Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond on Thursday announced he will retire from the department effective Nov. 29. Mayor Randall Woodfin named Deputy Chief Michael Pickett to take over as interim police chief when Thurmond departs. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council will hear public comments on the Safe Streets pilot program, which closed off streets in the East Lake area. Read more.
Birmingham officials’ anger over a weekend mass shooting was slightly tempered Tuesday by a vote to fund another year of a juvenile re-entry program that’s shown success in reducing violence. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday revoked all city licenses for The Quest Club, a longstanding LGBTQ meeting spot in Central Alabama. Read more.
Birmingham leaders next month will discuss revoking the business license of The Quest Club Inc., a private 24-hour nightclub that was the scene of a May shooting in which two men died. Read more.
A pilot Safe Streets Initiative launched Monday in East Lake is blocking off key entry and exit points in an attempt to curb crime. Read more.
The Birmingham Reentry Alliance will provide wrap-around services to dozens of men and women adjusting to life after prison. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution expressing sympathies for six people killed in recent shootings. The victims included a city employee as well as the pregnant cousin of Mayor Randall Woodfin. In his comments to the council Tuesday, the mayor expressed his frustration with the lack of leads in finding suspects in the shootings. “When you have something like this happen in your community, it's important we enact justice as swiftly as possible. But it turns out BPD can’t do it themselves … it takes people with information to come forward,” Woodfin said. Read more.
Crime in Birmingham is running behind last year’s rate, at least for most crimes. Auto thefts are up more than 30% year to date over last year’s numbers, 170 already this year compared to 129 this time last year, according to this week’s crime summary released by the Birmingham Police Department. On the other hand,
Some advocates said the law’s requirement of an hour-long training on working with people with “invisible” disabilities and sensory needs is a good start. Read more.
