Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed delivered his annual state of the city address Tuesday evening to hundreds gathered at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. Here are five key takeaways from Reed’s speech.
Crime
In June, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies re-accredited the Montgomery Police Department. Only 5% of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies received the accreditation.
Reed did not release any statistics concerning violent crime as he did last year. In 2023, there were 75 homicides.
Reed’s annual address happened the same day that MPD announced arrest of two teens in the killing of Sidney Lanier High School student Michael Anthony Cole Jr. Reed did not address the Cole case directly, though he did advocate for more services on the front end of the problem, including services for children. He called for the community to come together and support each other.
“While we cannot change the past, what we can do is initiate policy and do the work to make sure the next generation has that support, has those advantages, is given those opportunities,” Reed said.