City of Birmingham Ups Recruitment Bonus to $10,000 for Police Officers

The Birmingham Times The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s $15.8 million Police Officer Recruitment and Retention Plan aimed at increasing the department’s ability to compete with surrounding municipalities to recruit and retain officers. “The City of Birmingham is hiring,” said Woodfin. “We’re looking for men and women who understand what service is, who understand what community is, who understand what building trust is. We are looking for men and women who want to be the face of law and order.” The goal of the recruitment and retention plan is to strengthen the police force through an aggressive investing in new recruits and current officers, specifically on hiring 172 patrol officers, said Woodfin. Councilor LaTonya Tate, chair of the council’s Public Safety committee, said, “Addressing this issue is going to take a unified front. I’m not in the business of pointing fingers about how we got here, but I know that Birmingham is a resilient and beautiful city. We’re committed to giving our law enforcement officials the tools they need to succeed here and help Birmingham reach its full potential.” The money for recommendations will come from the City’s General Reserve Fund — as of 2023,...