John Oliver put Alabama back in the spotlight during his HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” this time even praising the work of this site’s journalists covering crime in the state.

The HBO host spends the half-hour discussing crime reporting, focusing on the incentives driving the outlets that cover it, the flawed sources they rely upon and the greater harm it can do to all of us.

“You’ve undoubtedly noticed that crime makes up a significant part of your local news’ programming, but the scale of that coverage has a real impact,” he said. “Research has shown that viewing local TV news is related to increase fear of and concern about crime, and the TV news viewers are also more likely to support tougher crime policies.”

Oliver then says that research might explain “why our perceptions of crime can sharply be at odds with the reality of it.”

After lampooning several local outlets’ coverage of various stories — including the dangers of finding “rainbow fentanyl” while trick-or-treating — Oliver singled out the in-depth investigative work on the Brookside Police Department by AL.com’s John Archibald. Archibald worked with reporters Ashley Remkus and Ramsey Archibald, and editor Challen Stephens to expose how Brookside, a small town north of Birmingham, multiplied its police force and saw revenue from traffic stops soar in recent years.

The reporting uncovered that, in 2018, total revenue for the town of Brookside was $586,000. By 2020 – due almost entirely to aggressive policing – it rose to $1.2 million. Fines and forfeitures made up 49 percent of the town revenue, and most of it went right back to the police and courts. Traffic tickets increased more than 600 percent in a single year, arrests almost 450 percent, according to their reporting. And while the town paid officers as little as $12 an hour, Brookside PD Chief Mike Jones used state-disbursed federal grant money to lure new hires with thousands of hours of overtime.

The reporting prompted multiple state investigations and led to immediate promises of change in police policies in Brookside, such as reduced patrol zones and clearly marked vehicles.

Oliver led the segment by referencing a TV news station “excitedly reporting on a new initiative from their police department, which police said was getting real results.” He also gave credit to ABC 33/40′s 2019 reporting on drivers questioning tickets they had received from Brookside PD before noting AL.com’s coverage.

“But it wasn’t until two years later, that in-depth investigation from AL.com revealed what had actually been happening, and that is that Brookside, a town of just 1,200 people, was having its finances rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing, with bulls–t traffic tickets being issued at a truly ridiculous rate,” Oliver said.

Oliver then joked about ways Brookside PD used the cash, including buying two drug-sniffing dogs, one of which they named “K9 Cash.”

“I will say, he does look like a ‘K9 Cash,’ and that’s not a compliment! Bad dog!” he said.

“The point is, what was actually happening in Brookside turned out to be a pretty far cry from the initial coverage of ‘Hey, great news! This small-town police force is apparently Miami Vice all of the sudden. Anyway, no further questions,’” he continued. “By presenting police uncritically, you’re not just helping them dodge accountability, you’re giving them a huge lobbying platform.

Oliver also referenced Alabama during a May 2022 episode, criticizing Gov. Kay Ivey and the new law banning certain medical treatments for minors with gender dysphoria. “No one should ever face criminal punishment for providing health care to young people,” Oliver said before spotlighting Ivey’s role in passing the bill into law. He introduced the governor to his audience as “a woman who, as you can see, always looks like she’s saying ‘ham.’”

Oliver then shared footage of trans people and others reacting to the bill, including comments heard in a recent video produced by AL.com. “You can’t help thinking that this whole thing is just right-wing virtue signaling sending a hateful message to a conservative base with no thought given to the pain it will case,” Oliver said. “And no matter what the eventual fate of this law is, actual trans people and their advocates in Alabama have heard the message it was meant to send, loud and clear.”

Watch the “Last Week Tonight” segment above, and watch AL.com’s documentary featuring Brookside below.