House considers bill allowing state takeover of Alabama police departments

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Rep. Reed Ingram (R-Pike Road) said crime has gotten out of hand. He said his bill will do more to curb lawlessness in some Alabama cities.

“I kind of think of the state being the parent, and the county and the municipalities being the siblings, kind of,” said Ingram. He said those siblings need help.

His bill allows the governor and attorney general to pick an interim police chief to lead departments in high crime cities. That’s if they find an ongoing threat to public safety. Which means the department is operating at a 30% capacity. Rep. Ingram said this bill would work in cities like Birmingham, where recruitment has been a concern.

“A lot of times when people leave a job, it’s not always about money. It’s about working conditions. And yes, this will help in Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Bessemer,” said Ingram. “And, bringing up Bessemer it’s probably one of the highest crimes in the country.”

Interim chiefs would serve no more than six months. But, Calera Police Chief David Hyche said a change in leadership alone won’t bring down high crime.

“If you were named interim chief for six months, I’m not sure there’s much that you could do,” he explained. “With the crime rates that we have in cities like Montgomery and Birmingham, the causes go far beyond just the chief of police.”

Hyche said more unity is the answer across every department in a county.

“All the cities in the county, as well as the sheriff’s department, police department, with maybe a joint violent crime task force, if everybody would buy into that and work together. But, it would be tough,” he remarked.

Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) said she wants to discuss the bill further with Ingram, as far as implementation and who has the powers to appoint the chief. She said there needs to be more transparency when it comes to crime rates.

“It’s just not a good look to be known to be number two or three in the country for violent crime,” she said.

Ingram said the legislature it united on fighting crime.

“We want to send a strong message that if you’re gonna commit a crime, you need to go to a different state. We’re serious about correcting crime,” said Ingram. “And, we’re serious about keeping you locked up if you commit the crime.”

The bill was up for a vote in the House today, but was ultimately carried over. Ingram said he wants to make sure he has the support for it on both sides of the aisle.