Photo: Matthew.kowal · CC BY-SA 4.0Who polices South Valley, and what they report
South Valley has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Bernalillo County. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for South Valley alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in South Valley
Policed by the county
South Valley is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for South Valley. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest New Mexico towns with their own police figures are Albuquerque (D−, 7 mi), Bosque Farms (B+, 11 mi), Peralta (B−, 12 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from South Valley. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office reports
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Bernalillo County without police of their own, which include South Valley.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest New Mexico towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | D− | 7 mi | 11.7 | 44.3 |
| Bosque Farms | B+ | 11 mi | 0.9 | 6.8 |
| Peralta | B− | 12 mi | 2.6 | 8.2 |
| Los Lunas | D | 16 mi | 5.6 | 26.4 |
| Corrales | A− | 16 mi | 1.5 | 3.7 |
| Belen | D− | 18 mi | 12.7 | 41.9 |
Straight-line distance from the center of South Valley. Nearby towns can differ a lot from South Valley.
38 people died in crashes on South Valley’s roads in 2019–2023
South Valley had 36 fatal crashes in five years, in which 38 people died; 12 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists. 4 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 20.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for New Mexico towns of 25,000–100,000 people (9.8, 8 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
South Valley and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | D− | 11.7 | 44.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in South Valley
Is South Valley, NM safe?
There is no Safety Grade for South Valley. South Valley has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Bernalillo County. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for South Valley alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest New Mexico towns with a grade are Albuquerque (D−, 7 mi), Bosque Farms (B+, 11 mi), Peralta (B−, 12 mi).
Who polices South Valley?
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. South Valley is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Bernalillo County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in South Valley.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.