Birmingham Council Approves Cameras to Help Fight Crime

| September 25, 2018 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/03/birminghampolicecars.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:537;s:4:"file";s:32:"2015/03/birminghampolicecars.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-336x301.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:301;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"birminghampolicecars-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-600x450.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-347x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:347;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-296x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:296;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"birminghampolicecars-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:217750;s:14:"optimized_size";i:151523;s:7:"percent";d:30.41;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:60:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/birminghampolicecars.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:100973;s:14:"optimized_size";i:65948;s:7:"percent";d:34.689999999999998;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:68:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/birminghampolicecars-336x301.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:29637;s:14:"optimized_size";i:21546;s:7:"percent";d:27.300000000000001;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:66:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/birminghampolicecars-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3694;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3596;s:7:"percent";d:2.6499999999999999;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:68:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/birminghampolicecars-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:27317;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19818;s:7:"percent";d:27.449999999999999;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:68:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/birminghampolicecars-347x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:31546;s:14:"optimized_size";i:22800;s:7:"percent";d:27.719999999999999;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:68:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/03/birminghampolicecars-296x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:24583;s:14:"optimized_size";i:17815;s:7:"percent";d:27.530000000000001;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => Birmingham Police Department Major Crimes Facebook Page
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_edit_lock] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1650382836:26
        )

)
1666245144 
1537894572

Birmingham Police Department Major Crimes Facebook Page

Birmingham police will soon have some extra help to spot crime. The Birmingham City Council Tuesday approved an agreement with Alabama Power to install 100 cameras around the city.  The service and equipment will cost $672,000. The city will pay Alabama Power Company that amount over five years.

The vote comes as the city continues to wrestle with an increase in violent crime.

Hunter Williams, chairman of the council’s public safety committee, says the cameras will work alongside the city’s shot spotter devices. Those detect the sound of bullets and alert police, but Williams says police need more.

“Right now, we have an audible shot spotter in place, but we are blind to see what’s going on as those shots ring out,” he says. “So, what this will do, it will couple with that so that we will have eyes and ears.”

Williams says the cameras will be connected to police dispatch and Jefferson County’s shared crime monitoring system.

The council’s vote on the cameras was unanimous.

 

Trump announces tariffs and an end to U.S. aid to Colombia amid clash over drug trade

The U.S. will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country's leader, Gustavo Petro, "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, dies aged 48

"Sam Rivers wasn't just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound," Limp Bizkit said in a social media post Saturday.

Israel strikes Gaza as both IDF and Hamas accuse each other of breaching ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it responded after "terrorists" attacked troops operating in the Rafah area with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Hamas said it was unaware of the clashes.

Masked thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewels from the Louvre museum

France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, called the heist "a major, highly organized operation" that lasted just seven minutes. Authorities were still drawing up the value of the stolen items.

ICE tried to send one immigrant to a country he never lived in. Then he lawyered up.

Roman Surovtsev is like many others who were detained at their regularly scheduled ICE check-ins. What makes his case different is that his wife has marshalled a team of lawyers on his behalf.

Grab the goggles. Pickleball eye injuries are on the rise

Safety precautions haven't caught up with enthusiasm for the sport. Researchers call for a new push for eye-ware.

More Front Page Coverage