Two Rio Rancho Speed Camera Boxes Spray-Painted at Lincoln Avenue, Enchanted Hills

Two mobile speed camera boxes in Rio Rancho were spray-painted in early February, city officials and local reports confirm, striking units installed only weeks earlier and raising questions about enforcement continuity and equipment security.

The boxes, operated by Verra Mobility, were part of a deployment of units installed in mid-December at ten locations across Rio Rancho. The cameras initially issued warnings, and on January 27 they began triggering citations. Less than two months after installation, two of the mobile units were defaced with spray paint at Lincoln Avenue and Enchanted Hills, according to local reporting.

At least one affected unit - the device on Lincoln Avenue - was described as being covered in paint and then moved on Tuesday. Reports say the Enchanted Hills box was spray-painted the following day, though some accounts present a slightly different sequence and timing; officials have not provided exact calendar dates for each act of vandalism. No arrests or charges had been reported as of the most recent accounts.

The city says the contract with Verra Mobility obligates the company to repair, maintain, and monitor speed cameras daily at no additional cost to the city, and that includes addressing damage, a Rio Rancho Police Department spokesperson told News 13. That contractual language potentially shields the city from repair costs, but it does not address how quickly cameras will be returned to service or whether vandalism will create enforcement gaps while units are repaired or replaced.

Local reaction has been mixed. People who spoke with News 13 said that although they do not condone vandalism, they want more effective measures to hold reckless drivers accountable. Others said they are willing to tolerate the cameras so long as citations are issued and enforced. The incidents revive a history of attacks on speed enforcement in Rio Rancho; in past years speed vans were vandalized with graffiti and some were set on fire, according to the record cited in recent coverage.

For residents, the immediate concern is practical: whether the spray-painting will interrupt automated enforcement that city officials instituted to reduce speeding. With citations active since Jan. 27, any downtime could affect citation patterns and driver behavior on corridors where units were placed.

Officials and Verra Mobility will need to clarify repair timelines, whether any units were taken offline, and whether evidence exists in the vandalism cases. For now, the city maintains that repairs are Verra’s responsibility; residents should expect updates from the Rio Rancho Police Department and city officials as the company addresses the damaged units and as any investigations develop.