Birmingham City Councilor wants to boost money for crime fightin

One Birmingham city council member wants to put more money into fighting crime in the city. This comes after a shootout that involved Mayor William Bell's security team and two armed suspects.

Yesterday was the first council meeting since Friday's confrontation. Councilor Carole Smitherman says she wants the city to re-examine how it pays for public safety.

"I'm talking about with the dollars. Sometimes, I understand when I was a DA, we would have the people on the street with guns, their firepower is greater than our police officers. So I'd like for the council to consider consolidation of services," said Smitherman.

Smitherman says consolidating public safety operations in one building could save money and those savings could be re-invested in public safety. She says she wants to discuss the idea with the mayor before she leaves office in January to begin her term as a Jefferson County circuit court judge.

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