- An Alabama House committee approved a bill requiring cities like Montgomery to maintain a specific ratio of law enforcement officers to residents or face potential state takeover of their police departments.
An Alabama House committee approved a bill that requires cities, Montgomery in particular, to maintain a specific ratio of law enforcement officers to residents or have the state oversee their departments.
SB 298, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, requires larger urban cities to have at least 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents to address crime within five years. Otherwise, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency can recruit other agencies to fill the vacancy and charge the department for the additional cost for the additional officers.
“I have got more questions, comments begging, pleading to do something about public safety in Montgomery,” Barfoot said in an interview with the media following the meeting…