BAY MINETTE — Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland had many good things to say about his department during the June 10 Project Safe Neighborhood meeting, beginning with the announcement that crime in the city had decreased 41 percent last month.

“I had them run the numbers seven or eight times just to make sure,” Rowland said. “I think it’s the lowest it’s ever been. It’s almost unbelievable, but I hope it continues.”

Rowland said the decrease is “the fruits of” four years of work, beginning with the PSN committee. The committee is comprised of various agencies, including DHR, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Baldwin County Mental Health, Volunteers of America, Douglasville Alumni Association and residents.

The committee is a byproduct of the Weed and Seed Program, a program designed for communities with high crime.

“We worked ourselves out of that grant because our crime rate came down,” Rowland said.

But the PSN committee took over where the Weed and Seed program left off, and the agencies and residents have worked to solve community issues. Rowland has often spoke of community policing, something PSN promotes.

“I think it’s because of us coming to the table and coming up with ideas. If you take care of the community issues, crime will take care of itself,” he said.

Rowland also attributed the decrease to a more stringent method for promotions.

“We recently had a round of promotions. In the past, a supervisor would walk in and say ‘you’re a captain, or you’re a sergeant.’ We put these guys through tests and training before considering them for promotions,” he said.

That training included a 10-week training course, supervisor training, homework, several written tests, a physical aptitude test and interview and assessment by outside chiefs.

“It was a very intensive training program. Not everyone got promoted, but those who successfully completed the training are at the top of the list for next time,” he said.

“The idea was to change the thinking from business as usual to business as it should be,” he said.

New police cars distributed

For the first time in three years, the police department was granted new cars. Last week seven black and gold cars, fully equipped except for radios, were delivered.

“Our last cars were bought in 2007. These have state-of-the-art, top of the line equipment,” Rowland said. “I think these are the best-looking cars in the history of the department. We’re exceptionally proud of these new cars.”

The cars were approved during budget hearings and were financed for three years.

For a more in-depth report, see the June 23 edition of The Baldwin Times.