THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES - “The biggest thing our citizens want is more police presence, and I like to remind this community, we have 815 sworn officers that are a part of BPD . . . Where the national tenor is, there are less people applying to become officers. Therefore, with our existing 815 officers it’s going to be important how we strategically deploy them throughout the community to suppress crime, to be present, to build relationships and also be in the position to over-communicate with our citizens, ‘How can we be of service?’” said the mayor.| By Ryan Michaels, The Birmingham Times Less than 24 hours after the Birmingham City Council approved his $455 million FY 2022 operating budget, Mayor Randall Woodfin on Wednesday went into detail about two areas that have raised the most concern by some over the spending plan – the police department and Birmingham City Schools. The […]