It exists within the Executive Branch of State Government to coordinate public safety in Alabama.

[4] ALEA is divided into two functional divisions, the Department of Public Safety and the State Bureau of Investigations.

[1] The Secretary of ALEA is responsible for appointing a Director of both divisions, after consultation with the Governor.

[7] The bill passed both houses and was signed by then Governor Robert Bentley on 19 March 2013 as Act 2013-67 and codified in the Code of Alabama 1975, Title 41 - State Government, Chapter 27 - Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.

[7][8] According to Senator Marsh, the intent of SB108 was to operate public safety "...in a more efficient, cost-effective way.”[9] This bill and its proposed consolidation of preexisting state-level law enforcement agencies (Legacy Agencies) was based on recommendations of a Public Safety Study Group created in 2012 to streamline the state's 22 agencies with law enforcement functions and cut spending.