Increased service calls in annual police report

By Grace Lovins

The Birmingham police department released its latest annual report showing an increase in calls for service from 2024 to 2025 by over 8,000 calls.

First made available in the Monday, April 13, city commission meeting packet, the report also includes statistics of the department’s arrests, traffic enforcement, investigations and community engagement.

According to the report, police responded to 28,611 calls for service in 2025, up from 20,421 calls in 2024. The report says calls for service are requests for police assistance ranging from emergencies and criminal activity to general public concerns.

Despite the jump in activity, the department reported a total of 378 offenses in 2025 with most incidents falling into categories such as larceny and fraud. The total represents a slight increase of four offenses compared to the previous year. On the other hand, 646 cases were assigned for investigation, showing a decrease of nine cases from 2024.

Data in the report also showed that juvenile arrest dispositions declined by almost 50 percent from 54 cases in 2024 to 28 cases in 2025. Adult arrests continued on an upward trend for a total of 229 adult custody arrests in 2025.

The report also provided statistics on traffic and parking enforcement for the year. In 2025, officers issued 5,131 traffic citations, responded to 776 traffic crashes, and issued 34,974 total parking violations, mostly tied to meter violations.

In a message included in the report, police chief Scott Grewe emphasized that Birmingham continues to experience relatively low crime rates with reductions in key categories such as fraud and larceny over a multi-year period. He gave credit to both department personnel and community partnerships for maintaining public safety.

Throughout the report, the department outlined continuing investments in technology, including upgrades to the city’s camera system, and improvements to the police department’s facilities. The report also briefly touched on recruitment efforts which led to the hiring of three officers, one dispatcher and three parking enforcement assistants in 2025.