JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The City of Jackson is entering a new phase of law enforcement with House Bill 1020 now in effect.
The new law not only changes the judicial makeup of the capital city, but it gives the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) the added responsibility of a larger territory that Capitol police will patrol.
Capitol police will have primary jurisdiction within the Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID), and DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell is asking for more funding, as well as more officers.
“We anticipate that we’ll get more calls for issues like domestics or home burglaries or auto burglaries, more so than we get in the CCID now, which is primarily a business district in a state government office district. Particularly as you move into more neighborhoods, there’s a lot more individuals in the houses that you have to take care of,” he said.
Capitol police currently operate with about 160 officers, which is a number that could handle the current CCID boundaries. However, they could struggle with the new expanded territory.
“We realize that there’s going to be a greater burden on the agency. Our plan is to add additional officers. We’d like to get up to 225, which is something that we had met with legislators last year about doing. It’s going to be up to them this year to decide whether or not they want to actually fund those additional officers. And if they don’t, then then you know, it’s going to create some logistical changes, and some decisions are going to have to be made about do they want to keep the CCID the same size that it is,” Tindell stated.
A major concern throughout the legislative process was how Capitol police could field 911 calls. House Bill 1020 mandates the commissioner develop a capable dispatch system to handle emergencies.
“We want to make sure that we can respond to those calls quickly and effectively. And having a good solid number on one call system and dispatch is what we have to do to accomplish that. So, steps are being made to make sure that we can do that, especially as we look at the CCID expanding into more neighborhoods,” said Tindell.
Opponents to House Bill 1020 have been vocal about their concerns with Capitol police following a string of shooting incidents in the summer of 2022. Primarily Black Jacksonians have made it clear gaining the trust of Jackson could be an uphill battle.
“We’re here to be part of the solution, and we certainly don’t want to be part of the problem. And we try to create a culture of accountability in this agency where if we have officers that aren’t doing the things they’re supposed to, we’re going to hold them accountable. We want people to feel safe and have homes where they can grow up and be successful,” said Tindell.
On the judicial side of House Bill 1020, the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court is tasked with appointing the CCID Court judge. The attorney general is tasked with appointing two prosecutors.