Patrick D. Smith, Violent Crime, Alabama 2023

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Table of Contents

Crime Wave Hits Birmingham as Chief Joins Task Forces

BIRMINGHAM – Birmingham’s violent crime problem just got a boost with the addition of new Police Chief Patrick D. Smith to two crime-fighting task forces formed this spring through the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to U.S. Attorney Jay Town, Chief Smith’s ‘wealth of experience in both reducing violent crime and expanding community outreach and prevention efforts brings great promise to the City of Birmingham and the future of crime-fighting in our city.’

Chief Smith, a Tuscaloosa native and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, brought his 28 years of experience with the Los Angeles Police Department to the table, where he worked his way up through the ranks as a patrol officer, police field training officer and instructor, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and police commander.

Smith has focused his career on crime reduction strategies and building public trust, including police training, reviewing critical use of force incidents and developing policy for best practices in policing.

The two task forces, the Birmingham Public Safety Task Force and the Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, aim to combat violent crime and improve police-community relations in the city.

The Birmingham Public Safety Task Force incorporates principles of the mayor’s public safety initiative, Operation Step Up, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy, along with the National Public Safety Partnership, to identify and work to apprehend the key offenders responsible for the majority of violent crime in hot spots across the Birmingham area.

The Birmingham Safe Neighborhoods Task Force engages law enforcement, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and corporate citizens in a coordinated and collaborative process to incorporate crime prevention, education and inmate re-entry programs with enforcement efforts in an overall crime-reduction strategy.

With the addition of Chief Smith to the task forces, the city of Birmingham is hoping to see a reduction in violent crime and an improvement in police-community relations.