The City of Birmingham unveils five-year strategic plan to reduce violence and build safer communities

From the City of Birmingham

Birmingham, AL — Mayor Randall L. Woodfin announced the Birmingham Violence Reduction Strategic Plan, a comprehensive five-year roadmap designed to reduce gun violence, strengthen community safety and address the underlying conditions that contribute to cycles of violence.

The plan – coordinated by the City of Birmingham’s Office of Community Safety Initiatives (CSI) - establishes a unified framework for the City, law enforcement, community organizations, businesses, residents and other partners to work toward a common goal: an annual 10% reduction in homicides and nonfatal shootings, with strategies implemented through July 31, 2031.

CSI’s mission is to foster safer communities across Birmingham by empowering residents and building collaborativepartnerships to implement equitable, innovative and data-driven violence reduction strategies.

“Birmingham has always been my home, and that deep connection drives my vision of a city where opportunityis not confined to one ZIP Code and every resident has the chance to achieve their dreams,” said Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “For far too long, violence has limited that opportunity. This work is deeply personal to me and my family, and I know it is personalto countless families across our city. This strategic plan recognizes that lasting safety requires urgency, honesty, intervention and sustained investment in our people and communities.”

Established in April 2024 and led by Director Uche Bean, CSI was created to build community trust and coordinatea holistic approach to public safety that treats gun violence as both an urgent public safety challenge and a public health crisis.

“This plan represents a commitment to move beyond fragmented responses and toward a coordinated, citywidestrategy for safety,” said Bean. “We know there is no single solution to violence. It requires immediate intervention for those at greatest risk, prevention for young people and families, and long-term investments that transform the conditions in which violencetakes root. Most importantly, this work requires all of us.”

Four Pillars for a Safer Birmingham

The Birmingham Violence Reduction Strategic Plan is organized around four interconnected pillars that willguide the City’s violence reduction work over the next five years:

• Pillar One: Supporting Safety and Wellness -- This pillar focuses on strengthening Birmingham’s immediate response to violence and crisis by evolving the City’s gun violence reduction strategy, developing a cohesive community violence intervention ecosystem, coordinating government and community partnerships, strengthening overdose response, and establishing a coordinatedresponse to domestic violence.
• Pillar Two: Engaging and Empowering Community -- Recognizing that sustainable public safety must be co-created with residents, this pillar focuses on expanding community education and engagement, incorporating resident input, strengthening community-based organizations and growing wraparound services. Strategies also include building conflict resolution skills, bolstering reentry programming and expanding services for victims of violence.
• Pillar Three: Strengthening Policy and Oversight -- This pillar centers accountability, coordination and sustainability.Priorities include increasing data capacity and public safety accountability, enhancing data-driven policing, maintaining Birmingham Police Department staffing, advancing trauma-informed strategies, reducing gun trafficking and sustaining strong partnerships among federal, state and local agencies.
• Pillar Four: Increasing Youth Safety -- The fourth pillar focuses on preventing violence before it begins by investingin Birmingham’s young people and their families. Strategies include expanding conflict resolution skills, life coaching and mentorship; engaging caregivers; evolving youth justice approaches; and increasing gun safety education.

The plan recognizes that violence reduction requires action across multiple time horizons.

• Intervention strategies are designed to reduce violence in the near term by engaging individuals at the highest risk of involvement in gun violence and providing violence interruption, conflict mediation, case management and other wraparound supports.
• Prevention strategies seek to reduce violence over the next five to 10 years through investments in youth development, mentoring, education and supportive programming.
• Transformation strategies address the generational conditions that can contribute to violence through long-term investments in education, economic opportunity and neighborhood revitalization.

The strategic plan builds on significant work already underway throughout Birmingham, including CSI’s Immediate Response Action Plan, the RESTORE program for high-risk youth, hospital-linked violence intervention and additional community violence intervention partnerships, the Birmingham Crime Commission’s recommendations and the Birmingham Police Department’s 8-Point Crime Reduction Plan.

The plan was developed with guidance from the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform and informed by strategic planning sessions, public meetings, neighborhood engagement, surveys and feedback from community partners and City agencies.

CSI will oversee implementation of the plan and report progress annually using key performance indicators established for each strategic pillar. The success of the plan will depend on sustained collaboration among City and County agencies, law enforcement, healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations, faith leaders, businesses and residents.

The full plan can be reviewed at www.birminghamal.gov/csi.