MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After a bill to force the department to increase its staffing ranks or risk a state takeover died on the last day of the legislative session, the Montgomery Police Department’s staffing numbers have been the subject of much discussion.
Senate Bill 298, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, would have given the MPD five years to employ a minimum of 1.9 full-time officers for every 1,000 residents in the city. That amounts to about 380 officers in Montgomery.
The Alabama House of Representatives gaveled out for the year before voting on the controversial bill.
City officials and legislators representing Montgomery railed against the bill, calling it an unfair state takeover. Mayor Steven Reed held a press conference and spoke at public hearings, repeatedly saying the city did not want or need the Legislature’s help to increase its staffing.
Reed and MPD Chief Jim Graboys have said the city is making strides in hiring more officers. But it’s still not clear how many uniformed officers the MPD actually employs.
After several requests over the past two months, Alabama Daily News made contact with a spokesperson from the department regarding staffing levels on Thursday.
“We’re focused on overall staffing progress, including recruitment, training, and retention efforts,” MPD public information officer Lt. Tina McGriff told ADN. “We’re not providing specific staffing numbers at this time, but we’re continuing to make progress toward our authorized levels.”
Barfoot previously estimated that the department is nearly 200 officers short, but ADN is unable to verify this number.
His staffing bill would have applied to Montgomery and Huntsville, Alabama’s two Class 3 municipalities, but throughout the legislative process, Barfoot made it clear the bill was targeted at Montgomery.
Barfoot said people in Montgomery “are tired of turning on the news and hearing about the violence.”
“We’re tired of having the thefts that are occurring,” he said. “We’re tired of having the robberies, the home invasions. And believe me, that is across Montgomery. So that is the motivation (for the bill).”
MPD bill’s death is followed by a violent weekend
Last weekend, just days after the bill failed, four people were murdered and several others were injured from gunshots in Montgomery.
At a press conference on Sunday, Graboys provided details on the individual incidents and said these numbers broke the beginning of the year’s trend of lower crime.
“These last 48 hours are not indicative of our city,” Graboys said. “As I’ve been bragging very frequently about, the trends over the last three months have been all in a positive direction. The last two days have been the result of individuals who have very low self-control apparently and can’t seem to handle things without a handgun.”
Graboys said that the victims and suspects knew each other in the four homicides. There have been 14 homicides so far this year, he said.
When asked if he believed the city needs more officers patrolling, Graboys said the city always needs more officers. He said this has been the case since he started working for MPD in 1991.
“One thing I want to make very clear, there’s nobody in my department or in the city administration, nobody that I can think of that doesn’t say, ‘Hey, let’s get more boots on the ground.’”
On the staffing side, Graboys said the MPD is doing everything it can to put more officers out on the streets and that the effort will continue.
“This past Friday, we just added 10 new officers to our police department, and I’ve got two more coming in before this month ends,” Graboys said. “I’ve got officers in the police academy, and I’ve got at least 16 that I’m preparing to go into the next police academy in July. That doesn’t include the laterals we have in the pipeline. So we are growing regularly. We are always going to put as many boots on the ground as our budgets will bear and if the budget doesn’t bear it, then I’m going to be fighting for more money in the budget to bear it.”
Officials weigh in
Lawmakers and candidates for office have chimed in about forcing the MPD to up its staffing ranks.
Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has said improving public safety across the state would be a primary issue if elected.
“…If I’m lucky enough to be elected, I’m not going to allow the people of this state of Alabama to live in a war zone or live in unsafe neighborhoods, if we can help it,” Tuberville said this week on “The Rightside” podcast hosted by Allison Sinclair and Amie Beth Shaver.
Republican attorney general candidate Katherine Robertson also said her immediate priority if elected would be the passage of legislation like Senate Bill 298.
“Alabama’s capital city should be a proud reflection of our state, but anyone who watches the news or reads the headlines can tell you that Montgomery today is in crisis,” Robertson said in a news release. “Just last week, Mayor Steven Reed fought loudly against a bill mandating minimum staffing levels in the Montgomery Police Department, and hours after that legislation died, the city experienced eight shootings and four murders in one weekend.”
Barfoot said he’s not sure if he’ll bring the bill back next session if reelected.
“My sincere hope is that the Montgomery leadership does everything they can get an adequate number of police in place,” Barfoot said. “I guess they’ve got time to show what they intend to do, but we’ll see. The issue is not going to go away unless the police department is adequately staffed.”
Though crime in Montgomery is often cited as a growing problem, most categories of crime in Montgomery fell last year, according to data from the city.
Violent crime decreased by more than 25% in 2025, with overall crime down by around 15%. There were 61 homicides in Montgomery last year, the same number as in 2024.