Alabamians on social media were met with surprise on Wednesday after the City of Montgomery posted an announcement that U.S. News & World Report had named Montgomery the safest city in Alabama. The publication also ranked it second in the nation on the same list.
After the questionable ranking was made public, residents across the state reacted with skepticism and scoffs.
One individual commented that if the rankings were true then why is “an ALEA helicopter flying overhead all throughout the day and why did I just have to buy 3 new security cameras for my home?”
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Another said, “Not reporting a crime does not mean the crime doesn’t exist.”
One user called it “sad” that the city would post such a ranking while its residents are suffering.
“This is coming from someone who lives in Montgomery, Capitol Hights to be exact. The city is terrible. The potholes are outrageous, and the lack of funding that goes to the schools is so sad. The police force is underfunded. The shooting is all the time. From on the streets to the malls. The crime rate is so high.”
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The most sobering comment referenced a delayed murder case in the city of Montgomery.
“One of my closest friends was murdered in the city this year,” the person said. “Her case has yet to be escalated due to the large number of outstanding cases in front of Montgomery PD. So many lives lost in this city.”
Despite the ranking by U.S. News & World Report, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Crime in Alabama’s capital city has reached such alarming levels that a task force, the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, was recently formed to combat the problem with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Alabama Attorney General’s office.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
