BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Birmingham Police Department is witnessing an alarming trend of robberies targeting the Hispanic community.
BPD admits they are facing an uphill battle with a language barrier and a history of distrust in the Hispanic community, and that’s why they are taking to the airwaves to get the word out.
Truman Fitzgerald with BPD said “recently our robbery detectives have seen an alarming trend, and that is that we have a group of individuals who are targeting Hispanic victims and robbing them at gunpoint.”
Fitzgerald said the victims targeted were known to carry large amounts of cash, so he felt the robbers had spent some time observing the behavior of their potential victims.
Fitzgerald said one factor making the investigation more difficult is a lack of victims willing to step forward and contact the police for help.
“Our number one concern at the Birmingham police department is our whole entire community’s safety. That’s our main concern. As far as any agency above us from a federal perspective, we don’t concern ourselves with that. Our main concern is that each and every Birmingham community member is safe every day,” said Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald also said the department has recently hired several more officers who are fluent in Spanish in hopes of better serving the Hispanic community.
