Susana Martinez remains committed to public safety.

• Passed an enhanced Katie’s Law, named after Katie Sepich, a New Mexico State University student whose killer Martinez successfully prosecuted. The new Katie’s Law requires all those arrested for felonies to provide a DNA sample, which is then used to solve cold rape and murder cases and exonerate the innocent, while prosecuting the guilty. 
• Vetoed a measure that would have allowed criminal records to be expunged.
• Eliminated “Sanctuary State” policy that prohibited law enforcement officers from determining the immigration status of those arrested for crimes.
• Vetoed a measure that would have allowed child killers to avoid life sentences.
• Created “Silver Alert” system, which enables law enforcement to quickly notify the public, locate, and help Alzheimer’s patients who go missing.
• Tackled issue of identity theft by establishing a new notary revocation process.
• Created the Fugitive Apprehension Team within the Department of Corrections, capturing 70 fugitives in the first two months alone.
• Launched the #SAFE reporting hotline so that any New Mexican can easily report child abuse.
• Signed legislation establishing Erin’s Law in New Mexico, providing for age-appropriate children on how to identify and report sexual abuse.
• Signed legislation expanding the Amber Alert to allow an alert to be issued for ANY child who is abducted and in danger; previously, the law had prevented alerts from being issued if a family member was the abductor of the child.
• Worked closely with Mexico Governor Cesar Duarte, and local and federal authorities to track down, apprehend, and extradite Noe Torres and Edward Salas, both of whom were on the run in Mexico for their roles in the murder of a 10 year-old New Mexico boy.
• Signed legislation enacting some of the toughest sex offender registration requirements in the country, expanding the amount of information that available to the public about the location of sex offenders and closing the loophole that allowed out-of-state sex offenders to avoid registering as sex offenders in New Mexico.

Supporting Law Enforcement

• Even given the challenging budget times, the state increased state police pay by four percent and Governor Martinez has advocated additional increases to help make state police salaries comparable with our agencies.

• Signed a bill requiring PTSD training and child support incident training for law enforcement officers.