New commander of the West Precinct meets with the public to discuss crime prevention and community issues

Captain David Rockett, a 29-year veteran of the Birmingham Police Department, is settling well into his new position as head of the West Precinct. “I'm getting more and more comfortable with the job. It's a lot about getting to know the officers and the people,” Rockett said. He stressed the importance of keeping West Birmingham residents informed of the precinct's activities and noted a decrease in violent crime. “Historically, the West Precinct has had a higher percentage of violent crime than the other three precincts. This year was very unusual for the North Precinct. They had two quadruplets,” Rockett explained. He attributes this decrease to several initiatives, including “Operation Knight Rider” and a partnership with the Marshall's Office. “The proof of that is the lower violent crime numbers we saw over the summer,” he added. One of the main concerns residents had was the turnaround time for police reports, which had to be filed by hand after a hack of the city's system in March. Rockett assured that all precincts are back to working with their online system. “People should get their police reports back faster,” he said. After just eight months in his new role, Rockett has made it a goal to keep violent crime down, stressing the importance of working with the community. “Reducing crime is a community effort — the police working with citizens and vice versa. I want to make sure we value their help,” Rockett said. Rockett also noted that officers will soon move from 12-hour to 8-hour shifts to address longstanding complaints about the demanding schedule. “That ends this weekend,” he confirmed. A meeting will be held at noon on Sept. 17 at the West Precinct building with officers from the department's investigative unit, including homicide and robbery investigators, who will engage with neighbors.