Birmingham Homicides Down 47 Percent Over Four Years
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: January 4, 2011
It's a major crackdown on violent crime .Recent stats show the number Birmingham homicide cases has decreased 47 percent over the past 4 years. A drastic drop under Chief AC Roper's leadership.
"We've had great success over the past several years. But I say that with caution because if any family has lost a loved one then that's one homicide too many," says AC Roper, Birmingham Police Chief.
Here's the numbers:
109 homicides in 2006
93 homicides in 2007
88 homicides in 2008
71 homicides in 2009
58 homicides in 2010.
"Not only are we having fewer homicides but we're solving more of them," says Roper.
Of the 58 cases last year, officers have made arrests in 36 of them so far.
"We're a more responsive police department," says Roper.
"It requires patience, understanding, and prayer as well," says William Bell, Birmingham Mayor.
"I'm proud of the work that our detectives and our officers are doing and the community support that were starting to receive," says Roper.
That support includes calls from the community. Anonymous Crimestopper tips have been key to crushing crime.
"We're starting to see people call in more now and that really makes a difference because we're driven by information," says Roper.
It's a difference in numbers officers will put behind them as they hit the streets in 2011,
"We've made tremendous progress but we still have a lot of work to do so we're not resting on our loss," says Roper.
