MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Almost two years after its creation, Gov. Kay Ivey and Alabama law enforcement leaders met to discuss new data about the accomplishments of the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit in and around Montgomery.
The MACS operation has made 697 arrests – 43 of which were juveniles – and executed nearly 1,400 arrest warrants since its inception in June 2024, law enforcement leaders announced on Thursday. The unit is a coalition of federal, state and local law enforcement officers tasked with reducing crime in the greater Montgomery area.
Officers have also seized 555 firearms and 179 illegal machine gun conversion devices, often called glock switches. Ivey signed into law legislation banning the devices in March 2025.
The group has also recovered 92 stolen vehicles and conducted more than 200 drug-related seizures in the Montgomery area in that time.
The MACS team focuses on “prevention, presence and partnership” in addition to enforcement, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor said in a news release.
Units have stopped three situations involving guns on or near school campuses in the last two weeks. Officers recovered weapons and made arrests before any violence could occur, according to the release.
“The examples and statistics we are sharing today offer just a glimpse of the impact,” Taylor said in the release. “Behind the scenes, these teams are working every day to identify threats, target violent offenders and prevent crime before it happens. Every firearm taken off the street, every dangerous individual apprehended and every threat neutralized, especially those near our schools, represents a potential tragedy avoided.”
Crime in Montgomery has been a consistent talking point on the 2026 election trail. A bill to force the Montgomery Police Department to increase its staffing ranks or risk a state takeover died on the last day of the legislative session, which has opened conversation about police staffing in the Capital City.
The MPD declined to share the number of officers the department employs earlier this month.
Ivey praised the MACS unit’s accomplishments and said that public safety will remain a top priority for her administration through the rest of her term, which ends in January.
“The MACS Unit is absolutely necessary to have operating here in Montgomery and certainly a reason for positive trends,” Ivey said in a news release. “Again, our work to ensure public safety in Montgomery and around the entire state continues, and I thank the men and women serving on the frontlines in law enforcement for their service and sacrifice.”
Given the success of the Montgomery program, lawmakers have toyed with expanding the concept to additional cities.