Current:Home > reviewsAlabama taps state and federal agencies to address crime in Montgomery -EquityZone
Alabama taps state and federal agencies to address crime in Montgomery
View
Date:2025-04-18 11:13:28
MONTGOMERY (AP) — A coalition of Alabama officials announced a new task force that will use state and federal resources to address crime in the state’s capital, amid a persistent staffing shortage in the Montgomery Police Department.
The Metro Area Crime Suppression unit will use resources from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to respond to local emergency calls, officials announced at a news conference Thursday morning.
In the 12 days that the unit has been in operation, the task force has arrested nearly 50 people and made over 400 traffic stops, Interim Montgomery Police Chief James Graboys said.
“As Alabamians, we have no tolerance for violent crime, and our capital city should reflect that mantra. This coalition is a strong statement that Alabama’s law enforcement agencies are united,” Attorney General Steve Marshall said.
As of May, Montgomery employed only 290 of the city’s allotted 490 officers, according to Capitol City Fraternal Order of Police President Everette Johnson.
Graboys declined to say Thursday whether the department has made progress on hiring since then. But he said, “I want to hire as many officers as I can.”
Officials didn’t specify how much the unit would cost or how many officers had been trained so far. But Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor indicated that the task force could potentially expand to other parts of the state. ___
Safiyah Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Trump's 'stop
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Ranking
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
Recommendation
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
Trump's 'stop
Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
B.A. Parker is learning the banjo