MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama group has named Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin as 2026’s Crime Stopper of the Year.
The nonprofit dedicated to making Alabama’s urban areas safer presented the award to Woodfin at its annual luncheon at the Finley Center in Hoover last week. The award recognizes people who are committed to and effective in their work to lower crime.
Crime Stoppers selected Woodfin because of his dedication to fighting crime and his support for the organization’s programs, it said in a press release.
“Whether you’re an individual or a business, we all want our communities to be safer,” Board Chairman J. Frank Barefield Jr. said in a statement. “This year, we’re recognizing Mayor Woodfin for his ongoing efforts and policies to reduce crime and make Metro Birmingham a better place to live for everyone.”
Woodfin was first elected as mayor in 2017. The city has seen a 50% year-over-year decline in homicides as well as a $15.8 million investment in recruitment and retention efforts for the Birmingham Police Department during his tenure.
Birmingham has also constructed a $12 million Real-Time Crime Center to help officers see into high-crime areas and created a Drug Nuisance Abatement Team since 2017. Overall, the city has also traced and recovered around 5,000 illegal guns since Woodfin took office.
“I’m honored to receive this recognition from Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, but this award belongs to everyone who is committed to making our city safer, from our police officers and first responders to neighborhood leaders, community organizations, and residents who choose courage over silence,” Woodfin said.
“Public safety is a shared responsibility, and when people trust one another enough to speak up, work together, and invest in their neighborhoods, we build stronger, safer communities,” he continued. “While we’ve made meaningful progress, our work isn’t finished, and we’ll continue doing everything we can to protect the people who call Birmingham home.”