By William Thornton | wthornton@al.com
In 2025, AL.com’s “Beyond the Violence” project, in partnership with The Birmingham Times, examines whether Birmingham can grow beyond its crime problem and become safer, healthier and happier.
How much is Birmingham willing to spend to bring down its historic homicide rate?
The Birmingham Crime Commission report, released earlier this year, notes efforts requested by local residents and implemented in other American cities.
Trying to put a price tag on the initiative can be challenging, as some of the goals are meant to play out over decades and involve not just public but private sector efforts. However, the report was clear that “immediate transformational action” is needed, with “sustained funding and resources.”
Implementing those changes could cost millions, but not all will require new funding.
Speaking with AL.com, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said many of the report’s 82 recommendations do not require a cost beyond what’s already been budgeted for police and emergency services.
For example, the report named four main emphases — focused deterrence efforts against known offenders, violence intervention programs, shooting reviews and a focus on hotspots. Some of these goals are part of the normal duties of police and investigators. The city was already working on other recommendations, such as hiring more officers.
Woodfin said city officials have not been initially as focused on the overall costs as much as implementing the recommendations as events allow.
“We need to just continue to flesh out what they look like, is there a cost to these, and what is the total,” he said.
Looking at only some of the recommendations, based on existing city expenses and past actions, it could cost up to $28.5 million over several years to implement some manpower, infrastructure and programming needs. Not all of that money would have to come from the city, but that’s not counting renovating or building a new jail, a potential big ticket item.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the report’s recommendations, and indications of how much they might cost:
Police manpower: The commission report states that the Birmingham Police Department currently operates at about 73% strength.
BPD has a goal of expanding its workforce to anywhere from 850 to up to 1,000 sworn officers and 271 civilian staff. The report says reaching these benchmarks have been constrained by, in part, “budget limitations.”
Back in October, the City Council allocated $15.8 million to fill 172 empty patrol positions, a plan proposed by Woodfin in the aftermath of the Sept. 21 mass shooting at Hush Lounge at Five Points South that left four dead and 17 injured.
Currently, the city has budgeted for 853 total sworn officer positions, and has 216 vacancies, which includes captains, lieutenants, sergeants and 195 police officer vacancies. The city’s recruitment and retention plan prioritizes patrol officers to strengthen police coverage in Birmingham neighborhoods.
The city looks to fill more than 100 vacant positions this year.
Civilian positions, which includes a wide variety of jobs ranging from administrative clerks to parking enforcement officers to security guards, has about 40 vacant positions.
Looking at that October plan, it stated that BPD officer salaries range from $50,190 to $77,854 annually, for an average of about $64,000.
If the city were to reach for that much larger goal of 1,000 officers, it would take a total of about $9.4 million to fill out the remaining positions, based on the average salary.
Buildings: Birmingham for at least two decades has sought an alternative to its aging city jail, with various solutions floated, such as creating a regional jail and working with the county to house inmates. The jail is currently the subject of a lawsuit and, last year, a squabble between the city and county.
The report states that the now 40-year-old city jail, which holds about 200 inmates, requires substantial renovations, and all four police precincts and other facilities require updates.
“Recognizing the importance of infrastructure, the department is advocating for a new or modernized Public Safety Facility,” the report states.
There was no estimate on how much any of these projects would cost. But as state officials are finding, the cost of building a new jail can quickly rise.
But Woodfin and Interim Police Chief Michael Pickett said any upgrades in facilities would have to come after a comprehensive, third-party assessment about prioritizing personnel — how many officers are needed in what areas of the city, based on data.
“Physical plants should definitely be data-driven,” Woodfin said. “Substations, central, whatever. Any of that is going to be determined. You should first determine where should your manpower be allocated.” He indicated those decisions ultimately would be made by police.
“It’s my job to fund it,” Woodfin said.
Public safety czar: The report proposed the creation of a “City Public Safety Czar” position. That person would “drive strategy, integration and execution on behalf of the mayor for the police department.”
Woodfin indicated discussions are still ongoing about what such a position would look like within Birmingham’s city government structure, though he indicated the post would not be “over the police” but connect public safety departments, such as police and fire, and other programs, such as community reentry for offenders.
How much would the position cost? That would be up to city officials, but the job might require pay in keeping with existing police leadership rates. Looking at the 2025 budget, recommended pay for police chiefs and deputy police chiefs ranges from $130,000 to as much as $202,000.
Community Violence Intervention: Another suggested initiative was an Office of Safety and Gun Violence Prevention, modeled on other cities. That office would fund community violence intervention programs, which could include everything from counseling to juvenile curfew enforcement.
A similar office in Chattanooga, a Southern city slightly smaller than Birmingham in terms of population, received more than $967,000 in its latest budget.
IT and fleet upgrades: The commission report recommended equipping homicide detectives with updated laptops, modern case management software and “advanced analytical tools to enhance efficiency.”
It also advocated for advanced tools such as pole cameras, mobile surveillance trailers, and Flock cameras, which capture license plates, to target high-crime areas.
In addition, it recommended a leasing model to modernize the department’s vehicle fleet, to ensure every patrol officer has an assigned vehicle to drive to and from work.
According to the city, technology and fleet modernization efforts are underway. Just two years ago, Birmingham spent about $8 million on vehicle fleet upgrades for police, as well as fire trucks and Department of Transportation vehicles.
And last summer, police, partnering with Alabama Power, installed 330 cameras on power poles to monitor public areas. The cost of maintaining the system was estimated to be around $90,000 per month, or $1.08 million a year.
In addition to cameras, one recommendation involved enhanced lighting across all 99 neighborhoods for better visibility and crime deterrence. The city pledged $7.1 million in the 2025 budget toward lighting for the city, the same number as the previous year.
However, not all of those costs will have to be shouldered by the city. As the report noted, there are U.S. Justice Department grants available to upgrade IT systems and cybersecurity measures.
Last year, the DOJ awarded $4.2 million to the city for additional cameras and intelligence resources for its Real Time Crime Center. The city also applied for a $150,000 grant for ballistics tech, laptops, and iPads.
Other initiatives: Beyond these infrastructure costs, there are other recommendations that might be harder to estimate.
For example, the report said the city should “reinvest in mentorship, education and diversion programs to reduce juvenile crime.”
Chief among these was reactivating the Police Athletic Teams, which encouraged cooperation between police and Birmingham juveniles through amateur athletics. That effort is currently underway.
According to tax records, the PAT had expenses of $155,651 in 2019.
The report also recommended educational initiatives for at-risk youth, and an expansion of the RESTORE Juvenile program, which is a partnership with the city of Birmingham, Jefferson County Family Court, Jefferson County Family Resource Center and Jefferson County Juvenile Detention Center.
Birmingham City Council approved nearly $2 million in federal funding to expand the RESTORE program, and $225,000 from the city of Birmingham to continue supporting the program’s efforts. Additional funding for expanding RESTORE was completed and supported by a Department of Justice grant. However, the federal grant is reimbursement-style for $443,407.20. RESTORE does not currently have the funding to get reimbursed because the city funding, $225,000, does not match the federal allocations.
RESTORE would still need additional financial support from the city. In an interview with AL.com, Woodfin said the city plans to expand funding for RESTORE when the new budget starts on July 1.
Of course, ongoing federal downsizing efforts might make any further funding pictures murky.
Woodfin said the city is “building out” its youth programming needs, knowing it will at some point require money from the general fund budget.
And the city can rely on contributions from local businesses and non-profits for some of these actions. But the report mentioned that much of any future effort will have to come from city coffers. It recommended the city identify programs for potential funding and establish two- to three-year pilot funding, with the city continuing to pay for them if they prove successful.
“These institutions can help and be part of the solution, but they are not a substitute for ongoing public funding,“ the report stated.
