Woodfin tasks new commission with reducing homicides
Former Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper speaks at a press conference at Birmingham City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced a new advisory commission Tuesday tasked with finding ways to reduce homicides in the city.
Leaders in law enforcement, the business sector, religious groups and others will draw inspiration from violence reduction methods proven by cities from around the country.
“Good mayors steal the best ideas from other cities and you find those ideas and you tailor them to your city,” Woodfin said during the press conference at city hall.
Private funding through the Birmingham Police Foundation will support the commission’s work as the 21 members gather information on strategies that will help reduce gun violence in Birmingham. They plan to give the city an initial report on their recommendations sometime in the next 60 days.
“The beauty of this is it won’t be me or the mayor’s office or the [city] council getting in their way,” Woodfin said. “So they’ll take the lead on how they go about pulling their information; looking under the hood, if you would.”
The commission will be co-chaired by Lee Styslinger III, co-chairman of Altec Inc., and Ralph Wiliams Jr., vice president of Birmingham’s division of Alabama Power. Former Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper, who is advising the commission, says homicides are particularly difficult to combat.
“The bottom line is this homicide issue is a wicked problem,” Roper said. “And by that, I mean, it’s complex. It’s resistant to change and resistant to common solutions.”
The move comes after four people were killed in a mass shooting in Five Points South last month. Woodfin said while the city struggles with many types of crime, the citizen commission’s singular purpose is to address reducing homicides. According to al.com Birmingham has had 130 homicides this year as mid-October. The Gun Violence Archives reports that three of those were mass shootings, defined as shootings in which four or more people were killed. The city could set a new record for homicides in a single year.
Israel says it has recovered the bodies of 2 hostages
The bodies of Judy Weinstein Haggai, 70, an Israeli who held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and her husband, Gad Haggai, 72, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, were recovered, the country's military said.
Spring TV season was busy. Here’s what to catch up on
The spring has been full of great TV. Here's what you might have missed.
Orville Peck always wants a sense of mystery
Orville Peck is performing on Broadway as the Emcee in Cabaret. His winding path to his dream role included a stint as a punk drummer and hitting pause on his country career to get sober.
FEMA was starting to fix long-standing problems. Then came the Trump administration
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a long history of failing to help those who need assistance the most after disasters. Biden-era changes meant to fix some of those problems now face an uncertain future.
Divorce lawyers say it’s a seasonal business. Here’s why
Divorce lawyers know certain times of the year are much busier than others. They and researchers have found seasonal patterns around divorce filings.
International students look to the U.K. instead of the U.S. amid Trump’s visa plans
Planned U.S. visa restrictions are causing students around the world to consider going to the United Kingdom instead.
