Birmingham to enforce juvenile curfew in Summer 2025 Strategic Plan
Alright, well, good afternoon everyone. I hope everyone is all well. Um, I felt it was important, and let me back up, let me introduce myself. I'm Michael Pickett. I serve as the chief of police for the Birmingham Police Department. Uh, that being said, I felt it was very important to get in front of you all to kind of communicate and convey exactly what the plan is for the summer of 2025. We've made some really good strides this year in 2025 as it relates to reducing our homicides and our violent crimes, so we wanna continue that into the summer months. That being said. As we move into the summer months, uh, the Birmingham Police Department is taking, uh, decisive action to ensure that our city remains safe for every resident, every business owner, and every visitor as best as possible. Today I'm very proud to announce the BPD strategic plan for summer 2025. It's the proactive approach. Uh, to the community to, to ensure, uh, community safety that will be implemented throughout all precincts of Birmingham. This plant is rooted in 3 key principles visibility, accountability, and engagement. We're increasing our presence uh in high traffic areas, uh, by installing our trailer cameras as well as some of our pole mounted, uh, surveillance cameras. They will remain in place throughout the summer. These are tools that will support our real-time crime center, so that we can monitor more and we can have uh *** more efficient deployment with more intelligence for our uh patrol officers that are actually responding. We will also be conducting targeted enforcement operations twice *** month for June and July. Our business compliance unit, they will be focusing on nuisance clubs, illegal clubs, you know, those uh establishments operating illegally and and and just are creating *** problem in our our neighborhoods. We'll be focusing on them, ensuring that they have proper licensing, uh, and they have the proper uh public safety plan that they're required to have in place and that is being implemented properly. Also, we'll be prioritizing our young people. Every precinct will enforce juvenile curfews. And we'll be conducting dedicated operations to address violations, and we'll report those outcomes, uh, periodically throughout the summer to keep the public informed. To address reckless behavior in our streets. We will deploy or implement our Operation Knight Rider strategy uh if we see an uptick in exhibition driving and things of that nature. We will also be utilizing our what we we call our larger tickets, uh, the city ordinance tickets for the loud noise loud noise ordinances, uh, so for those with the motorcycles and we know you got some great sound systems on those motorcycles and the slingshots and. All these uh smaller motorized vehicles. Um, When you're in the city, uh. You'll be required to operate that at *** at *** normalized volume. Those uh extremely loud speakers on the motorcycles and the slingshots, that's designed for the interstate where the wind is higher, not for downtown Birmingham. It's annoyance to the residents that live downtown, to those who are uh trying to enjoy *** dinner, so we need to be respectful. We're having *** drink, uh, out on the patio of *** bar. We need to be respectful of all those patrons and visitors and business owners and residents in our city. We love to see those vehicles. We want you to have *** good time riding on Sundays and things of that nature, but do it in *** respectful manner to where everyone in our community can enjoy their day. Our real-time crime center will expand its capacity by adding *** few more analysts, uh, to ensure that we can uh quickly identify threats and deploy officers as needed. Also, our patrol officers will conduct some more checkpoints. We've, you've seen those in the past, but we'll be implementing those *** little bit more throughout the summer and of course we will continue to work with Jefferson County on our stolen vehicle task force. We have made some arrest uh as it relates to the stolen vehicles and the recovery of stolen vehicles, and we will be reporting out on that, uh, shortly. Birmingham essentially deserves *** summer that is vibrant, that is full of fun. We have our new amphitheater opening up. Uh, we have *** ton of new restaurants that are opening up throughout uh the city and other businesses and establishments. We have *** ton of new residents that are just now, uh, moving to Birmingham and *** ton of residents that have been living there, living here their entire lives. So the key is to keep the trend going and lowering crime, especially violent crime in our city, so, uh. With that being said, I'm hoping that all families and visitors and visitors of Birmingham can enjoy their summer. So I would like to do *** small recap and then I wanna finish with some activities as I as I mentioned earlier for our young people, uh, we wanna be able to um. You know, kinda cater to them and and let you all know what programs are going on, the hours of our parks, uh, throughout the city and things of that nature. So that being said, The first thing, the first thing that we, we discussed earlier is essentially the patrol and business, uh, compliance units, uh, they will be focusing on our entertainment areas, um. We deploy the camera trailers. Uh, throughout the summer in strategic areas. We'll be doing 2 operations in, uh, 2 operations per month in June and July and that may spill into August as well. Also, of course, our business compliance unit, they will be focusing on the clubs, we'll be enforcing our curfew uh ordinance for our juveniles. We will deploy Operation Knight Rider as needed if we see an uptick. Also, our real-time crime center will be more robust with more analysts. More checkpoints Oh yeah, the community engagement piece so we will ensure that at our neighborhood meetings throughout the summer we're gonna have at least *** sergeant up to *** captain that will be in these engaged in these community meetings so we can make sure that we're providing the best service. If there's an uptick in *** certain community we wanna know about it, we wanna be able to go ahead and uh assign officers or whatever resources are needed to go ahead and address whatever issues are going on in the heart of our communities. Again, as I mentioned, the stolen vehicle task force, and then also I will finish with this. Uh, the special ops, uh, uh, bureau will be working in accordance with, uh, state probation, pardon and parole, uh, for any violators, um, and especially those repeat offenders that are in violation of, of their, uh, conditions with their, uh, parole, uh, to ensure that, uh, you know, they're in full compliance as well. Again this isn't to target any uh specific group, but this is for. The entire city to ensure that we have *** safe and fun summer. That being said, City of Birmingham has 4 operating pools that's at Memorial Park, uh, MLK Park, Martin Luther King Park, McAlpine Park, and Crestwood Park, and their hours of operation are 120 p.m. to 6 p.m. and that's gonna be Tuesday through Friday. Friendly reminder that Railroad Park closes at 11 p.m. That's every day. Railroad Park closes at 11 p.m. At times, Railroad Park may have private events, so you will have to check with them to see if, if, if, you know, on that particular day if if uh it's available to the general public. Each Birmingham Recreational Center is open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily. That's 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily. These recreation centers are offering summer camps for kids ages 5 to 12 with registration, uh, being open right now. The if parents are interested, they can reach out to the rec center, uh, directly or they can contact the Legion Field, which is the main office for Park and Rec, at 205-254-2391. And as it relates to the curfew, some people may not know exactly the stipulations behind that. So, essentially, if you're under the age or have *** child that's under the age of 17 years of age, 17 years old. There's *** curfew in the city of Birmingham. To where you must be accompanied by *** parent or legal guardian. After the hours of 9 p.m. Up to 6 a.m. that's gonna be Sunday through Thursday. 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. you must be accompanied by *** parent or legal guardian. On the weekends. Essentially 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday until 6 a.m. that following day, you must be accompanied by *** parent or legal guardian or your child must be accompanied by *** parent or legal guardian. So I just wanted to arm everyone with uh *** little bit more information uh be transparent with you all to let you know what Birmingham police is doing to ensure that we continue to have uh *** safe and fun summer um our goal is to have all of our Birmingham City school students and and all other students that visit our city to return to school this fall and have an amazing fall, uh, school year, so that that is the goal. So if there are any questions, I can take questions now. Yeah, so was there anything specific that prompted you to come up with this plan? Is it aimed at students? Is it aimed at everybody? What, what caused you to formulate this? So yeah, so I, I think that it's important to have *** plan. I mean we know historically um in law enforcement that there's an uptick in activity and unfortunately crimes during the summer months just like we know there's an uptick in you know robberies and thefts during the holidays so it's important that we go ahead and plan ahead. Uh, and then it's also important that we communicate the plan. Uh, oftentimes we do have plans, but sometimes we don't mention them, but I think it's important that we communicate that to the public, uh, so they'll know what's going on and, and when they start to see *** little bit more enforcement, they'll know the, the why and the how we're we're trying to do these things. Is the pro 17 and under or 16 and? It's, it's 16 and under. So for those that are 1718, 19, they don't, uh, fall under the curfew rules, but they do fall under the laws and ordinances of Birmingham and the state of Alabama, so, uh, they will still be enforced so. And the curfew, what's the punishment if you're found violating that curfew and could parents be held accountable if their child? Great question. So parents will be held accountable, so we'll take that that child into custody, uh of course it's for their safety, and I and I will highlight. Uh, in the past two weeks, I'll say 2 to 3 weeks, in our city, we've had *** 14 year old that was shot, um, after the hours of 11 p.m. Um, at that time that, uh, 114 year old was not accompanied, uh, by *** parent or legal guardian. Um, thankfully, um, it was *** non life threatening, uh, injury. Um, we're very thankful for that, but you know we wanna be on the proactive side to ensure uh that that that kids if they're gonna be out past the curfew times that they're accompanied by *** parent or legal guardian. And that will hopefully help um their likelihood of of of being um injured or being involved in something that's illegal or harmful. We hope we're hoping that'll reduce those those uh possibilities. With the amphitheater opening this summer, is there anything you guys are doing in that part of town just to make sure everybody feels safe if they're traveling that way to go to *** concert? So yeah, so we've had several meetings with the leadership at BJCC uh and the amphitheater Leadership, uh, security meetings. That's something that, uh, Deputy Foster has, has had his hand on, uh, quite, quite firmly, uh, and I'll actually be meeting with BJCC later today, but yes, so we do have *** plan in place, not only uh *** safety plan but *** traffic plan. Um, we are, we'll be deploying, we already have some cameras that are out there, so they'll be, they'll be monitored by the real-time crime center, so we, we will have *** presence in that footprint of the amphitheater. You mentioned, I think it was your second point, the targeted enforcement, or are those like special operations that you can't discuss or? So yeah, so essentially what you've been saying with our special enforcement teams, the set teams, we report on those numbers weekly, that's gonna continue, you know, that will continue and we we we are also dedicating some efforts to the um code enforcement as it relates to. Um, we, we have several, well, I'm not gonna say several, but we, we have *** number of warrants that are outstanding for FTAs as it relates to code enforcement viola violations, dumping, and things of that nature. We have teams that are that are dedicated to address those warrants as well, so we'll be focusing on that as well. We're expecting some protests in Birmingham this coming weekend, but possibly throughout the summer as well. Is there anything BPD is doing to prepare for those protests to add an extra layer of security there? So yes, so we look at that entail and we're in constant communications with uh our Fusion Center here in Alabama uh that that flows information from all over the United States. So uh when we identify that we make sure that we have resources in place to monitor it. Uh, that can be, uh, actual personnel and and or cameras, so we'll be monitoring that and yes we do have *** plan in place, uh, to deploy, you know, if things kind of get out of hand, but we're fully prepared for that. Any other questions? Alright, I appreciate everyone's time. Thank you.
Birmingham to enforce juvenile curfew in Summer 2025 Strategic Plan
Updated: 12:13 PM CDT Jun 15, 2025
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Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett is unveiling the Summer 2025 Strategic Plan, which includes enforcing the juvenile curfew.He started by saying the department has made great strides in reducing homicides and violence, and wants to continue that into the summer months."It's the proactive approach to ensure the community safety," Pickett said.>> RECENT COVERAGE: Birmingham Police Department's GRIT program helps add more officers to the academy classThere are three main pillars to this strategy: visibility, accountability and engagement.The strategy includes:increasing presence in high traffic areasadding cameras in high presence places to help the Real Time Crime Centertargeted enforcements twice a month in June and Julyfocus on establishments causing issues in the community and make sure they have proper licensing, focusing on entertainment businessesevery precinct will enforce juvenile curfews and will address violationsOperation Knight Rider will be deployed if needed for exhibition drivingordinances will be given in the city if there are loud noises, especially on vehicles with loud speakersmore checkpointscontinuous work with Jefferson County for the Stolen Vehicle Task Forceofficers will be in community meetings to be open for communication The curfewIf a child is 16 or younger, there is a curfew in the city of Birmingham. They must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. On Friday and Saturday, the curfew begins at 11 p.m.The child will be taken into custody for their safety if they violate the curfew and the parents will be held accountable, Pickett said.In the past two weeks, an unaccompanied 14-year-old was shot after curfew in the city limits. Pickett said this is a safety matter and he hopes it reduces these incidents."We know historically in law enforcement that there is an uptick in activity and crimes in the summer months," Pickett said.He added that it's important to communicate those plans to the public.Birmingham deserves a summer that is "vibrant and full of fun," Pickett said.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett is unveiling the Summer 2025 Strategic Plan, which includes enforcing the juvenile curfew.
He started by saying the department has made great strides in reducing homicides and violence, and wants to continue that into the summer months.
"It's the proactive approach to ensure the community safety," Pickett said.
>> RECENT COVERAGE: Birmingham Police Department's GRIT program helps add more officers to the academy class
There are three main pillars to this strategy: visibility, accountability and engagement.
The strategy includes:
- increasing presence in high traffic areas
- adding cameras in high presence places to help the Real Time Crime Center
- targeted enforcements twice a month in June and July
- focus on establishments causing issues in the community and make sure they have proper licensing, focusing on entertainment businesses
- every precinct will enforce juvenile curfews and will address violations
- Operation Knight Rider will be deployed if needed for exhibition driving
- ordinances will be given in the city if there are loud noises, especially on vehicles with loud speakers
- more checkpoints
- continuous work with Jefferson County for the Stolen Vehicle Task Force
- officers will be in community meetings to be open for communication
The curfew
If a child is 16 or younger, there is a curfew in the city of Birmingham. They must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. On Friday and Saturday, the curfew begins at 11 p.m.
The child will be taken into custody for their safety if they violate the curfew and the parents will be held accountable, Pickett said.
In the past two weeks, an unaccompanied 14-year-old was shot after curfew in the city limits. Pickett said this is a safety matter and he hopes it reduces these incidents.
"We know historically in law enforcement that there is an uptick in activity and crimes in the summer months," Pickett said.
He added that it's important to communicate those plans to the public.
Birmingham deserves a summer that is "vibrant and full of fun," Pickett said.