Capitol Police, JPD vow to work together
In a sight seldom seen by the public, both chiefs of the Jackson Police Department and the Capitol Police sat down with members of the Jackson City Council to assure there will be further collaboration once the expansion of the Capitol Complex Improvement District goes into affect in nearly seven weeks.
Come July 1, the Capitol Police, a state-run unit of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, will have primary jurisdiction as far north as Northside Drive and as far south as Raymond Road. There have been lingering questions as to what this expansion of jurisdiction will look like as far as the two law enforcement agencies working together and how it will affect residents.
Some of those questions were answered during a meeting of the Jackson City Council’s Public Safety and Parks Committee on Thursday. Both Chief Joseph Wade, of the Jackson Police Department, and Chief Bo Luckey, of the Capitol Police, answered some of the council members questions and appearing to have a working relationship.
Both chiefs admitted that sharing jurisdiction will be a “unique” task. It has been a divisive issue in Jackson recently. Some residents are in-favor of more police presence to cut down on Jackson’s continued crime problem.
Others expressed fear of the Capitol Police, who they characterized as aggressive, violent and unfamiliar with residents.
While the Capitol Police’s jurisdiction will expand, it still leaves out certain areas of each ward, but mostly Wards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which house a large portion of the city’s Black population.
The main message from Wade, who brought with him more than 10 highranking JPD officers; his department is not going anywhere.
“We’re (JPD) still going to maintain a footprint within the CCID. We’re not vacating ...,” Wade said. “But it gives us an opportunity to deploy our resources in some of the high crime areas within the City of Jackson, but we have to be strategic of that as well … It’s a situation we can navigate ourselves through as long as we’re willing to sit at the table and have a conversation about how we move forward together.”
Capitol Police’s Chief, Bo Luckey, agreed with Wade.
“Chief Wade is exactly right and since he’s become chief of the Jackson Police Department it’s been amazing to work with him. He and I have a very close relationship. We speak regularly,” Luckey said. “We’re always working together trying to make sure that we’re able to provide a cohesive, collaborative effort for the entire City of Jackson.”
The city’s 911 phone calls are also still handled by JPD, Wade said, so they will continue to be responsive to those.
Specifically, Wade said more resources will be focused in areas of the city such as South Jackson, the QueensMagnolia Terrace neighborhood in Northwest Jackson and the Presidential
Hills neighborhood
One issue that was raised is the fact that Capitol Police only enforces state laws, not City of Jackson ordinances. Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Aaron Banks asked if there was some sort of agreement that can be reached for Capitol Police to also start enforcing city ordinances.
Both Wade and Luckey agreed to discuss the issue.
“At the end of the day, and I see your point, when a citizen dials 911, they don’t know if it’s a city ordinance or a state statute,” Wade said. “I do agree it needs to cast a wide net as we navigate through this. That’s a conversation I’m willing to have.”
Latest crime statistics shared
At the end of the meeting, the council heard some of JPD’s latest crime statistics after Safiya Omari, the chief of staff for Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, clarified that crime has been down so far in 2024.
Overall, crime is down 22.2% in the city compared to this time last year. Violent crimes are down 40.5%, poverty crime is down 15.84%, according to Lacey Loftin, a data scientist with JPD.
Homicides are up in Jackson though. Currently, there have been 44 homicides for the year, compared to 39 from January to May in 2023. But the chief quickly pointed out that “24 of those 44 homicides are by acquaintances, family members, friends, loved ones.”
“So if you take away the 24 of the 44, we’d be at 20,” Wade said. “But we’ve got to change the mindset and the culture of violence of individuals who know each other who are taking each other’s lives.”
Of note is that of the 44 homicides committed this year, 33 have been solved.