In light of Birmingham’s most recent fatal mass shooting, state authorities are now offering the city’s embattled police department additional resources to fight the rapidly growing crime rate.
Alabama’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Steve Marshall, said he’s prepared to help utilize a similar effort to the recently-formed Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit in Montgomery. Following a specially-called meeting with local law enforcement in Birmingham this week, Marshall said the format could help Birmingham based on the unit’s success in Alabama’s capital city.
“We’ve taken guns away from the bad guys,” Marshall told CBS 42 this week. “We’ve put them behind bars, and Montgomery is safer right now because of that, and we have the ability to do that in other communities as well.”
“With the collective efforts of both the state, local sheriff, as well as the local police department, when we are able to surge individuals from law enforcement into areas that need presence, we’ve seen a precipitous drop. Not only in violent crimes but other crimes as well.”
Marshall said two of state’s main population centers are responsible for the disproportionate volume of shootings. “Let’s make it clear. We’re not seeing mass shootings in every city across Alabama. We’ve seen it in certain communities. But it is not a widespread problem across the state. Doesn’t mean it’s not serious because it is.”
Beyond shootings that generate widespread attention, Marshall also told CBS 42 that truly confronting crime issues involves law enforcement recruitment and retention.
“Encourage individuals to be able to serve and have experience and train law enforcement in our communities in numbers that work. Because here’s the reality: In many cases, criminals are just like children. They need boundaries.”
“When we don’t have the presence of law enforcement in our communities, that’s when bad things can happen.”
The Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit works with the U.S. Department of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. The task force’s primary job is currently responding to emergency calls within Montgomery.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
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