Shiprock (Tsé Bitʼaʼí, "rock with wings") is a 27 million year old volcanic rock formation, designated as a National Natural Landmark, rising 1,583 feet above the desert.
The San Juan River is a 383 mile long major tributary of the Colorado River and a primary drainage for the Four Corners.
The Aztec Ruins National Monument, on 318 acres, consists of dwellings and sacred structures built by Ancient Pueblo Indians in the 12th and 13th Centuries.
Angel Peak Scenic Area is located 15 miles south of Bloomfield in San Juan County, with over 10,000 acres of rugged terrain, badlands and deep canyons.
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (Bisti Badlands) is a 45,000-acre wilderness area full of rock formations made of sandstone, shale, mudstone, and silt.
The La Plata Mountains, seen from San Juan County, are a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in sw Colorado, and includes Hesperus Mountain at 13,332 feet.
Navajo Lake is a 3800 feet long and 400 feet deep reservoir located in northeastern San Juan County, created from a dam completed in 1962.
The eggs and hoodoos in the Bisti Wilderness were formed in sand and silt revealed 73 million years ago when the Western Interior Seaway receded.

Crime

Category: Crime & Safety

Number and Types of Arrests

The amount of crime in a community is an indicator of the quality of life, of the degree to which people feel safe to move freely in their neighborhoods without undue worry and concern.

In 2025 there were 4,828 arrests reported by four of the Law Enforcement agencies in San Juan County (Sheriff's Office, Farmington, Aztec, and Bloomfield PDs). This was up somewhat from 4,369 in 2024. (See important notes below.)

The number of arrests for the ten most frequent arrest categories are shown below. Most notably, from 2024 to 2025, there was an increase in reports of arrests for liquor law violations and vagrancy. (*The number of Aggravated Assaults has not yet been reported for 2025.)

Juvenile Arrests

In 2023, there were 355 juvenile "Delinquent Referrals" (151 Petitioned and 204 Non-petitioned), giving a rate of 23.5 arrests per 1,000 juveniles., similar to the state rate of 21.8, among the 32 reporting counties. In addition, there were 132 "Non-delinquent (Status) Referrals." 

The most common "delinquent referrals" include: battery, battery involving a household member, possession of synthetic cannabinoids, resisting/evading or obstructing an officer, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. “Non-delinquent offenses” are considered to be violations only if committed by a juvenile, such as runaway and truancy offenses.

(NOTE: 2023 data are most recent available as of 9/18/26. See additional notes at bottom of page for explanation of types of referrals.) 

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Juvenile Arrests

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Non-petitioned

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Petitioned

Trends, Juvenile Arrests

There has been a significant downward trend in juvenile arrests, with a recent uptick since 2021.

Crime Rates (Archive)

Below are the calculated property and violent crime rates through 2024. Note that due to apparent changes in how crime categories are aggregated via the FBI Crime Data Explorer, these indeces will no longer be updated at this website.

Trends in Property Crime

Property crime decreased somewhat over the past several years across the county, state and the U.S. In 2020 in San Juan County there were 2069 Property Crime Index arrests (with a rate of 1594), compared to 1821 (rate of 1403) in 2024.

The Property Crime Index includes arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.

In 2024, the property crime index was below the U.S. rate and significantly below New Mexico's rate. There were 1821 arrests for property crimes by four law enforcement agencies that report to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program for San Juan County (see notes below).

Trends in Violent Crime

In 2024, San Juan County's violent crime rate dropped to just below what it has been in the four years prior. Violent crime also decreased across New Mexico and the U.S.

In San Juan County in 2024, there were 792 arrests for violent crimes reported to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting system by the four LE agencies, giving a Violent Crime rate of 610 crimes per 100,000. The Violent Crime Index includes aggravated assault, homicide, rape, and robbery.

San Juan County's violent crime rate is just below New Mexico's rate, but still above the U.S. rate.

County, state and national crime statistics available from: FBI Uniform Crime Reports:
FBI Crime Data Explorer (CDE)

Juvenile Crime statistics available from Office of Juvinile Justice:
Easy Access to State and County Juvenile Court Case Counts

Updated/Checked: Sept-Oct 2026

Important Notes:

  • Reporting to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting is voluntary; San Juan County arrest data includes reports by four LE Agencies: Farmington PD, SJC Sheriff's Office, Aztec PD and Bloomfield PD.
  • Data do NOT include Navajo Nation PD or State Police, as these data are not aggregated by county.
  • Changes year-to-year in arrest data, beginning 2024, may reflect changes in reporting or in how reporting categories are aggregated by the FBI.
  • Because of the changes in how arrests are aggregated, overall property and violent crime indeces will not be available at this website. Instead, the focus will be on year-to-year comparisons of number and types of arrests.

Definitions for Juvenile Arrest Rates:

"Petitioned" cases are those arrests that are formally processed in juvenile court. Petitioned cases could also be dismissed, but the accused juvenile offender still has their case processed by a juvenile court judge before determining their decision. 

"Non-petitioned" cases are informally handled and which often result in dismissal or informal sanctions such as fines, community service, informal probation, or referral to a social services agency.

The rate is per 1000 individuals ages 10 to the upper age of jurisdiction for a juvenile court.