Montgomery Police Chief, Mayor Review Crime In 2017

Montgomery city officials are once again addressing crime. Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley, and Mayor Todd Strange were among few officials taking part in a discussion of crime prevention and response  last year.

Officials provided a look at the crime numbers in 2017 compared to the year before:

Mayor Strange says crimes committed by juveniles, were an integral part of last year’s numbers, but have had problems prosecuting.

“We make arrest after arrest after arrest of these same juveniles and they may be doing something today, and tomorrow they are back doing something else because under the sentencing guidelines under the juveniles they get released” he explained.

The mayor says there have been conversations about holding more parents criminally responsible.

Crime reports shows the city had an increase in homicides, 10 more than 2016, and an increase in aggravated assaults.
A  significant drop in burglary and property theft was also reported.

Officials say that has been credited in part to the police departments change to 12 hour shifts, which has helped allocate resources and man power better, but the need to hire and retain officers still remains.

The Montgomery Police Dept. is currently staffed at about 490 officers, with room to have 530.  Additional crime statistics are also available through the city’s recently launched crime mapping feature.