The Birmingham Times
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s $15.8 million Police Officer Recruitment and Retention Plan aimed at increasing the department’s ability to compete with surrounding municipalities to recruit and retain officers.
“The City of Birmingham is hiring,” said Woodfin. “We’re looking for men and women who understand what service is, who understand what community is, who understand what building trust is. We are looking for men and women who want to be the face of law and order.”
The goal of the recruitment and retention plan is to strengthen the police force through an aggressive investing in new recruits and current officers, specifically on hiring 172 patrol officers, said Woodfin.
Councilor LaTonya Tate, chair of the council’s Public Safety committee, said, “Addressing this issue is going to take a unified front. I’m not in the business of pointing fingers about how we got here, but I know that Birmingham is a resilient and beautiful city. We’re committed to giving our law enforcement officials the tools they need to succeed here and help Birmingham reach its full potential.”
The money for recommendations will come from the City’s General Reserve Fund — as of 2023, that account totaled $290 million. Woodfin has said this would not be a recurring $15.8 million expenditure.
The plan approved Tuesday:
- Increases the recruitment bonus to $10,000
- Establishes a quarterly retention bonus of $2,500 for officers with two or more years at BPD
- Creates a take home vehicle program with 75 vehicles
- Starts a part-time reserve officer program which would ease staffing demands during large events
- Invests in recruitment marketing and officer recruitment consulting
- Launches a police trainee program which allows BPD to hire immediately and begin academy preparation for recruits
- Offers $5,000 in relocation assistance for new officers living more than 80 miles away from Birmingham
- Provides a $1,000 referral incentive for officers with BPD
- Begins a mental health observance leave policy for officers for 8 hours per month
In Birmingham, there is currently a shortage of patrol officers citywide. This upcoming class of officers in the Birmingham Police Academy has 53 individuals currently enrolled, which will make up a significant portion of the current staffing attrition.
These staffing numbers are in line with a national trend of police officer shortages in large cities across the country following COVID, according to the city. In 2020, BPD hired 67 officers, and 35 retired; In 2021, BPD hired 51 officers and 47 retired that same year; In 2022, BPD hired 31 and 14 officers eligible for retirement took it; In 2023, 19 officers were hired and 12 retired.
Two weeks ago, 78 hopeful applicants took part in the BPD’s physical ability screening, the largest number since 2019. For those interested, the Birmingham Police Department is currently hiring.
People who wish to serve their community, can visit: https://police.birminghamal.gov/join-the-team/
