Zero Tolerance Arrests Yield Nickname for Police Chief

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Since January, Birmingham police officers have made 1,515 zero tolerance arrests.
 
Now the community is starting to notice.
 
Lee Randal has lived in west Birmingham's Bellview Heights for two decades.
 
He said since police began the zero tolerance sweeps, he and his neighbors have seen a difference.
 
“With the police department patrolling more, it's cut down a lot on the foot traffic and that's basically where you find a lot of your criminal activity is people walking through,” Randal pointed out.
 
In fact the roundups are giving the police chief and his officers a new nickname.
 
“It's helped a lot since chief roper and the raiders have been on the job,” Randal added.
 
Randal is a regular caller on Gary Richardson's morning talk show on WJLD.
 
Richardson said he's hearing more listeners call the Chief “Roper the Raider” and claimed the community is complimenting his aggressive crime fighting.   
 
“Overall the response has been very positive. People feel that this sweep is eradicating crime in that neighborhood and running drug dealers out and moving the criminal element out. So overall it has been very positive on my program,” Richardson said.
 
Chief A.C. Roper took over the job as Birmingham's top cop six months ago and told us he receives many letters and emails thanking him for the zero tolerance sweeps, but a nickname?
 
“If our citizens are supporting us like that and giving us a name it sort of like a football team where you know that team, you know what they stand for, you cheer for that team, you support that team. In that aspect it's extremely positive,” Roper responded.
 
Chief Roper has said he hopes the random sweeps keep criminals guessing and thinking twice before they break the law.
    
So how well is it working?
 
Roper believes the high number of arrests means too many people are still breaking the law and his work is just beginning. 
 
“There is a culture of lawlessness that we are working everyday to address and zero tolerance is just one of the tools that we're using,” Roper claimed.
 
Roper said they use the sweeps to target the areas with the highest crime.
 
The largest number of zero tolerance arrests have been made in the west precinct; more than a third to be exact.
    
That's also where the largest number of the year's homicides has been committed.
 
While roper said he's happy the zero tolerance “raids” have led to a certain reputation in the community, he would have given himself a different nickname than “Roper the Raider”.
 
“I would call myself, ‘hey you’, because I'm not that concerned with what people call me. As long at the end of the day they recognize that we're working hard to make this city safer,” Roper suggested.
 
As far as citizen Lee Randal is concerned, mission accomplished.
 
“We just try to leave our homes safe and secure and go off to make a living each day. And it makes us feel a little more secure knowing the police department is doing something to pick up some of these people off streets that's not doing anything except creating crime and mischief against working class people,” Randal concluded.
 
Criminals giving Birmingham’s Police Chief a new name for himself.
 
ZERO TOLERANCE SWEEPS DATES / PRECINCTS
 
DATE                                     PRECINCT                # OF ARRESTS
 
1/11                                         WEST                         73
1/17                                         EAST                          84
1/18                                         WEST                         64
1/22                                         WEST                         59
1/23                                         SOUTH                       62
1/24                                         NORTH                      64
1/25                                         EAST                          72
1/26                                         WEST                         47
1/28                                         EAST                          62
1/29                                         WEST                         59
1/30                                         SOUTH                       51
1/31                                         NORTH                      56
2/15                                         WEST                         54
2/16                                         SOUTH                       28
2/21                                         NORTH                      34
2/22                                         EAST                          46
3/12                                         NORTH                      51
3/18                                         SOUTH                       42
3/28                                         SOUTH                       47
4/1                                           WEST                         94
4/16                                         WEST                         66
4/17                                         SOUTH                       52
4/18                                         NORTH                      41
4/20                                         EAST                          67
5/8                                           EAST                          38
5/9                                           SOUTH/WEST           43

5/28                                         NORTH                      59

                                                TOTAL:                      1,515