Law-enforcement leaders ask committee to continue funding rapid-response task force and camera contract; cite local crime drops and data-reporting gaps

Secretary Hal Taylor told the Joint Interim Committees that the Alabama rapid-response suppression unit — the MAX task force — has aided Montgomery-area operations and that continued funding would let the unit respond to hotspots statewide. Taylor also described a multiyear contract for body-worn and in-car cameras, and committee members raised concerns about incomplete crime-data reporting by local agencies.

Taylor described two funding items the department included in its FY 2026 request: the second-year payment on a five-year body-worn camera and in-car camera contract (described as $3.8 million) and a $3,000,000 request to staff and equip the Alabama Metro Area Crime Suppression (MAX) unit. He said the MAX expansion would fund 10 sworn officers plus vehicles and equipment to…