MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Secretary Hal Taylor is pleased to share Governor Kay Ivey’s appointment of ALEA’s Deputy Secretary John Hamm as the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC), effective Jan. 1, 2022.
Secretary Taylor said, “John is a dedicated public servant with more than 35 years of law enforcement experience and has brought a standard of excellence to ALEA. I am extremely confident that he will utilize the same level of resolve and determination as he embarks on this new journey at the Alabama Department of Corrections.”
In February 2018, Secretary Taylor appointed Deputy Secretary Hamm to lead ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation, a position Hamm held until April of this year, when Secretary Taylor appointed him Deputy Secretary.
“I am honored and humbled by Governor Ivey appointing me as Commissioner of Corrections,” Hamm said. “I will work diligently with the men and women of DOC to fulfill Governor Ivey’s charge of solving the issues of Alabama’s prison system.”
Deputy Secretary Hamm’s career began in 1985, when he became a police department dispatcher while attending Jacksonville State University. He then progressed from patrolman to state investigator to federal law enforcement officer before becoming elected as the Sheriff of Barbour County. In December 2014, he joined ALEA as its Governmental Affairs Director.
When he was named ALEA’s Deputy Secretary, he was asked what elements have you found to be the most rewarding throughout your career. “It is the ability to assist citizens with their issues – whether it is through enforcement action or by simply providing them with the most accurate information possible,” he said.
