When a group of homeless people started camping outside of her business in Northeast Albuquerque, Martha Plummer said she grew concerned for her safety and the safety of the animals she boards.

Things only got worse as people began to start fires outside of Plummer’s business, the Happy Cat Hotel and Spa Albuquerque, or when she would see domestic violence incidents happen while she could only watch with concern.

But when Plummer learned about an Albuquerque Police Department pilot program, she felt like she finally had a way to resolve the issues and keep her business, employees and feline guests safe.

“We’ve noticed that the problems we’ve been having went away,” Plummer said. “Their presence helps a lot.”

The program — Adopt a Business — pairs officer liaisons with participating businesses and gives owners a direct line to law enforcement to ask questions, bring up concerns and learn more about how crime may be affecting their business.

Participating businesses can contact their assigned officer at any point during the day if they are having issues that do not require an emergency response.

Amy Sedler, commander of the Northeast Area, which covers Eubank Boulevard to the east and Interstate 40 to the south, said she based the program on a former initiative where officers were assigned a neighborhood block to patrol and look after.

“I really just wanted to expand off that idea itself, but I knew I couldn’t do both,” she said. I didn’t have the staffing to basically do both initiatives, but I wanted to expand it and actually take it to local business owners.”

Since starting Adopt A Business in 2025, the program has expanded to more than 60 businesses in the Northeast Heights, intending to build stronger relationships between APD and local businesses. A total of 133 businesses participate in the program across Albuquerque, with another three in the works.

“We can’t do it alone. It has to be a joint effort between local law enforcement and the community,” she said. “It’s really important to help identify criminal activity and address quality of life concerns and keep the neighborhood safe.”

Each business gets to participate in the program for one year, though they can ask to extend the partnership. Decisions are based on how many officers are available and which businesses have a higher rate of crime.

Additionally, officers can get in touch with the owners monthly to discuss neighborhood issues or to review crime statistics to see what type of crimes affect the area.

Plummer said that she messages her assigned officer weekly to express any concerns and has invited them to her events at the Happy Cat Hotel and Spa.

Officers have also given Plummer tips to better protect her business and areas to keep an eye out for, such as the nearby arroyo where people may mill around.

Jana Ryan, director of security at the Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church and a former APD officer, said the program resolved many issues the church has faced.

Ryan said the church often deals with homeless people doing drugs near a dumpster in the parking lot, which can discourage people from attending services or other church activities.

Since joining the Adopt A Business program, Ryan said she has seen fewer homeless people in the area and no longer sees scattered drug paraphernalia around the building.

“It’s nice because I’ll check the cameras and see officers driving through pretty much daily,” she said. “It does help having them around, and I have seen a decrease (in issues), especially if they come and catch someone.”

Plummer and Ryan said that while they know the program is only in a pilot phase, they hope it can grow and that other businesses join in.

“I think every business should have one,” Plummer said. “If there were enough police officers, everybody should have one. It’s just nice to have a direct line to APD.”

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