Summerdale council begins study to determine feasibility of withdrawing police jurisdiction to corporate limits

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 7/26/21

SUMMERDALE - During the July meeting, the Summerdale council approved town staff to begin a study to determine the feasibility of withdrawing the town’s policing back to corporate limits. …

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Summerdale council begins study to determine feasibility of withdrawing police jurisdiction to corporate limits

Posted

SUMMERDALE - During the July meeting, the Summerdale council approved town staff to begin a study to determine the feasibility of withdrawing the town’s policing back to corporate limits. Discussions began in response to Senator Chris Elliott’s Senate Bill 107.

“The bill is going to require all of the municipalities in Alabama to withdraw their planning, building inspection and police out of their jurisdiction by a certain date,” said Mayor David Wilson. “I know there’s a definite date on the planning and building in 2023, but police jurisdictions will remain where the police can patrol the jurisdiction but as you annex out, your jurisdiction never grows, and I believe eventually the goal is to eliminate police jurisdiction. We’d like to authorize the staff to investigate the impact that this withdrawal of our building and our police and our planning in those jurisdictions will have.”

Council voted unanimously for staff to begin the study. Wilson said during the town’s workshop that “if police jurisdictions do eventually phase out, then the town’s PD will not be policing outside of corporate limits anyway.”

In light of that, discussions began to study what the town would lose and gain if it were to pull policing back to town limits. Many neighboring municipalities either don’t have police in their jurisdiction, such as Foley, or planning within their jurisdiction, such as Elberta, Wilson said.