FLOWOOD, Miss. (WJTV) – The inaugural Mississippi Public Safety Summit was held on Monday in Flowood.
The three-day summit invites law enforcement officials from across the state to share ideas on how to create a safer Mississippi.
“One of the things I knew that we had never really done is pull all our public safety officials together in one room to hear from different folks about how they can improve leadership, how they can improve morale,” said Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner Sean Tindell.
Public safety was a focal point throughout the 2023 Legislative Session with controversial House Bill 1020 at the center of the most heated debates this year. Tindell believes the bill, which was signed by Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.), will have a positive impact on public safety throughout Jackson.
“I think it’s a force multiplier. When we look at what really 1020 did as far as increasing the number of Capitol police in the jurisdiction, it was an effort by the Legislature to try to try to help Jackson. We feel like it’s a good thing. If we can take the politics out of public safety, our communities will be a lot better off,” said Tindell.
Many Jackson lawmakers and residents oppose the bill due to fears surrounding the transparency of Capitol police and the impact they could have on Jackson’s majority Black population.
“We’re going to try to do our part to be more of a community based law enforcement agency. I’ve gone to multiple town halls, as has Chief Luckey, and we’ve heard their concerns, and we’ve tried to address them. We’ve brought on things like a public relations official that is trying to get out in the community and work. And while there are some that might not appreciate the added law enforcement, I hear from much more that really do,” Tindell stated.
House Bill 1020’s companion legislation, Senate Bill 2343, has also been signed into law and mandates a regular meeting be held to address the concerns of the public.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to explain where we are with crime in the city, but also an opportunity to explain where we are and join the efforts and the things that we’re trying to do to improve the public safety in the community,” Tindell said.
According to the bill, each meeting shall be called by the chief of Capitol police, and the first meeting shall be called by October 15, 2023.