Crime Reduction Plan for Birmingham Coming Next Month
By Sam Prickett
Several months after taking the job, Birmingham Police Chief Patrick D. Smith is expected to deliver a comprehensive plan for crime reduction to the City Council next month.
The announcement of the plan was made at Tuesday’s council meeting by Cedric D. Sparks, Mayor Randall Woodfin’s chief of staff, in response to concerns expressed by the council about increasing rates of violent crime in the city.
“I’m really anxious to know, when are we going to get with the police chief as a body to figure out how we are going to work together to eliminate crime in our city?” asked District 1 Councilor Lashunda Scales.
The answer, Sparks replied, would be November. “The mayor wanted to provide the chief an opportunity to get here, get his arms around several of the issues that are affecting our city and also have a comprehensive plan to report out,” he said. “That plan will (be given) to the council as a body in the month of November.”
Smith was hired to the job after a nationwide search in June, midway through what is on track to become the city’s deadliest year in decades. As of Oct. 16, Birmingham had logged 92 homicides in 2018, slightly ahead of the 87 homicides that had been reported at this point last year. By the end of 2017, Birmingham had a reported 117 homicides, the highest rate since 1995.
Since his hiring, Smith has made several changes to the department, including lowering the minimum age for new hires — a move intended to combat a significant personnel shortage in the department — and changing the department’s shift schedule to a “4/10” model, which he has said will lead to “overlapping responses (and) sufficient units in the field.”
Last month, the council approved a program to install nearly 100 surveillance cameras at undisclosed points throughout the city — intended to combat violent crime.
No specific date has been given for Smith’s presentation to the council; Sparks said he would individually contact councilors to find a suitable date.
Trump Administration say South Africa’s Ambassador to U.S. ‘persona non grata’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's kicking out the Ambassador from South Africa -accusing him of hating America and hating Donald Trump.
‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks
Federal officials placed 1,000 employees at Voice of America on indefinite paid leave, while severing contracts with Radio Free Asia and other U.S.-funded networks.
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 9, including aid workers and journalists, witnesses say
Two back-to-back Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza killed at least nine people on Saturday, according to Gaza civil defense. Witnesses say several of those killed were aid workers and journalists.
Here are 8 photography winners with disabilities who show the world their perspective
Here are the winning entries in this year's Global Ability Photography Challenge.
‘Sounds like censorship to me.’ O cinema co-founder slams proposed eviction over film
No Other Land has no U.S. distributor, so the filmmakers have had to make one-on-one deals with cinemas. Art house theaters such as O Cinema have been screening the film independently.
Look up! The Goodyear Blimp is celebrating a big birthday
We head up into the skies over Los Angeles in honor of the Goodyear Blimp's 100th. Come join us ... there's room for eight.
