The Birmingham Crime Commission, formed to tackle the city's escalating homicide rate, has issued its first report. The report emphasizes a comprehensive approach to crime reduction, encompassing both immediate and long-term solutions. Commissioners stressed the urgency of the situation, highlighting the city's highest homicide count since 1933.
Published: Jan. 06, 2025, 12:38 p.m. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is joined by the Birmingham Crime Commission on Jan. 6, 2025, after they released their first report. (Photo by Greg Garrison/AL.com)The Birmingham Crime Commission, launched several months ago to address the city’s homicide crisis – specifically gun-related murders – has completed an initial report that calls for a multi-faceted crime-fighting strategy focusing on both immediate and long-term solutions.
“Birmingham’s current trajectory is untenable,’’ the commission wrote. “But with bold leadership, innovative strategies and collective commitment, the city can transform the future and realize the vision of becoming the safest city in America.”Revenge, machine gun conversion devices and mass shootings drove the number of people killed to heights not seen since 1933, Of the 151 homicides, one involved a fatal shooting by a Birmingham police officer, which BPD does not include in its homicide count, three victims wounded in previous years who died in 2024, and 11 others that were ruled justified. Birmingham in 2024 had the highest number of homicides since at least 1933. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters lost their lives to violence.Woodfin said this morning it’s easy to ask what the mayor is doing or what the police department is doing. The Crime Commission, however, adds a variety of other community stakeholders, including businessmen into the discussion.The Woodfin commission is co-chaired by Ralph Williams Jr., vice president of Alabama Power’s Birmingham Division, and Lee Styslinger III, Co-chairman of Altec Inc. It is also aided by former Birmingham Police Chief and retired Lt. General A.C. Roper, the first African American officer to achieve that U.S Army Reserve ranking. “When we put it all together, it’s a road map,” Roper said after the release of the report this morning. “There’s urgency now, but we want to maintain the momentu
BIRMINGHAM CRIME HOMICIDE CRISIS GUN VIOLENCE CRIME COMMISSION SAFETY
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