Before Vision 2040, Montgomery Must Make Public Safety the Priority

Montgomery has every right to dream big about its future. We should want a stronger downtown, thriving neighborhoods, new businesses, better schools, more young families choosing to stay, and a capital city worthy of leading Alabama into the next generation. But before Montgomery asks its citizens to embrace an ambitious vision for 2040, city leaders must confront a much more immediate question: Do the people who live here feel safe today?

For too many Montgomery residents, the answer is no, and that concern is not based on political rhetoric or pessimism. It is backed by years of violent-crime statistics, declining police manpower and, most importantly, by what Montgomery citizens themselves have been telling city leaders for years.

When Montgomery began the original Envision Montgomery 2040 planning process, hundreds of citizens participated and submitted nearly 3,000 comments and ideas about the city's future. Public safety emerged as a significant concern. Residents specifically called for more police officers, greater police presence, reduced crime and neighborhoods where people could go out at night without worrying about their safety.

These concerns did not come from outside critics. They came from Montgomery citizens participating in Montgomery's own visioning process. Those concerns have not disappeared. During the recent debate surrounding Momentum 2040, residents again raised public safety as a fundamental priority. One citizen summarized the issue plainly: when you build public safety first, businesses will come. That is not anti-growth. It is the foundation of growth.

Senator Tommy Tuberville made essentially the same point when he recently addressed the Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce. Coach Tuberville spoke about the need to stop unchecked crime and violence from overwhelming our capital city. He also reminded business leaders that Montgomery is the capital of Alabama and said it should be number one. He talked about attracting investment, keeping businesses here and building the kind of community where people want to live. He is right.

Montgomery's crime statistics explain why public confidence cannot simply be wished into existence. The city recorded 42 homicides in 2019. That number jumped to 68 in 2020 and reached 77 in 2021.

Montgomery then recorded 62 homicides in 2022, 75 in 2023, 61 in 2024 and another 61 in 2025. That is approximately 446 homicides in seven years, an average approaching 64 deaths annually.

There has been encouraging improvement in 2026, and city leaders and law enforcement deserve credit for it. During the first half of this year, homicides fell from 32 during the same period in 2025 to 26. The city has also reported meaningful declines in violent crime and overall major crime. We should welcome every bit of that progress.

But improving from an extraordinarily difficult period does not mean the problem has been solved, and it certainly does not erase years of fear and frustration overnight. Public confidence is earned over time.

Families have to see sustained improvement in their neighborhoods. Business owners have to believe their customers and employees are safe. Parents have to feel comfortable allowing their children to live, work and socialize here. Seniors have to feel secure in their homes. Visitors have to leave Montgomery talking about our history, hospitality and opportunity rather than crime.

Police manpower must be part of this discussion. FBI employment data show Montgomery had approximately 530 sworn police officers in 2011. By 2019, that number had fallen to 467. Comparable 2024 data put the number at roughly 280 sworn officers. Even allowing for differences in assignments and reporting methods, the direction is unmistakable. Montgomery has experienced a dramatic reduction in sworn police manpower while its population has declined only modestly.

In 2024, Montgomery officials were publicly discussing a police department with fewer than 280 officers despite authorization for considerably more positions. At the time, the department's own leadership said roughly 400 officers were needed to fully serve the city. That ought to stop every elected official in Montgomery in his or her tracks.

A sworn-officer total also overstates the number of officers actually patrolling our streets. Detectives, supervisors, administrators, investigators and specialized officers are included in that figure. The number of uniformed officers available to answer calls, patrol neighborhoods and provide the visible police presence citizens have repeatedly requested is smaller still.

That is why public safety cannot simply be another line item inside Vision 2040. It must be the foundation underneath everything else. You cannot build a thriving entertainment district if people are reluctant to visit after dark. You cannot recruit companies if executives worry about the safety of their employees. You cannot retain talented young people if they believe better and safer opportunities exist in Huntsville, Birmingham, Nashville or Atlanta. You cannot stabilize neighborhoods if families with choices decide to leave them.

Montgomery's standardized 2024 FBI murder rate also shows why comparison matters. Montgomery's murder rate was approximately 18 per 100,000 residents, compared with about 16 in Mobile and only about 8 in Huntsville. Birmingham remained considerably worse, but our goal should never be to congratulate ourselves because another city has a higher murder rate. Montgomery should be competing with Alabama's safest and fastest-growing cities, not measuring success against the places struggling the most.

Vision 2040 can still be an opportunity to transform Montgomery. But the priorities must be clear. Recruit and retain enough police officers to protect the city effectively. Put more visible officers in neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Support Chief James Graboys and the men and women of the Montgomery Police Department with the personnel, technology and resources they need. Measure results publicly. Tell citizens how many officers are actually on the force, how many vacancies remain and what progress is being made toward full staffing.

Most importantly, listen to the people who live here. Montgomery residents were talking about public safety when the original Vision 2040 process began. They are talking about it again today. Coach Tuberville did not diminish Montgomery when he raised the issue before the Chamber of Commerce. He challenged our capital city to become what all of us know it can be.

Montgomery should dream about 2040. We should build, grow and invest boldly. But no rendering, redevelopment project or bond package can substitute for the most basic responsibility of government.

Before we build the Montgomery of 2040, we must make Montgomery safe in 2026. If we get that foundation right, the rest of the vision has a chance to become reality.

Perry O. Hooper Jr. is a former state Representative, a current member of the Alabama Republican State Executive Committee, the 2016 Trump Victory Chair, and a widely published columnist who writes on politics, governmental affairs, and current events.

Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Alabama Gazette staff or publishers.