The perception of an increase in violent crime in some of Alabama's metropolitan areas has policymakers in the affected regions searching for answers.
Democrats who run Alabama's larger cities blame the legislature for the spike because of the 2022 constitutional law.
Republican lawmakers have disputed that claim, arguing that the law applies to the entire state, but the impacted areas are isolated within Alabama's cities.
One possible remedy comes from State Rep. Reed Ingram (R-Pike Road), who is considering a law that would compel the State of Alabama to intervene when municipal governments and their police departments have consistently failed to maintain public safety.
During an appearance on Wednesday's broadcast of Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Ingram laid out his vision for how the law, if enacted, could work.
"[W]hat we need to do is hold these municipalities accountable for their crime that's going up because, you know when a murder happens or a felony happens in one of these municipalities, we, the state, has to house them. The county tries them, and we have to keep them as long as they're sentenced. The cities have no skin in the game. In Montgomery, Alabama, crime has gotten out of control when you're down more than 40% on law enforcement. And you're doing something wrong when your sheriff's department in that same county is full and is not hiring. And you get down 240 police officers in Montgomery, then your leadership is something's going wrong."
"That's what I'm talking about on Chip [Hill]," he continued. "If you look at 1819 News, that clip that was on there, that's what I'm talking about. It's holding these cities accountable. If we take the city over as far as the law enforcement is concerned. They keep paying the bill, but we put the top man in, the police chief in, to make sure that the day-to-day operations are done correctly. The mayor has no more control.
The Montgomery County lawmaker compared his proposal to the State Board of Education's 2017 takeover of the then-failing Montgomery Public Schools System.
"Yeah, Montgomery MPS was taking change in superintendents like they were socks. You know, they get a good one in here and couldn't control him or her when they wanted to do the right thing, and they wanted to get into the hiring and the firing and hiring people that were friends and part of a sorority and a fraternity instead of hiring somebody that was qualified, and they couldn't handle that one. So they just get out of them. You know, they had five and like six years one time on the superintendent, I think."
"And so it's the same thing. I mean, we're going through police chiefs that has had multiple sexual harassments in other states, and he hires them because I heard it was kin to him. I don't know that for a fact, but you just can't hire somebody like that and then put somebody else in and then put them on administrative leave. It's just the morale is not good. So we would bring a top person in to be that position and take it over until, probably for a calendar year at least. And I'm working with the AG on this bill and with ALEA, and we'll have the bill hopefully drafted right by Friday."
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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