Bill Would Require Alabama Police Agencies to Report Staffing Levels

The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require police departments to file annual public reports on how many police officers they employ.

The bill, by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D- Birmingham, says each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency must submit a report by July 1, 2025, and then annually on every February 1, showing how many certified, sworn, law enforcement officers it has.

The reports would go to the Alabama Justice Information Commission, which would share the information with the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency and the state attorney general.

ALEA would compile the reports and publish the information annually on its website.

Givan is running for mayor of Birmingham and has made the level of violent crime in the city an issue in the campaign. Givan said she was asked by House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R- Rainsville, to sponsor the legislation.

“I’m not pushing this issue because I’m running for mayor,” Givan said. “I’ve been talking about this issue for eight years - people that are dying in the city of Birmingham.

“That’s a serious thing for me. When I get that call from a mother who’s lost their child, and they have that screeching scream in their voice, that’s serious.”

Birmingham ended 2024 with 152 homicides, breaking its record set in 1933.

Rep. Allen Treadaway, R- Morris, who spent a career in law enforcement and retired as assistant police chief in Birmingham, is a co-sponsor of the bill.

Treadaway was appointed to a committee on crime and public safety by Ledbetter. Treadaway said he sought information on police staffing levels from Birmingham and Montgomery as part of that work, but said he got no response to his letters and emails.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, in a statement on Wednesday, disputed that.

“Neither I, my Chief of Staff, nor Chief of Police have any record of receiving a letter from Rep. Treadaway,” Reed said.

Treadaway said the information is needed to help determine how the state can help cities fight crime.

“I’ve always felt that any taxpayer-funded jobs, there should be complete transparency there,” Treadaway said.

“And during my 31 years in the city of Birmingham, we’ve always made that public. Not only did we make it public, we made it public what we had in the academy that was fixing to graduate, and what we anticipated that would be in the net academy.

“So this whole secrecy is somewhat shocking to me. Why we won’t publicize these numbers or give accurate numbers, especially to a committee that is trying to bring resources to help with the violent crime?”

Rep. Kenyatta Hassell, D- Montgomery, said police departments are already reporting their staffing levels but opposed the idea of making that information public. Hassell compared it to an army not wanting to tell an opposing army how many soldiers it has.

“I’ll never report to the enemy I’ve got a lack of police officers,” Hassell said.

Givan said criminals already know if there is a shortage of police officers.

Givan said it’s important for families to know about the availability of police officers and how fast they can respond to emergencies.

“The realization is the people deserve the right to know who is representing them in the law enforcement field,” she said. “They need to know when they get down below a certain number among of sworn law enforcement officers so they can make wise decisions as to where they go.”

“It’s a matter of public safety.”

Givan added an amendment to name the bill the Sergeant Wytasha Carter Truth and Transparency Act, in honor of a Birmingham police officer who was killed on duty in 2019.

The House passed the bill by a vote of 86-0, with 14 abstentions. It moves to the Senate.

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