Darryl Albert prepares to take over as Montgomery’s new police chief

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Montgomery’s new top cop will officially step into his new role Monday. We are now learning more about what his first items of business will be when he takes the reins.

Darryl Albert comes to the Capital City with more than three decades of law enforcement experience. He says one of his first items of business will be an examination of the police department’s policies.

“We have to see how it’s structured, and if we need to make changes in those areas or not,” said Darryl Albert, Montgomery Police Chief.

He says they will also look closely at the crime trends.

”We’re going to look at the three or four, five year crime increases that we’ve had in city, Montgomery, what’s driving those increases and what we can do to fix that problem. So it’s going to be very aggressive, it’s going to be very progressive. I look forward to coming in next week and starting this right off the ground,” said Albert.

Most recently Albert served as commander of the Special Operations Division of the New Orleans Police Department. The city said Albert led units that “slashed” New Orleans’ murder rate while significantly reducing instances of violent crime.

“The local courts will give what’s allowed by local courts, but you know, we got state and federal violations that we can impose. And that’s what we’re going to look at,” said Albert. We’re going to look at aggressive federal violations through the ATF on getting those cases picked up. We’re gonna look at RICO cases the conspiracy cases so you know, mandatory jail sentences. That message has to go out to the community that we will not tolerate gun violence in this community.

While Albert will be tough on crime, he will put a strong emphasis on community.

“Law enforcement cannot do this alone. It is community-based; we must have support from the community. So you know, the better service that we give the communities is the way we respond to the community and the way the community responds to us. So we look forward to working with the community to faith-based businesses. And then we’re going to we’re gonna take that to another level,” said Albert.

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson released the following statement on Albert’s new position:

“We want to congratulate Captain Daryl Albert on being hired as Chief of Police in Montgomery, Ala. He has served NOPD with distinction and we wish him well. While this is a significant loss for NOPD, it also shows this department is recognized around the country as a leader in implementing the Constitutional policing reforms demanded by the citizens of this country.”

Albert says he plans to meet with internal and external stakeholders to see exactly where the department can improve and what initiatives can be implemented.

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