Opinion | There’s a solution to Montgomery’s crime problem

Everyone has an opinion on Montgomery’s crime problem.

The “thugs” are out of control, they say. City leaders must do more, they say. That Black mayor needs to get his people under control, they say. The judges and cops need to stop coddling criminals and keep ‘em locked up, they say.

It will never be anything less than endlessly annoying listening to the very people who broke Montgomery attempt to explain to those trying to fix it how they’re screwing up.

Here’s the reality that no one wants to talk about: Montgomery has been broken for years.

Murders increased fairly steadily under former Mayor Todd Strange. They increased under Bobby Bright and under Emory Folmar. All of them, along with current Mayor Steven Reed, experienced steady increases and random, sharp spikes.

Strange’s spi