By the end of 2023, the number of Capitol Police officers providing law enforcement within the boundaries of the Capitol Complex Improvement District should double.
The 2022 legislative session provided funding for the additional law enforcement to be on the streets in Jackson.
Plans are to expand the number of Capitol Police officers from 75 to 150 and fully equip them with what they need to do their job, said Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
“Our goal is not to just get officers who work for other jurisdictions,” he said. “We want to recruit new officers into law enforcement.”
Both Bo Luckey, who was named last month by the Governor to serve as chief of Capitol Police, and Joshua Shipp, who will serve as the assistant chief, are adjunct criminal justice professors and that should be useful in recruiting efforts, Tindell said.
Luckey is an adjunct professor at Mississippi College, and Shipp is an adjunct at the University of Mississippi. “They know their way around these colleges teaching criminal law,” he said.
Luckey and Shipp bring years of experience in law enforcement to the job.
Luckey served as the senior criminal investigator in the Mississippi Attorney General’s office, working in both the Human Trafficking Unit and the Consumer Protection Division.
Shipp’s most recent experience includes work as a patrol shift lieutenant in the Oxford Police Department. He previously served in the U.S. Secret Service in Washington D.C. where he provided protection for the White House Complex and Vice President’s Residence.
To clarify the responsibilities of the Capitol Police and the Jackson Police Department, a memorandum of understanding will be signed, Tindell said.
Tindell said he anticipates sitting down with Jackson Police Chief James Davis having a conversation about how the Department of Public Safety and Capitol Police can work closely with JPD.
“I have met with Chief Davis on two or three occasions,” he said “I have met with Jackson city council members, the mayor, all of those folks. We’ll find time and hopefully work out any issues they have.”
Davis said JPD always works with Capitol Police. “The Legislature is giving them money, and I hope they will provide services inside the Capitol Complex like citizens expect,” he said.
The boundaries of the Capitol Complex Improvement District encompass the major state properties in Jackson. The western boundary captures Jackson State University and the Jackson Medical Mall. The eastern boundary extends across Interstate-55 to include LeFleur’s Bluff, the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Mississippi Children’s Museum and the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum. The northern boundary extends beyond the Fondren business district to Meadowbrook Road. The southern boundary is South Street.
“JPD is the police force for the city of Jackson,” Tindell said. “We’re here to help, not take anything away or step on anyone’s toes.”
Tindell said he’s met with Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones about how Capitol Police could work with his deputies, perhaps on a task force.
David Blount, who represents District 29 in the Mississippi Senate, said increasing the number of Capitol Police officers so they can respond to calls in the district and allow Jackson Police Department officers to focus their attention in other parts of the city was a priority of the Jackson legislative delegation during the 2022 session.
“The point is that every officer working for Capitol Police in a defined area allows JPD to employ greater resources elsewhere in the city,” he said.
Blount said he appreciates the efforts of JPD, but the department is underfunded and needs additional officers. “This is a way to get more officers on the street,” he said.
Blount said he and other members of the Legislature are hopeful Capitol Police and JPD can work out details about how they work together whether it’s responding to a traffic accident or house burglary.
Tindell expects Capitol Police officers will respond to calls about violent crimes, property crimes, auto burglaries, robberies and more within the boundaries of the district, Tindell said. Capitol Police will have an investigative division and will need to hire investigators, he said.
Capitol Police officers will be able to stop drivers who are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and will be able to test them, he said.
Tindell said he was unsure if officers would be able to use radar to record speeding drivers, but he plans to check into the requirements for its use.
Capitol Police does not plan to take 9-11 calls but would like to do so in the future, Tindell said.
Capitol Police officers will also continue to secure and protect buildings within the district.
Many of the current Capitol Police officers are career law enforcement officers, and there’s a role and place for what they’ve been doing, Tindell said.
“I have full confidence in their abilities,” he said. “I met with Chief Luckey, and he’s impressed with their abilities.”
The former Wright & Ferguson Building on High Street is being renovated and will serve as headquarters for Capitol Police. Plans call for the building to have four to six temporary holding cells for use after initial arrests and then for holding facilities in Hinds, Madison or Rankin to be used, he said. Agreements will need to be worked out for Capitol Police to use those county facilities, he said.
Jackson Municipal Court and Hinds County Justice Court or Circuit Court would hear cases originated by Capitol Police, Tindell said.
