Jackson Police Department (Mississippi)
| Jackson Police Department | |
|---|---|
 Jackson Police Patch | |
| Abbreviation | JPD |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1822 |
| Employees | 680 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Mississippi, United States |
 | |
| Map of Jackson Police Department's Jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 122 sq mi (320 km2) |
| Population | 185,000 |
| Legal jurisdiction | Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Governing body | Jackson, Mississippi |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 327 East Pascagoula Street Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Police Officers | 280 |
| Unsworn members | 250 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Precincts | 4 |
| Jails | 1 |
| Website | |
| Jackson Police website | |
The Jackson Police Department provides law enforcement services to approximately 185,000 citizens encompassing 122 square miles (320 km2) of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. JPD is composed of approximately 430 sworn officers who are supported by over 250 civilian personnel.
Brief history[]
The Jackson Police Department was established in 1822.[citation needed]
An ordinance dated January 1864 set a policeman's wages at $40.00 per month, with the exception of the city marshal, who received half the fee paid by each person put in jail. Off-duty police officers took the ferry below LeFleur's Bluff across the Pearl River into what is now Rankin County to bring back firewood to sell.[citation needed]
Eventually, pay was raised to $60.00 per month for men working twelve-hour shifts, seven days a week. There were no holidays, vacation days or days off.[citation needed]
1873 marked the appearance of the first uniformed police officers with caps, badges, and batons. 1878 marked the turning point of specialized police services, when the first police detective was appointed. In 1901, "patrol" became a rank, and men were hired for that position. In 1909, "desk sergeants" were appointed, along with mounted police, and detectives wore plain clothes for the first time. In 1917, greatly expanded specialized bureaus and divisions were formed. Early police communications were strictly one-way. The transmitter and radio operator were located at City Hall with the call letters WAMK. Officers had to depend on "call boxes" located on light poles in the downtown area to reply. It was 1952 when the department occupied a modern headquarters building at 327 East Pascagoula Street. This allowed the Jackson Police Department to operate both a municipal court and jail from one location.[citation needed]
The Police Training Academy was constructed in 1965 to consolidate instruction and training of personnel. The pistol range, included as a part of the training academy, was built on East McDowell Road.
In 1972, the first female officer was sworn in. In 1978, the city's growth prompted the police department to move to the precinct system.[citation needed]
There are now four precincts. In 1979, officers were provided with individual walkie-talkies which gave them an emergency distress button. In 1983, the size of the department grew to over 400 sworn police officers. In 2005, Shirlene Anderson was sworn in as the first female Chief of police.[citation needed]
Jackson State killings[]
On May 15, 1970, during a period of student unrest over the Vietnam War and other issues, officers with the Jackson Police and the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol opened fire with more than 150 rounds of "shotgun, carbine, rifle, and submachine gun fire", including armor-piercing bullets, on a women's dormitory at Jackson State College, killing Phillip Gibbs, a prelaw major, and James Green, a local high school student, and injuring 12 others.[1] A federal commission found the response "unreasonable, unjustified" and "clearly unwarranted", and that the Jackson officers then engaged in a "pattern of deceit", with each officer falsely claiming he had not fired a shot, until shells collected by the highway patrol were surrendered under federal grand jury order, and FBI laboratory tests confirmed that they had been fired by city police shotguns.[1]
Rank structure[]
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Chief of Police |  |
| Assistant Chief |  |
| Deputy Chief |  |
| Commander |  |
| Lieutenant |  |
| Sergeant |  |
| Detective | |
| Officer |
Fallen officers[]
| Name | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cliff Hines | 14 January 1893 | Gunshot |
| Walker Guice | 14 January 1893 | Gunshot |
| James Redmond | 1 February 1902 | Gunshot |
| Wilburn Burleson | 10 March 1961 | Motorcycle accident |
| Charles Ray Buckley | 14 March 1965 | Gunshot |
| William Louis Skinner | 19 August 1971 | Gunshot |
| Floyd Seaton | 23 May 1979 | Automobile accident |
| William Hickman | 13 April 1981 | Gunshot |
| Bobby Joe Biggert | 24 February 1989 | Gunshot |
| Rickey Joe Simmons | 4 February 1992 | Gunshot |
| Nathan Williams | 31 January 1993 | Gunshot |
| John Reid Sandifer | 18 September 1994 | Motorcycle accident |
| Robert J Washington, Senior | 15 November 1995 | Gunshot |
| Brian Ronald Kinsey | 22 October 1997 | Gunshot |
| Thomas Drumane Catchings | 17 March 2005 | Gunshot |
| Glenn Victor Agee | 6 August 2010 | Gunshot |
| Eric Tyrone Smith | 4 April 2013 | Gunshot |
| Bruce Jacob | 20 July 2013 | Motor Vehicle Collision |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b * "Jackson Police Fire on Students". The New York Times. May 15, 1970. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- President's Commission on Campus Unrest (1970). The Report of the President's Commission on Campus Unrest (PDF) (Report). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 411, 429–436, 456–457. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- "1970 shooting at Jackson State: Gibbs, Green families, scenes from 50 years ago". Clarion Ledger. May 15, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ Officer Down Memorial Page, retrieved 7 September 2012
External links[]
Coordinates: 32°17′49″N 90°11′01″W / 32.296940°N 90.183748°W
- Organizations based in Jackson, Mississippi
- Municipal police departments of Mississippi
- 1822 establishments in Mississippi
- Government of Jackson, Mississippi