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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.

JACKSON, Miss. (May 4, 2009) – Harvey Johnson, Jr. will attend The SafeCity Take a Tasty Bite Out of Crime event this evening at Highland Village. Johnson is committed to making Jackson safe for all citizens as a part of his vision for the City and has said that creating a Crime Victims Unit will be a central element of his plan to reduce crime. Johnson offers the following data to support his record as being the only candidate to actually deliver on his promise to reduce crime in Jackson.

Annual Murder Rate in Jackson, Mississippi by year. (Source: FBI http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm).
1995 – 92
1996 – 67
The data above is prior to Mayor Harvey Johnson’s first term.
1997 – 61
1998 – 60
1999 – 45
2000 – 39
2001 – 50
2002 – 49
2003 – 45
2004 – 53
2005 – 38

Additionally, 2004 was the 2nd lowest year in terms of the number of major crimes reported (with 13,600 incidences) in the last 24 years. In 1986, the lowest number of major crimes reported – 12,600 – was recorded. As of August of 2003, 500 police officers were on the force and the City of Jackson had promoted 36 sergeants creating an 8 to 1 ratio for a span of control. Additionally, Citizens Police Academies were created and held as a part of Harvey Johnson’s administration.
For more information, please visit the following websites.

Violent Crime
http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeTrendsInOneVar.cfm

Murder
http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeTrendsInOneVar.cfm

Murder Rate
http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeTrendsInOneVar.cfm

Violent Crime Rate
http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeTrendsInOneVar.cfm

Property Crime Rate
http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeTrendsInOneVar.cfm

Speaking with citizens at a neighborhood meeting in south Jackson, Harvey Johnson told supporters, “I am committed to making Jackson safe for all citizens; creating a more transparent and accountable city government; creating cleaner neighborhoods with new and better housing opportunities; enhancing local revenue without increasing the burden on taxpayers; creating jobs for Jacksonians; improving programs and services for senior citizens; and promoting youth development.

Harvey Johnson, who served as Jackson’s Mayor for eight years, added, “Through my experience both in and out of office I have learned what works and what doesn’t. I know what it takes to make visible change, meaningful change for all of Jackson. I am the only candidate who has the experience, the integrity and the knowledge to get Jackson back on track!”

Visit http://www.harveyjohnsonformayor.com/ for more information.

Previous Comments

Looks like a press release Mayor Johnson should have sent out years ago. He pledges to have a good communications team if re-elected. We will hold him to it.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.