Birmingham Officials Reject Defunding, But Plan Police Reforms With Civilian Oversight
After several months of study and citizen input, the City of Birmingham announced Thursday that police reforms are underway — some of which will go into effect shortly, others that will take years — with the end goal of making law enforcement more transparent and responsive to the needs of the citizens.
Highlighting a more than 100-page final report called “Reform and Reimagine Birmingham Public Safety,” city officials outlined steps to improve relations between the police and the public, improve training for police, make rules and regulations public, and ultimately increase accountability.
The city’s Public Safety Task Force included a former U.S. attorney, a retired detective, an anti-police-brutality advocate, an attorney and the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Birmingham.
But Mayor Randall Woodfin said the city will need the assistance of health care providers and citizens to make the reforms work over the long term. He rejected calls to defund the police, saying that the most common request he hears from citizens is to beef up the department and put more officers on the job.
“Every police department in the nation is different. It’s apples and oranges. And the conversation that happens in one police department may not fit what happens in another police department,” Woodfin said.
“As it relates to the city of Birmingham’s police department budget, well over 90 percent of that budget is for personnel, the actual salaries of our police officers. Unless we are saying to the public we want to let go of police officers, we’re not going to be in a position to have this conversation…
“As much as a national conversation is going on about defund the police, on the ground, a majority of voices I hear when I am in neighborhoods, when I attend neighborhood meetings, when I am speaking to everyday citizens is the actual exact opposite of defund the police. It is, ‘Mayor, please — we want more police.’”
Although the Birmingham reform initiatives are connected with the national Eight Can’t Wait campaign, modifications exist based on the relationships between Birmingham police officers and the community. The task force “recommended initiatives that address community engagement, better policy and better oversight as well as training and education and safety and wellness,” Woodfin said.
“It is important to understand that reform cannot happen in one day. Reform doesn’t happen in one week or one month. That is an ongoing process that takes time,” the mayor said. “However, I remain committed along, with Hunter Williams, the chair of the Public Safety Committee and the entire City Council in establishing a public safety agenda to improve matters for our residents as well as our police department … I remain on a path to get to where we need to be, and that is to be transparent, proactive and responsive to build a safe, healthy as well as an equitable future for citizens and our community.”
While some elements of the agenda will take a year or longer to implement, the mayor said some things can be put in place relatively quickly.
One of the first, he said, is that starting Friday, Dec. 18, “Social workers will partner with officers from West Precinct to address misdemeanor domestic violence incidents. The emergency advocacy team pilot program, or ‘Pete’ for short, is a pilot program which will work to break the cycle of domestic violence.”
As deadline for Trump’s colleges compact looms, schools signal dissent
Of the original nine schools that received the Trump administration's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, the majority have indicated they are not planning on signing.
Can collagen supplements improve your skin? Here’s what the research shows
With age comes wisdom. And wrinkles. And joint pain. In wellness circles, the buzz is that collagen supplements can help with all these concerns. But are these claims something you should swallow?
Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia’s presidential runoff, topping right-wing rival
Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidency with 54% of the vote, ending 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party amid economic turmoil.
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.
