Enough is Enough: Montgomery’s violence programs are failing — and taxpayers are paying the price

 

In Montgomery, violence continues to steal lives, wreck families, and damage our city’s future. Despite a carousel of programs and initiatives designed to address the problem, little has changed. Instead, the cycle of violence marches on – and so does the spending.

Montgomery’s city leadership has leaned heavily on these programs and initiatives as proof they are “doing something” about crime. In reality, these initiatives have functioned more like political theater, generating press conferences and photo opportunities, but delivering few measurable outcomes. Money is spent, grants are awarded, contracts are handed out, but crime statistics tell a different story: Montgomery is no safer today than it was before these programs began.

The hard truth is that good intentions don’t stop bullets. A city can’t wish its way to public safety. Feel-good slogans are no substitute for real action – and taxpayers deserve better. They deserve transparency. They deserve results. And they deserve leaders who will be honest enough to admit when a program is not working and strong enough to demand change.

If Montgomery is serious about stopping the bloodshed, then it’s time for serious solutions:

• Independent audits of all anti-violence program spending
• Public reporting of program outcomes, not just promises
• A shift toward real strategies that invest in law enforcement, community policing, and proven prevention efforts

It’s time to move beyond empty initiatives and into real reform. Montgomery deserves more than slogans. We deserve safety, accountability and leadership that isn’t afraid to act.

Enough is enough.

In mid-2024, after a six-month search and interview process, Mayor Steven Reed removed the interim title and officially made Jim Graboys chief of the Montgomery Police Department. Under his leadership vast improvements have been made around the city.

In 2024, Montgomery saw a 20% decrease in homicides with a 17% decrease in what they call “non-fatal” shootings. The department’s homicide clearance rate drastically improved to 67%, surpassing national averages.

Under his leadership, Chief Graboys partnered with Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and officers from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to create a task force called the Metro Area Crime Suppression unit. As of this writing, the unit has made over 2,300 traffic stops arresting over 670 criminals, taking nearly 200 weapons and 50 stolen vehicles off the streets.

In mid-April 2025, Crime Stoppers, along with the Montgomery Police department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and local churches and non-profits unveiled a new Youth Prevention Program. Coming full circle back to the topic of this article, the program is designed to be yet another money pit outreach program no different from the countless others that have been announced over the years and quietly gone away with no results to show.

Over the past 20-30 years multiple CVIs (Community Violence Intervention programs) have promised to develop first hand mediation to resolve tensions that often lead to violence, and no matter how much money is poured into these programs haven’t been transparent on how much impact their program has made on the decrease of violence versus boots on the ground with law enforcement conducting specialized operations to remove gangs and drugs from the neighborhoods.

Montgomery’s future depends not on empty gestures, but on real results. It’s time for city leaders to demand transparency, prioritize strategies that actually work, and stop using taxpayer dollars to fund programs that vanish without a trace. Crime is not solved with slogans or photo-ops. It’s solved with commitment, courage, and the will to face uncomfortable truths.

Montgomery deserves better. And we, its citizens, must demand it.