Last year at this time, Santa Fe's residential burglary rate was skyrocketing out of control amid a flurry of problems afflicting the Police Department.

This year, the story is different.

Recently released department statistics show the residential burglary rate dropped by 27 percent from January to June this year as compared to the same time period in 2007. The homes of Santa Fe residents were robbed 244 times in the first six months of 2008 versus 336 times between January and June 2007, according to the statistics.

In fact, the monthly residential burglary rate has been lower every month this year so far as compared to last, except April, when the same number of homes were broken into as April 2007, the statistics show.

"I'm extremely happy about that," said Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Johnson. "But the numbers are still not acceptable. With the economy in the shape it's in, we'll have to monitor (the residential burglary rate) closely and not let our guard down."

Johnson said the difference between 2007 and 2008 is simple: More cops are on the street.

"We're really starting to get officers out there," he said. "When you fill the vacancies, you can start to address the shortages in other areas."

As the department has hired more officers, it has been able to reform and restaff the burglary unit, transfer more officers to the Region III Narcotics Task Force — which has been overseeing drug investigations in the city for more than a year — and not struggle to meet minimum daily staffing numbers, the chief said. In addition, the department has been able to buy new technology for officers and is in the process of renovating the aging Police Department building off Cerrillos Road on the city's southwest side, Johnson said.

A year ago, the department had 24 vacancies, but now the number is at five, and Johnson said several new officers recently graduated from the academy and experienced officers continue to apply. He expects to fill those five positions soon, then start hiring 15 more officers, positions recently approved by the City Council.

"This is the best shape we've been in a long time," he said.

The city's residential burglary problem began in November 2006, when Johnson placed the head of the department's burglary and narcotics unit, Sgt. Steve Altonji, on leave after federal authorities said they were investigating him over allegations he stole money from drug dealers. A federal grand jury in Albuquerque spent months investigating the allegations before returning an indictment against Altonji and Detective Danny Ramirez in May 2007. Ramirez and Altonji, who by most accounts were effective officers, were the city's main two narcotics investigators.

After Altonji was placed on administrative leave, Johnson suspended all narcotics investigations in the city and transferred his anti-narcotics resources to the regional narcotics task force, which tends to focus on larger-than street-level investigations. Drugs and burglary are directly linked, police have acknowledged.

The residential burglary rate shot up 91 percent in the first quarter of 2007 and was 62 percent higher between January and June 2007 than it was during the first six months of 2006, according to Police Department statistics.

However, a look at the first six months of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 indicates 2006's total of 207 residential burglaries was actually a relatively low number. And while there is no doubt that 2007's six-month total of 336 residential burglaries was exceptionally high — the city finished 2007 with nearly 300 more residential burglaries than 2006 — the totals for 2005 and 2008 appear to be more on-par with city averages.

"We've worked hard over the past year," Johnson said. "We're trying a lot of different things. I think we've done a good job of rebuilding and refining our efforts."

Ramirez, who resigned from the Police Department, later pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft and was sentenced to three years' probation in April. The U.S. Attorney's Office in March dismissed all charges against Altonji in exchange for his resignation from the Police Department and his promise to never again serve in law enforcement.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.