JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) signed House Bill 1020.
According to the bill, Capitol police would be given primary jurisdiction within the expanded Capital Complex Improvement District (CCID) boundary lines. Jackson police would have secondary jurisdiction.
The bill will also allow place certain areas within the majority-Black city — most of them majority-white neighborhoods — under the jurisdiction of a new court system. That new system would send those convicted of misdemeanors to state prisons rather than to county jails, as currently happens, the Clarion-Ledger reported.
It would be run by judges appointed by the Republican-appointed Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court and prosecutors appointed by the Republican attorney general, rather than elected.
“The fact is that Jackson has so much potential. It is our capital city and the heart of our state. It is where I have lived for over one-third of my life,” said Reeves. “But Jackson has to be better. Downtown Jackson should be so safe that it is a magnet for talented young people to come and live and work and create. This legislation won’t solve the entire problem, but if we can stop one shooting, if we can respond to one more 911 call – then we’re one step closer to a better Jackson. I refuse to accept the status quo. As long as I’m Governor, the state will keep fighting for safer streets for every Mississippian no matter their politics, race, creed, or religion – regardless of how we’re portrayed by liberal activists or in the national media.”
“Jacksonians want a safer city more than anyone, but this is not what real public safety looks like,” said ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jarvis Dortch. “If our state lawmakers really wanted to help fight crime, they would invest more tax dollars into mental health and anti-poverty programs to better support all of our communities, not finding new ways to oppress and overpower the Black residents of this state. No one should have to live with the fear of being targeted, harassed, or killed by law enforcement, especially in their own neighborhoods.”
The governor announced that he also signed the following bills:
- Senate Bill 2343 expands the jurisdiction of Capitol Police in the Capitol Complex Improvement District. It provides primary jurisdiction to Capitol Police in the CCID and concurrent jurisdiction in Jackson.
- House Bill 795 increases the fines and penalties for shoplifting in Mississippi.
- Senate Bill 2101 increases the minimum term of imprisonment for the crime of fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer, increases the minimum term of imprisonment for the crime or carjacking and armed carjacking, and ensures that those minimum imposed terms shall not be reduced or suspended.
