JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Officials with the Justice Department announced they will provide technical assistance to the Jackson Police Department (JPD) and the Hinds County Coroner’s Office, concerning their policies and procedures related to next-of-kin death notifications.
The department is providing this technical assistance to JPD and the Hinds County Coroner’s Office pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance.
DOJ officials said the lack of timely next-of-kin death notifications resulted in deceased individuals receiving pauper’s burials in unmarked graves in Hinds County. They also said some reports indicated that there may be a perception that race or other factors played a role in the process concerning next-of-kin death notifications.
“Families want and deserve transparency and the opportunity to make decisions about their loved ones’ burials,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Through technical assistance, we aim to ensure that officials are able to deliver death notifications and make decisions regarding burials in a timely and trauma-informed way that complies with federal civil rights law.”
“The department looks forward to working with city and county officials to improve the death notification system in the Jackson area so that the families of missing and deceased persons can receive all the information available about their loved ones,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi.
The technical assistance, which will be provided by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, will examine JPD’s General Order on Missing Persons and new General Order on Death Notifications and provide recommendations on implementation and training.
According to officials, the technical assistance to the Hinds County Coroner’s Office will provide recommendations on policies and training related to locating next-of-kin.
DOJ officials said the provision of technical assistance is not a finding of fault or wrongdoing by JPD, the Hinds County Coroner’s Office or any other individual or entity. They said JPD and the Hinds County Coroner’s Office voluntarily agreed to receive technical assistance and support from the department.
“Prior to this collaboration, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade took the initiative to update and strengthen the policy that JPD already had in place. The new policy consists of a checks and balances system that will help ensure that all efforts are exhausted when making an effort to notify a decedent’s next of kin. This joint effort with the DOJ is welcomed and will only improve the new standards already in place. This assistance will only help to better serve the residents of our city,” said Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba.