The city of Montgomery saw promising crime statistics in the first half of the year, Mayor Steven Reed told members of the media Monday.
Reed said violent crime is down 15 percent, overall crime is down 20 percent and homicides are down 19 percent.
“These are clear signs that our enforcement strategies and community-based partnerships are saving lives and changing outcomes,” Reed said.
But Reed said one statistic has remained stubborn: the number of nonfatal shootings.
While most types of crime are trending down in the city, Reed said too many people are still using guns to settle disputes and arguments. Reed spent a significant portion of his midyear update addressing the fatal shooting of 6-year-old Caylee Taylor.
“It’s unfortunate when a particularly innocent child is sleeping in their bed in the middle of the night, and someone comes and does something that heinous of firing into a house indiscriminately to address any type of issue or disagreement they may have had,” Reed said.
Reed said the shooting has reinvigorated city and police leadership, and he vowed to put all of the Montgomery Police Department’s available resources into arresting anyone involved in the shooting and pursuing the harshest charges possible, including federal charges.
“No excuses, no explanations,” Reed said. “We have to make sure that people understand that in this community, we’re not going to stand for this.”
Reed also focused a significant portion of his remarks on the recent agreement between Jackson Hospital and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, which seeks to keep the hospital operating, and his hopes for the hospital’s future.
“This agreement provides immediate stability for patients and families who rely on Jackson Hospital for emergency medicine to internal care and specialized treatment,” Reed said. “It means residents don’t have to navigate uncertainty when they are already facing medical challenges. It also brings some sense of stability to the many employees at Jackson Hospital, many of whom now live in the city of Montgomery. … They are dedicated professionals who have fought through adversity and been resilient over the last several weeks and months and have continued to be professional under a lot of duress.”
While acknowledging the agreement as a step forward, Reed said it is not the “end of the conversation” among city, county and state leaders, as well as other community stakeholders, about the hospital’s future.
“It’s not enough for us to put a Band-Aid on this situation,” Reed said. “We have to make sure that we are doing the things that will stabilize and revitalize our health care system right here in Montgomery and Central Alabama. That can’t be done with a ‘just-in-time’ approach.”
Reed called on parties to put aside politics and positions and be willing to “give up a little to get a lot” when creating a better future for health care in Montgomery and Central Alabama.
“We owe it to our residents to make sure we are not back in this place in six months,” Reed said, “to make sure that we come up with a long-term sustainable solution to address the challenges that have been in front of us for many years, if not decades. We have to address this issue because too much is riding on it.”
