By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com
Homicides in Birmingham are down 75 percent so far this year, and the police department’s chief said he hopes to move through the rest of the year with continued success.
As of midday Tuesday, detectives had investigated three homicides since Jan. 1, compared to 12 for the same time period in 2025.
Arrests have been made in all three slayings, for a 100 percent clearance rate.
Additionally, robberies are down 26.7 percent, aggravated assaults are down 30.1 percent, and total violent crime is down 31.8 percent.
All property crimes, he said, are down 14.5 percent, including a 39.9 percent drop in auto thefts and a 27.9 percent decrease in burglaries.
“Now we’re not saying we’ve won the game, we’re not spiking the ball,” Chief Michael Pickett said at a news conference. “But…we’re moving the right direction, and we want to continue to move in the right direction.”
Pickett one year ago rolled out an eight-point crime reduction strategy, which included emphasizing the department Special Enforcement Teams and focusing on arrest violent criminals.
“I do sincerely believe the eight-point crime reduction strategy has really shown some results,” Pickett said.
For the first time in a decade, Birmingham ended 2025 with less than 100 homicides.
There were 88 homicides in 2025, down from 152 in 2024 when the city’s homicide tally broke a record set in 1933.
The police department also boasted an 87.3 clearance rate on homicides last year.
“To those who are in the space of wanting to commit murder or wanting to commit murder and flee to Birmingham, you may want to reevaluate that because based on our numbers, this is not a good location for you to commit a murder or for you to flee to after you commit a murder,” Pickett said.
“We will continue to work relentlessly to make sure that the most egregious crimes – robberies, murders, rapes – are addressed as swiftly as possible in the city,” he said.
Pickett outlined initiatives the department plans to launch in 2026 including the formation of a Theft Suppression Unit, made up of a sergeant and eight officers, to focus on reducing theft-related crimes and the development of ordinance enhancements to strengthen safety and accountability requirements for Birmingham nightclubs.
The chief said they are also working on an ordinance that would require convenience stores to have working surveillance cameras that would be connected to the police department’s Real Time Crime Centers.
Those stores might even have a special blue light indicating to customers that they are linked to the RTCC.
Pickett said moving forward police will deploy drones that autonomously take flight and put eyes on a crime scene as officers are responding so they can better respond to calls.
And, he said, some officers will have drones in their vehicles. “That’s a huge tool,” he said.
The chief said they are also working on improved response times, increased business compliance enforcement, enhanced mental health response and expanded community outreach.
“We want citizens,” he said, “to feel safe walking down the street or sitting on the porch.”
