Homicide commission report offers strategies to reduce gun violence

 1661678963 
1736238480

Former Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper speaks at a press conference on Jan. 6, 2024, detailing recommendations from an advisory committee on lowering Birmingham's homicide rate.

Noelle Annnonen , WBHM

Following a record breaking year of homicides in Birmingham, a city commission submitted a report on potential solutions for the crisis to the mayor’s office on Monday. The report lays out strategies for how the city can reduce its homicide rate, particularly those stemming from gun violence. 

“We have the vision and determination to make Birmingham the safest city in America,” commission members wrote in the report. 

In October 2024, Mayor Randall Woodfin created an advisory commission made up of law enforcement, business leaders, religious figures and more. They were tasked with finding ways to reduce the city’s homicides and report back to Woodfin’s office within 60 days. The resulting report published this week compiles recommendations based on data, successful strategies used by other cities to reduce violence and community input. 

The report also called the current state of violence untenable and states that Birmingham’s homicide rate is currently seven times higher than the national average. This earned the city consistent rankings among the most dangerous cities in the country per capita for violent crime from 2019 to 2023, according to the report. The commission’s advisor, former Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper stressed the immediate need for solutions at a press conference on Monday. 

“As we all know, 2024 was a horrific year,” Roper said. “What are those programs and strategies we can implement to stop the bloodshed now?”

Recommendations in the 67 page report range from putting up better street lighting and security cameras around the city to targeting high-risk groups through law enforcement and social support.

Woodfin said the highest risk group is young black men who are in poverty and are either not in school or unemployed. The commission’s report emphasizes investment in pathways out of poverty, including education and job training. 

“Concentrated poverty, high unemployment for young black men, our teenage black boys not attending school, all compounded with the staffing issues police departments nationwide are struggling with has created the storm that we face,” Woodfin said. “Making sure that young black men are encouraged and empowered and gainfully employed is absolutely extremely critical to healing the generational issues that are in our community.”

The report also suggests the city expand the police department and implement street outreach, including hospital-based violence intervention programs. It recommended that police focus on crime hotspots around the city and conduct shooting reviews, analyzing violent incidents to identify patterns. 

Birmingham already funded a police recruitment and retention initiative last year. When asked, Woodfin said the difference between the commission’s work and previous efforts to address violence is the greater effort to gather feedback. Commission members represent law enforcement, government and business agencies and solicited input from Birmingham residents, making it a unique initiative. 

Officials offered no timeline as to when the report’s recommendations would be implemented.

The commission says the city should ensure strong and unified leadership among the city, business and community stakeholders. 

“There are too many grieving mothers, too many grieving families in our community,” Woodfin said. “What we need to do is make sure, as leaders in our community, we do everything we can to decrease gun violence in our city so we don’t have to have other grieving families.” 

The report also recommends that the city emphasize community engagement and tailor each action to individual neighborhoods. It suggests the city expand after school and recreational youth programming. It added that more needs to be done for people re-entering their communities after incarceration to support them finding housing, counseling, and jobs. 

“Our resolve is clear,” Woodfin said. “It’s time to get to work.”

A complete copy of the report and the commission’s recommendations can be found on the city website

 

Two children among dead in Russian drone attack on Kyiv, dozens injured

A mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital, including a rare strike in the center of the city, early Thursday killed at least 10 people and wounded 48.

Denmark summons US envoy over claims of interference in Greenland

Denmark's foreign minister summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country for talks after the main national broadcaster reported that at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.

CDC director is out after less than a month; other agency leaders resign

"Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the Department of Health and Human Services wrote in a social media post. Her lawyers said she had neither resigned nor been told she was fired.

Colleges see significant drop in international students as fall semester begins

Delays and increased screenings for visas mean that many students didn't make it to campus on time – and that has some big implications for the economy.

The latest COVID vaccines come with new FDA limits

The Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines, but is restricting them to people at high risk for COVID complications.

Brands are loving Taylor Swift’s engagement. Do they need to calm down?

Companies from Pillsbury to Invisalign to Olipop are cheering — and trying to cash in on — the couple's engagement. Experts spoke to NPR about how brands can strike a better balance.

More Crime Coverage