Safe City Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Birmingham Police Department’s
Road Map to the Future
by Chief A. C. Roper

 

There is no single cause for violent crime in Birmingham, so there are no simple solutions. Unfortunately, violence is not a new problem for our city. It will take time, resources and community involvement to accomplish my vision for Birmingham, which is this city being one of the safest cities of its size in the nation.

In order to accomplish this lofty but achievable vision, I believe this department must return to the forefront of policing by establishing three foundations of success. We must engage, enhance, and execute. I will explain my view of each of these foundations.

ENGAGE – With a population of approximately 230,000 residents and only 746 Police Officers, it would be foolish to believe that we can accomplish our mission alone. In order to be successful, this department must engage the community and surrounding metropolitan area in a more effective and efficient manner. The BPD will be more transparent and responsive to the public we serve. We will not operate in a shroud of secrecy but will regularly release statistics and other pertinent information. Eventually this information will be placed on the department’s web site. We will maintain and strengthen established relationships and develop partnerships where none previously existed. Specifically:

 

1. Community – We will actively seek out community stakeholders, neighborhood associations and neighborhood watch groups to partner with us; recognizing that we will only be as successful as our community support allows. As we identify areas of concern, we will partner with those organizations who share a common interest in problem solving and conflict resolution. This means BPD Officers will work with residents to prevent crimes, reduce blight, and solve problems related to traffic, public safety, and other quality of life issues.  Violence cannot thrive in neighborhoods where the police and public have a strong partnership.

 

1.  Faith Community – We are asking every faith based organization to get involved in the area of crime prevention and community restoration; especially in regards to our youth and teens. We understand that these organizations represent various denominations and resource pools, but we are asking each of them , at a minimum, to make a commitment at their comfort level to positively impact the immediate community near their place of worship. In other words, we are calling on the faith community to adopt their “block” and make a difference in their community and beyond.

 

1. Business Community – It is imperative that we engage the business community as never before. The Birmingham business community is rich in resources and skillsets which can benefit this department and its efforts. We will develop and incorporate the “Birmingham Police Foundation” as an umbrella organization to facilitate a renewed connection with our business community.

 

1. Law Enforcement Partners – To be successful, we must strengthen our partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, corporate security offices and Criminal Justice representatives. The uninhibited exchange of ideas and mutual cooperation in addressing regional crime issues will serve us and our communities well since crime has no geographic borders.

 

1. Victim Liaison Coordinator – We have appointed a Coordinator to lead our efforts in maintaining open lines of communication with victims of violent crimes, their families, and other key stake holders. Although every Officer and professional staff member is required to treat people with dignity and respect, this person will help cut through the bureaucracy to ensure victims’ questions and concerns are addressed. This position is of such importance to my administration that it reports directly to the Chief’s Office.

 

1. Academic Community – We must develop purposeful relationships with our academic community. We recognize that our local colleges and universities are rich in education, talent, and experience which can benefit this department. In addition, these institutions serve as a resource for prospective police employees.

 

1. Media – We will partner with various media outlets (television, print, radio, internet, and advertising, etc.) to prevent crimes and increase visibility of unsolved cases by developing additional crime tip-lines, and reward programs.

 

1. Schools - We will focus on our youth by partnering with the Birmingham School System to implement a truancy reduction program and establish safety zones around our schools.  We will examine methods to deal more effectively with kids who skip school or are out on the streets late at night where they become easy targets for violence. We will also actively seek out and support alternative programs which reduce youth violence and criminal behavior.

 

1. ENHANCE – In order to be successful, the BPD must enhance our personnel, support systems and infrastructure. We must ensure that all personnel understand that their role is part of a collaborative effort with other members of the department. In fact, our policies, procedures, and most importantly our practices, must reflect and support our mission. This must be done to create a new culture of fairness and respect within the BPD regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. These issues are intra-departmental but negatively affect our crime reduction efforts outside the walls.

 

1. Personnel – Our personnel are truly our greatest resource. We cannot be successful without putting “boots on the ground.” Our well publicized personnel shortage has negatively affected the very fabric of this organization. Promotions, unit transfers, and workload distribution have suffered through the years as this issue has worsened. This issue has seriously impacted the area of supervision. We are currently short 26 Sergeants, 11 Lieutenants, and 3 Captains. This department is a much smaller police department today with 760 Officers than it was in 2005 when it had 846 Officers. In order to address this crisis:

• My goal is to hire a minimum of 100 new Officers this year. This will require us to increase our marketing and recruiting efforts, but we will not lower our hiring standards. To better publicize our Officer Lateral Transfer Program, we must ensure that our salary and benefit package is competitive with surrounding jurisdictions. Annual evaluations of our pay and benefits will be required to ensure competitiveness.
• This department has historically conducted two academy training classes per year. In order to accomplish my goal, we will conduct an additional academy training class this year for a total of three classes. We will continue to run three classes per year until this personnel issue is resolved.
• In spite of a national shortage of police officers, I have set a goal of a 95% officer assignment rate. In other words, I want to maintain a 95% fill rate of our Officer slots at all times. I believe we can reach that goal within two years.
• It is not enough to recruit, hire and train new officers, we must do a better job of retaining our personnel. Our twenty year retirement program allows our most experienced and well trained Officers to leave the department at a relatively young age. In order to reduce our attrition rate, we must develop additional incentives and programs to reward our personnel. This will take a collaborative effort involving the department, the Fraternal Order of Police, Mayor and City Council.
• We must develop a formalized career management program to assist our officers in achieving their personal career goals in this department.

 

1. Technology - Our personnel are working hard but must work smarter. We must acquire and leverage additional computer systems and technology platforms to enhance our crime fighting efforts. I am encouraged by some recent gains in this area:

 

• Shot-Spotter, our acoustic gunfire identification system is on-line and just recorded its first arrest. Our 24/7 crime video surveillance system was approved by the City Council and is now being staffed for implementation. I expect this program to be successful and grow into additional neighborhoods. Video cameras are not a perfect solution by themselves, but can help deter crime and vagrancy.
• Although long overdue, the department is in the process of upgrading its records management system.
• We must develop a more efficient computerized process of collecting, analyzing, and mapping crime data in order to address crime “hot spots” in their early stages. This will assist our Precinct Commanders in putting the appropriate resources in the right location at the right time.
• In addition, we must increase the number of laptop computers (mobile data terminals) installed in marked police vehicles. These computers enable Patrol Officers to more efficiently check on wanted persons and run vehicle registrations. Such enhanced laptop capability will result in the ability to generate criminal incident reports directly from the field through wireless transmission.

 

1. Facilities - We must develop a strategic plan to address various police facility issues. The North and West Patrol Precincts; Tactical HQs, and Municipal Jail are in dire need of replacement or extensive renovations. In addition, the appearance of Police HQs is below any recognizable standard. A strategic plan is necessary to develop the timetables and identify the appropriate funding sources for these capital expenditures.

 

1. Fleet – The marked police vehicle is the most visible sign of municipal government for our citizens and tourists alike. These vehicles must look sharp and be in sound working condition at all times. In order to accomplish this task, we must increase the number and quality of our police fleet; marked and unmarked. This will require the implementation and funding of a standardized vehicle rotation policy.

 

 

1. EXECUTE – As a department, we must execute effective crime fighting strategies. This means a “bottoms up” approach which requires our beat officers to be familiar with individuals on their beats who are involved in criminal behavior, as well as parolees, probationers, and registered sex offenders. Effective execution also requires a “top down” approach where our chain of command works diligently to provide resources, and remove any obstacles that inhibit our ability to reduce crime. We must have decisive leadership at the point of attack. If necessary, I am willing to reengineer every system and procedure in this Department to support our crime fighting mission. Specifically:

 

1. We must ensure efficient deployment of personnel by:

• Evaluating and redesigning our current beat system based on changes in calls for service and population shifts over the last decade.
• Establishing a more effective call screening system where certain non-emergency/non-crime incident reports are taken over the phone in order to free the beat officers to respond to more serious calls in the field.

 

1. Implement two Officer patrol vehicles in high crime areas with the ultimate goal of converting a minimum of fifty percent of all beat cars to two Officer vehicles. This will increase Officer safety and reduce response times to high priority calls.

 

1. Increase our commitment to traffic enforcement.  More traffic stops mean more contacts that can lead to arrests, searches, and gun confiscations.  Traffic enforcement also means safer streets for all motorists and pedestrians. 

 

1. Implement information driven crime analysis briefings and mapping so that key department leaders and units may synchronize their efforts to address community quality of life issues. This will refocus the Department's non-enforcement units to support the crime fighting mission by making certain that all key organizational systems deliver efficiently run, fairly administered, professional services to the Department. In other words, we must keep the main thing; the main thing.

 

1. We must channel additional resources into solving violent crimes, especially homicides. We must increase the size of these investigative units, increase our intelligence collection capabilities and improve our coordination with state and federal crime task forces.

 

1. We will refer as many individuals as possible who commit gun crimes or who possess illegal firearms for federal prosecutions.  Federal prosecutions normally result in longer sentences for convicted individuals and the sentences are typically served in remote locations. We must send the message that if you commit a violent crime with a gun in Birmingham, you will pay a severe penalty.

 

1. Although we’re the largest police department in the State, we do not have a dedicated warrant unit. To address this shortfall, we will develop a warrant unit assigned to the Tactical Division to target career criminals and others with outstanding felony warrants and certain quality of life misdemeanor warrants.

 

1. Ensure Precinct Commanders are fully equipped with the personnel and resources to effectively engage the criminal element in their assigned precincts. Conduct department wide street level crime operations to support the precincts with the full understanding that this war will be fought block by block.

 

     

This roadmap is my general guidance for the department as we move into the future. Together, the leadership team and I will develop the objectives, work through the staffing process and project the resources and timelines that support this general overview. With the support of our various communities, and our dedicated workforce, I truly believe we can accomplish the mission and make Birmingham a much safer place to live and raise a family.