![State Representative from Alabama Voices Concerns About Staffing Issues in Jefferson County State Representative from Alabama Voices Concerns About Staffing Issues in Jefferson County](https://i2.wp.com/kubrick.htvapps.com/vidthumb/2f08ffcb-9e25-42cc-b17a-18dfca807876/bf920d9a-ca00-4bba-a64d-259283028541.jpg?crop=0.793xw:0.792xh;0.207xw,0&resize=1200:*&w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
The Birmingham Police Department admits it is understaffed, and now a state representative is calling staffing issues a crisis. The BPD typically keeps its staffing secret, but City Council President Darrell O’Quinn recently revealed that the department is short nearly 300 officers. Allen Treadaway tells WVTM 13 he doesn’t use the word crisis often, but he believes the number of staff within the department has gotten there. Treadaway served with BPD for 31 years and retired as Deputy Chief of Police. He believes five years ago there were 400 to 450 additional law enforcement officers throughout Jefferson County, including the sheriff’s office and BPD. The District 51 representative says the lack of transparency between the department and the public is frustrating and the public deserves to know what issues BPD is facing. “In Jefferson County, the two largest police departments cannot recruit or retain police officers,” Treadaway said. “We have known this for several years. With that, that decline has reached crisis level and there is currently no plan in place. “If we are sitting here talking about this issue 12, 24, 36 months from now, you will see how serious the crime is.” Treadaway specifically said that in Birmingham officers are doing a lot more work and getting paid less money. than the competing department, not only in Jefferson County but throughout the country. He estimates that sometimes detectives may be working 120 cases when the number is usually closer to 60. “The territorial coverage is the same,” Treadaway said. “The service or dispatch calls per month are the same, so law enforcement needs are still very high. “They haven’t changed, but officers are responding to those needs that have dramatically decreased to the point where it’s making it very unsafe for people to live and visit the city.” Treadaway hopes the department finds a solution to address his staff. problems soon. He believes it could take three or four years to even hire a third of the officers BPD would need to be fully staffed. WVTM 13 reached out to the Jefferson County Personnel Board but has not yet received a response. We also contacted Birmingham Police but were told they would comment on staffing.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama. —
The Birmingham Police Department admits it is understaffed, and now a state representative is calling staffing issues a crisis.
The BPD typically keeps its staff numbers secret, but City Council President Darrell O’Quinn recently revealed that the department is short nearly 300 officers.
State Rep. Allen Treadaway tells WVTM 13 he doesn’t use the word crisis often, but he believes the number of staff within the department has gotten there.
Treadaway served with BPD for 31 years and retired as deputy police chief. He believes five years ago there were 400 to 450 additional law enforcement officers throughout Jefferson County, including the sheriff’s office and BPD.
The District 51 representative says the lack of transparency between the department and the public is frustrating and the public deserves to know what issues BPD is facing.
“In Jefferson County, the two largest police departments are unable to recruit or retain police officers,” Treadaway said. “We have known this for several years. With that, that decline has reached crisis level and there is currently no plan in place. “If we are sitting here talking about this issue in 12, 24, 36 months, we will see how serious the crime is.”
Treadaway specifically said that in Birmingham officers are doing much more work and making less money than the competing department, not just in Jefferson County but across the country. He estimates that sometimes detectives may be working on 120 cases when the number is usually closer to 60.
“The territorial coverage is the same,” Treadaway said. “The service or dispatch calls per month are the same, so law enforcement needs are still very high. “They haven’t changed, but officers are responding to those needs that have dramatically decreased to the point where it’s making it very unsafe for people to live and visit the city.”
Treadaway hopes the department will soon find a solution to address its staffing issues. He believes it could take three or four years to hire even a third of the officers the BPD would need to be fully staffed.
WVTM 13 reached out to the Jefferson County Personnel Board but has not yet received a response. We also contacted Birmingham Police but were told they would comment on staffing.
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