Motorists should expect additional safety inspections at Redstone Arsenal gates following what the deputy police chief called an uptick in the amount of unregistered firearms and drugs and narcotics found at the gates and during traffic stops on the installation.
“In fiscal year ’22, we had approximately four arrests related to the carry of unregistered firearms and 29 related to drugs/narcotics,” Dennis Brown, the deputy police chief, said, and “in FY ’23, we had 17 arrests for the carry of unregistered weapons and 13 related to drugs/narcotics.
Brown said so far in FY ’24 they’ve made 20 arrests related to the unregistered firearms and 30 related to drug/narcotics.
About 140 vehicles were inspected May 14 during the morning rush hour, according to Brown. “While we did not find any weapons or drugs/narcotics during this mission, we did find some minor infractions,” he said.
While Redstone police has its own K-9 section, for the mission they partnered with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office that provided a drug detection team to support the mission.
“Overall, I believe the mission was a success and met the intent of the Garrison and senior commander in attacking this problem, and the community can expect to see more of these type missions in the future,” Brown said.
“Our second initiative has been selective speed enforcement,” he said. “As the installation has slowly recovered from the COVID pandemic and more personnel have begun returning to the office to work, we have observed an increase in speeding on the installation.”
Brown said that several near-miss collisions, traffic stops for excessive speed – 15 mph or over – and complaints from the community drove he selective approach to speed enforcement.
“A recent boost in manpower has been beneficial in conducting speed enforcement missions throughout the Garrison, and the community can expect to see more of these missions occurring in the coming months.”
During the May 15 Commander’s Update Brief, Garrison Commander Col. Brian Cozine again asked Redstone tenants to leave unregistered weapons at home and watch their speed while traveling on the installation.
“We still have that problem on base with unregistered weapons,” he said. “We’re asking for your help and to continue to message your teams that unregistered weapons are not allowed on a federal installation.”
Cozine said that “concealed carry is authorized in the state but is not allowed on the installation.”
An Alabama law, effective on Jan. 1, 2023, allows people in the state to carry a concealed handgun without acquiring a state permit or undergoing a background check.
“Expect that both of those initiatives … will continue on in the near future as we continue to try to keep our base safe,” Cozine said.
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