JACKSON, Miss.—As Lucy Crawford shared her thoughts about the City of Jackson’s nationwide search for a new chief of police, she said her main concern is that the person should be an internal hire—not a law enforcement leader brought in from another state.
“I think it needs to be somebody here in Jackson, somebody here in Mississippi that knows what criminal justice is,” Crawford told The City’s Police Chief Search Committee co-chair Ken Wilson on Sept. 24. “Somebody that is going to be honorable and respectable to our community.”
Crawford was one of about 30 people gathered at the Westside Community Center for the second installment of the City’s series of community forums. The Committee designed the forums to collect input from residents about what they would like to see in the City’s next chief of police. At the forum, several people said they worried the city would hire an outsider for the position.
“If we get someone from the outside, they’re not going to know Jackson. They’re not going to be able to relate to our citizens in Jackson,” Crawford, a lifelong Jacksonian, told the Mississippi Free Press following the forum.
‘Find A Viable Candidate’
Former Jackson Chief of Police Joseph Wade announced his retirement from the force during the Jackson City Council’s Aug. 26 meeting. His career with JPD spanned nearly three decades and he resigned two years after former Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba appointed him to lead the department.
JPD reported earlier this year that homicides are on the decline compared with previous years. Still, Wade said that the stress of the job led to his decision to step down.
Jackson Mayor John Horhn did not attend Tuesday’s community listening session. But the mayor’s communications director, Nic Lott, said that all interested in the position, no matter internal or external, can apply for the role. An outside firm is assisting the City of Jackson with the nationwide search.
Mostly older residents attended the Wednesday night forum, with many saying that they appreciated the opportunity to share their thoughts on the new chief and policing in the capital city.
‘If He Or She Is Not Qualified’
For some, the conversation also shifted to the importance of tenure or how long an officer has been with the force, versus finding the most qualified candidate.
For Johnny Byrd, a top concern should be making sure that whoever the mayor appoints to the position is the most qualified person for the job. Byrd is vice president of the Association of South Jackson Neighborhoods.
“If he or she is not qualified, I don’t care if they’re my neighbor, my cousin, my fraternity brother, my church member, my whatever, they are unqualified,” said Byrd, a native of the Mississippi Delta.
“Knowing a person does not mean that he or she is qualified to be in a leadership position,” he continued.
There is no deadline for the nationwide search for the next police chief and it will continue until they “find a viable candidate,” Ken Wilson, co-chair of the City of Jackson’s Police Chief Search Committee, told residents on Sept. 16.
Ultimately, Seymore Bell, president of the Westside Community Neighborhood Association, said he hopes whoever the new chief is will facilitate efforts to build bridges between the city’s police officers and the communities they serve.
“I think in some areas what we have is kind of a disconnect between the citizens and the police department,” he said. “If you go to an officer and you say, ‘how do you feel about ‘Brother Willis’ or ‘Miss Barbara,’’ and he’s working in that area and he doesn’t know who that is … something’s wrong.”
He told the Mississippi Free Press following the forum that he envisions an investment in community policing that would help residents see officers as part of their community rather than overseers of their communities. “The responsibility of that is not solely on the police chief. If both parties put forth an effort, I think it can happen,” he said.
The City of Jackson will host additional forums from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at the following locations:
- Monday, Sept. 29, at the Jackson Medical Mall on 350 West Woodrow Wilson Ave
- Tuesday, Sept. 30, at First Presbyterian Church on 1390 N State St
- Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Greater Mount Calvary Baptist Church at 1900 Robinson Road
Residents who cannot attend a forum in person can submit an anonymous survey with their thoughts about the City’s search for a new police chief at jacksonms.gov/survey.
