OT: Jackson Crime is Changing

[FreeDawg]

We all know the murders are up but the actual way it’s happening is getting wild. There has always been shootings and murders going back decades but they were you’re basic motive shootings ie crime of passion, fued/dispute escalated too far, or nightclub fights that spill over to the parking lot. None of those reasons are uncommon in any city across America that has low-income populous.

What’s changed in Jackson that makes me nervous is the nature of these shootings. It’s almost becoming sport-like similar to street gangs in the prohibition days. Allegedly, 3 of the more recent murders were hits. You had a hit on 220 they called road rage (allegedly). The 2 guys that got killed on Bailey was a deal where some females set up 2 men to meet them at a nightclub and they were ambushed outside (allegedly). And the most recent and brazen was the shooting on ridegwood where they boxed in a car and unloaded on them in broad daylight (allegedly).

I really wonder what is possible to turn it around. In the early 2000s guys had pistols. Now everybody has semi auto weapons and massive clips for their handguns. If you FB search any of the deceased when JPD releases a name, several have these guns on their FB page for public consumption. Jackson has less cops than it ever has, the streets have more and better guns, and the culture is shifting towards a really brazen danger in very public areas. How do they fix this or is in simply unfixable at the moment.

 

[MSUDawg25]

 

[jethreauxdawg]

When you tolerate the petty crimes, it eventually turns to this. To slow this down, you need to aggressively go after petty crime. Nip it in the bud before it grows.

 

[Xenomorph]

 

[Russ Wheeler]

The answer is more police presence, but it's obvious that is not desired. This is hardly a Jackson issue, though.

ETA: It's a shame because all the efforts to revitalize downtown areas around the country have been undone by COVID and now the war on police. People are now moving back to the suburbs so downtowns are lawless yet again, with entertainment districts going bankrupt.

 

[Herbert Nenninger]

At the very least, need another no nonsense Frank Melton type to step up.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

At the very least, need another no nonsense Frank Melton type to step up.

They ran him off, so it's obvious they don't want that. Stop trying to save what doesn't want to be saved.

 

[SwampDawg]

Back in the '50s I had relatives that ran a dry cleaners in Jackson. I would go up there in the summer and have a blast. My cousin and I would ride a bus into the downtown area, go to movies and where ever else we wanted to go and were completely safe. Don't think I would even drive my car through downtown in the middle of the day now, much less at night.

 

[Junction John]

Easy for you to say. I'm guessing you don't live/work/own property in Jackson.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

Easy for you to say. I'm guessing you don't live/work/own property in Jackson.

You're right and I understand your sentiment. Downtown will always be somewhat safe due to the volume of people there. But what else can you do besides move? I mean even Clay Edwards left.

It really does suck because Jackson has great bones and could be a very good city, at least downtown.

 

[kired]

This is even more OT but... I lived there for a year in the early 2000s and hated it. Had a great job offer when I graduated but turned it down because I didn't want to work in Jackson, and have tried to avoid the city if at all possible ever since. I went to a funeral there ~2 years ago, driving south on i-55 and a damn recliner chair flies out of the back of a truck ahead of us and hits the car next to me at about 65mph.

Told my wife that's it - we're never coming back.

 

[Junction John]

Downtown is perfectly fine during the work week. Most people walk to lunch, and it's actually quite nice. And there's a ton of foot traffic walking around between a few bars on Saturday nights, although I'm guessing that may not be your scene. But I will say, JPD better put some people down there on foot or horseback or whatever on Saturday nights, just to have a presence before it takes a negative turn crime-wise. One bad incident would erase whatever momentum it has built up.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

This is even more OT but... I lived there for a year in the early 2000s and hated it. Had a great job offer when I graduated but turned it down because I didn't want to work in Jackson, and have tried to avoid the city if at all possible ever since. I went to a funeral there ~2 years ago, driving south on i-55 and a damn recliner chair flies out of the back of a truck ahead of us and hits the car next to me at about 65mph.

Told my wife that's it - we're never coming back.

That's just cities bro. That's a normal day in Memphis, Birmingham or Atlanta. It's not right in the world without a car being on fire on the side of 240. I was also in Atlanta the day the bridge was on fire, didn't really even blink.

 

[Junction John]

Agree, and I don't know. My answer would be more police, but (a) you have a set of people who fight against that; and (b) someone has to pay for it... And higher taxes is going to run what little base you have left off. It's a difficult situation, and headed in the wrong direction.

 

[Shmuley]

To the tune of "Anticipation" ...................................................................................................................................................................

"Gentrification"

 

[fishwater99]

Don't Worry, it's all under control.

View attachment 20070

 

[maroonmadman]

They ran him off, so it's obvious they don't want that. Stop trying to save what doesn't want to be saved.

They did not run Frank Melton off, he died in office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Melton While Melton's methods were met with high approval by law and order advocates his methods were legally questionable. Remember the crack house he and JPD took sledge hammers to? The city eventually had to pay for that. His methods, however questionable, were having some success. Too bad nobody sought to weigh out the difference between paying off lawsuits vs. ineffective police policy favorable to criminals.

Jackson's woes began in the late 80's to early 90's when numerous industries began to leave. On Hwy. 80 was Westinghouse, Armstrong Tile, over on State St near County Line was Presto and US Steel, over in west Jackson was Frito Lay and a few others I can't remember. Most of these industries had a few hundred employees, added together they provided good jobs and steady tax flow into the Jackson city coffers. Some left due to NAFTA some just due to businesses re-aligning, buy outs, and some were trying to get better tax deals from the city that they never got. Loss of jobs was quickly followed by a rise in crime which was followed by residents leaving for the less crime infested suburbs. If Jackson wants to recover they need to attract some form of industry/business. In order to do that they have to get a handle on crime. In order to get a handle on crime they need more police that they cannot afford to hire due to the myriad problems facing the city. A catch 22 if you will.

There are no easy solutions to Jackson's woes. It is a crying shame to see our capitol city go to ruin.

Now if you think all was peachy keen in Jackson prior to blacks exercising their political power you would only be partially correct. All was peachy keen in the white neighborhoods while the black neighborhoods things were somewhat marginal. When Harvey Johnson was elected as Jackson's first black mayor he tried to bring some of the black neighborhoods up to par but was hamstrung by loss of tax revenue due to industry and residents fleeing the city which led to a decline in white neighborhoods infrastructure which did have the effect of bringing about a form of equality, a ****** equality but equality nonetheless.

Since Melton passed away Jackson leadership has been ineffective in solving its' problems. And that's where we find ourselves today.

 

[Junction John]

Catvet 2.0**

 

[Maroon Eagle]

...no nonsense Frank Melton type...

That right there is an oxymoron.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

He did die in office but he had lost the mayoral election which was on the day he had the cardiac arrest that killed him two days later.

I thought his best move was making McMillin the police chief.

 

[maroonmadman]

He did die in office but he had lost the mayoral election which was on the day he had the cardiac arrest that killed him two days later.

I thought his best move was making McMillin the police chief.

Correct. I had forgot he had his heart attack on election day.

McMillin was a good choice, but too heavy handed for some of Jackson's city council.

I lived on the corner of Ridgewood Rd. and Old Canton Rd for about 6 years. Long enough to go through a couple of election cycles. McMillin would pay us $50 to put his large campaign sign on that busy corner. I always liked McMillin.

 

[Mobile Bay]

To the tune of "Anticipation" ...................................................................................................................................................................

"Gentrification"

Only a democrat is dumb enough to see a ****** thing being made into a nice thing, and call it bad.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men

View attachment 20071

 

[maroonmadman]

Don't Worry, it's all under control.

View attachment 20070

^^^^^ This is Jackson's biggest problem. ^^^^^^
(intentional fat joke here)

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

We all know the murders are up but the actual way it’s happening is getting wild. There has always been shootings and murders going back decades but they were you’re basic motive shootings ie crime of passion, fued/dispute escalated too far, or nightclub fights that spill over to the parking lot. None of those reasons are uncommon in any city across America that has low-income populous.

What’s changed in Jackson that makes me nervous is the nature of these shootings. It’s almost becoming sport-like similar to street gangs in the prohibition days. Allegedly, 3 of the more recent murders were hits. You had a hit on 220 they called road rage (allegedly). The 2 guys that got killed on Bailey was a deal where some females set up 2 men to meet them at a nightclub and they were ambushed outside (allegedly). And the most recent and brazen was the shooting on ridegwood where they boxed in a car and unloaded on them in broad daylight (allegedly).

I really wonder what is possible to turn it around. In the early 2000s guys had pistols. Now everybody has semi auto weapons and massive clips for their handguns. If you FB search any of the deceased when JPD releases a name, several have these guns on their FB page for public consumption. Jackson has less cops than it ever has, the streets have more and better guns, and the culture is shifting towards a really brazen danger in very public areas. How do they fix this or is in simply unfixable at the moment.

Previous Jackson resident here who has worked downtown for 25 plus years. When I first got here, downtown was happening with tons of foot traffic and many restaurants and festivals. Many things happened, but the biggest issue was professional firms moving to Madison, Ridgeland and Flowood, Jackson made little effort to keep them. Even before the pandemic, downtown traffic had decreased dramatically from the mid 90s. So many mistakes were made (Convention Center, Farish Street, etc.) that I can't even begin to list them all. The current mayor, who is more interested in being a victim that trying to fix issues, easily won the democratic nomination again. The downtown area has a lot of potential still and can be saved, but it will take a leader who wants to development entertainment/business options that would draw dollars in from the suburbs, but the current administration is not interested in that.

 

[RotorHead]

The local government is a joke. The mayor himself is a walking example of futility, dude couldn't pour water out of a boot if instructions were written on the heel.
In Jackson, you have a population of which the majority lives below the poverty line. I'm not here to judge the causality of that, but it is a well known fact that population centers below the poverty line have a higher (exponentially?) violent crime rate. It doesn't help that the city council is more concerned with their pocket book and less concerned with the safety and well-being of their constituents, despite what they preach in front of the camera. If they were concerned, their wouldn't have been such a fuss about the most recent primaries where the possibility arose of council members living within the wards they represent; now, I believe that was overturned or at least "brushed under the rug."
Even if the city did have the numbers in the JPD to provide adequate police presence, I sincerely doubt it would do any good. The city itself needs a good kick in the teeth; the city council isn't going to provide that, the mayor won't provide it, and asking Hinds SO for policing help is going to end up backfiring somehow due to SO's generally policing a little different than city cops.
I'm ranting, I'll stop now

 

[thatsbaseball]

Focusing on JPD is missing the target by a mile. JPD does a damn good job with the resources they have. If you want to really get to the core of the problem just start looking at the "rap sheets" of these violent perps when they are caught. Most of them ought to already be locked up for serious crimes they committed earlier and the rest are usually on probation of some type. All of this goes straight back to the voters who keep reelecting pols and judges that are soft on crime. The only answer I see is the state taking the place over and in today's world that would probably fail also.

 

[FreeDawg]

Absolutely. Not fair to single out JPD. They’re just one spoke on the wheel but this latest shooting really highlights why Jackson is so crazy. The initial incident was at Northpark mall the the shooters followed them from the mall and jumped at the first opportunity not in Madison Co. That speaks volumes. (Allegedly)

 

[Cooterpoot]

Build a wall around Jackson. Never let anyone out. Just one giant prison. But build JSU a dome stadium for football.

 

[SteelCurtain74]

In 1999 a study was done that said Jackson needed 638 police officers to properly serve the city. Based on today's population, that number is about 603 officers. JPD currently has around 300 officers. The mayor did JPD no favors when he raised the pay for new recruits but not veteran officers. It also doesn't help that there seems to be a distrust within JPD with their leadership. Allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, etc. They are having a hard time recruiting officers.

This is not a popular opinion but I don't think anything changes unless the state steps in and takes control or at the very least require the city leaders to provide a comprehensive plan for crime, infrastructure, etc. The problem is that anyone with any common sense won't run for office in Jackson so that leaves a bunch of people with no business experience, budget experience etc.

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

Well. There is a way to change it when enough people are sick of it. But it came and went this month and the status quo was approved.

If the majority is satisfied with the current status.. you live with it or pull the ejection handle. No other choice. There are many other places in this state where you can live that has reliable running water, no craters for potholes, and far less crime. Consider them.

 

[Junction John]

Assume you mean the election. Yeah, unfortunately in today's political climate, no one who "cares" about the city enough to run for mayor, and who would make hard decisions, be tough on crime, force the city to tighten its belt, etc. would EVER get elected. Ever. It's status quo or bust for nearly 90% of the population. Or, sadly more accurately, status quo and bust.

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

Assume you mean the election. Yeah, unfortunately in today's political climate, no one who "cares" about the city enough to run for mayor, and who would make hard decisions, be tough on crime, force the city to tighten its belt, etc. would EVER get elected. Ever. It's status quo or bust for nearly 90% of the population. Or, sadly more accurately, status quo and bust.

I tell you.... if I was in Jackson and worried about that.. I would pack the family truckster and head north on 55 to Desoto County. Or take 45 North to Lee County.

and I wouldn’t look back. That’s just me though.

 

[LittleBigDog]

"When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong."

Solomon said it best.

 

[JMC987]

That's just cities bro. That's a normal day in Memphis, Birmingham or Atlanta. It's not right in the world without a car being on fire on the side of 240. I was also in Atlanta the day the bridge was on fire, didn't really even blink.

Agreed. Downtown Memphis is getting out of control as well. Then to your other post. We need more police, to support police and stiffer sentencing when adjudicated. However, with Dementia Joe and his party in control, we are going to push things the complete opposite direction and handcuff the police even tighter. Police will retire as soon as they are eligible. Police departments won't be able to hire competent replacements and things will get worse.

Where is Cerentola? I have a few Qs about living in the Canadian wilderness.

 

[johnson86-1]

You're right and I understand your sentiment. Downtown will always be somewhat safe due to the volume of people there. But what else can you do besides move? I mean even Clay Edwards left.

It really does suck because Jackson has great bones and could be a very good city, at least downtown.

One small thing that could be done would be for the city to divest its water and sewer system. When you have a voting populace that is too irresponsible to run a city, you definitely don't want them in charge of utilities. There's going to be parts of Jackson that are just not economic to serve because of the cost of collection combined with the cost of service is going to make it uneconomic, but you could probably get somebody to take it over in exchange for getting everything and a strong commitment from the NOrthern and Southern Public Service Commissioners that they would be allowed to charge a rate that covers their costs.

Not so easy to shield things like roads and the criminal justice system from the negative consequences of a voting populace that is not capable of self governance. Maybe have the state take over some areas on the basis that it's the location of state government and have crimes committed in those areas moved out of the hinds county so that serious crimes result in prison sentences?

It would probably help some to do a voucher program for schools. Maybe some taxpayers would stick around if they didn't have to pay high taxes and then also spring full freight for private school?

You just have to offer them something to stay besides a shorter commute. Crime, potholes, bad water, expensive tuition bills. Just try on some of it.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

We all know the murders are up but the actual way it’s happening is getting wild. There has always been shootings and murders going back decades but they were you’re basic motive shootings ie crime of passion, fued/dispute escalated too far, or nightclub fights that spill over to the parking lot. None of those reasons are uncommon in any city across America that has low-income populous.

What’s changed in Jackson that makes me nervous is the nature of these shootings. It’s almost becoming sport-like similar to street gangs in the prohibition days. Allegedly, 3 of the more recent murders were hits. You had a hit on 220 they called road rage (allegedly). The 2 guys that got killed on Bailey was a deal where some females set up 2 men to meet them at a nightclub and they were ambushed outside (allegedly). And the most recent and brazen was the shooting on ridegwood where they boxed in a car and unloaded on them in broad daylight (allegedly).

I really wonder what is possible to turn it around. In the early 2000s guys had pistols. Now everybody has semi auto weapons and massive clips for their handguns. If you FB search any of the deceased when JPD releases a name, several have these guns on their FB page for public consumption. Jackson has less cops than it ever has, the streets have more and better guns, and the culture is shifting towards a really brazen danger in very public areas. How do they fix this or is in simply unfixable at the moment.

No longer electing democrats would be a good start. Just to be honest.

 

[RotorHead]

It seems evident to everyone outside of Jackson as to why criminals make a break for the city limits post-crime. It's equivalent to jumping the border into Mexico during the Wild West...once you make it across...you're home free. However, it still seems to evade the city leadership as to why they have such high crime rates. The discussions here about the status quo are dead on. Current leadership will keep doing what they've been doing to be reelected by conditioning the people of Jackson to vote for them in minute ways. Rumor has it Kenny Stokes buys school supplies for kids every year. Not a bad idea if not for the ulterior motive, and, it coerces the population into believing he's in it for them. He's not.

 

[RotorHead]

Good luck getting someone even center/left in there. It doesn't fit the narrative.

 

[8dog]

And be 3 hours farther from NOLA and the beach and be even colder in winter? Pass I will take my water with extra rust and my bullets in the leg thanks.