For Immediate Release:
“I am heartbroken by the violence that occurred in Jackson this weekend. The perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions and I mourn with the victims and their families.
Our needs in Jackson are many and I am currently at a conference to address infrastructure issues cities like Jackson face and find contemporary solutions to climate change which affected much of the South during the Winter crisis of 2021.
I am out of town, but I remain in contact with JPD.
I want residents to know my administration has been working on a comprehensive approach to address the scourge of violent crime in Jackson.
We are working closely with Hinds County to make essential upgrades and improvements to the court and detainment process where a backlog in cases and a federal consent decree has prevented justice from being carried out in many cases.
I also want to make it clear that our officers – at the risk to their own lives – are doing everything they can to make arrests and investigate cases. We understand their immense value and commitment to public safety. That is why as we continue to hold recruitment classes to bolster our police department, find ways to pay our officers better, and establish a Real-Time Crime Center to fill the gap.
For those who experience this trauma all too often, these words might sound hollow. It is precisely for that reason I am working behind the scenes to address a badly broken system.
It is unacceptable. The work must continue.”