Jackson Jambalaya

Seems to me this is the reason Madison needs to avail apartments. I live in NE Jackson and we helped with the tearing down of those apartments next to JA. People in other areas said it was a race issue. Wrong... crime on sheffield went down the instant we tore the apartments down. Look at Clinton for a lot of recent bad crime increases at apartment complexes.

Yet Ridgeland is having to fight HUD to try and keep this crap from happening in their city.

When we look back 20 years from now, it will be obvious the HUD practices beginning during Clinton's presidency were responsible for the downfall of many semi-urban, middle class areas around the country. In Jackson, the best example is 39211, north of JA. Clinton used HUD to relocate low or no income people into solidly middle class neighborhoods that had relatively low crime and steady value appreciation since being built 30-50 years before. The nail in the coffin was his move to relax lending regs thru Fannie and Freddie, allowing damn near anyone to become a homeowner. The federal govt shouldn't be in the business of creating policy that has this sort of effect on large swaths of mostly law abiding, tax paying citizens, causing the area to become dangerous for police/first responders and forevermore be a drain on all municipal resources.

8:33 - There are still apartments next to JA, and there is still a lot of crime there.

There is no doubt that crime is greater in areas with majority rental. Any comstat map will show that. Trouble is, not everyone even wants to be a home owner and some are in our City for just a few months. Many retired persons prefer to rent. Not sure how newlyweds can afford not to rent.

Anyway, trying to stand back and survey the recent rash of homicides, I have three questions:

1. Does the change in Sheriff's affect this?
2. How much do gangs play in crime in Jackson?
3. How much do drugs and gangs cause crime?

If we had a better sense of where people are buying drugs, would that let us solve some of the issue. We, as a public, need to know if the victims and/or perps are in gangs. Get the drugs and you solve a large part of the problem. Get the gangs and you solve a large part of the problem. Get the judiciary that returns drug dealers to the street and you solve part of the problem.

9:35, 8:33 is talking about another apartment complex that was across Moss Creek right next to JA, called The Oaks. The ones you're talking about that are still here are called the Park at Moss Creek, & there is little to no crime in my apartment complex, this is one of the most popular apartments to live in in NE Jackson.

The people who have the govt. paying the rent do not care about the place they live, the condition, or the crime. They know the govt. will move them to another area when they destroy the one they are living in.
People who work to pay the rent know they have to depend on themselves instead of the tax payers and will take better care of their homes.

When the apartments on Ridgewood Road across from the old Brookshire's (now called The Crossings) went HUD, NE Jackson's crime went up and the flight began. No one wants to live in an area where crime is increasing. Race is a trite argument and a red herring at that. People in Rankin County have neighbors of all races and the crime rate is far lower than Jackson's.

Also, the Oaks were purchased and torn down because JA is locked in its location and has no room to grow. Race had nothing to do with it. It was about contiguous land and expansion. If race were the motivating factor, JA would have relocated the entire campus outside the city limits and sold their buildings to the Amazing Ecclesiastical Church of Jehovah's Glory so they could build a waterpark and miniature golf course.

9:39. Yes the change in Sheriff is having an effect. This last murder may not have happened as Sheriff Lewis was running a program called MACE in this area and crime was way down. Drug dealers and stick up boys were staying away from here. This program is one that was copied from Baton Rouge and was having a major impact. Nobody tried to keep this successful program going and it died and now crime is out of control in this area again.

Thanks for the reply 12:49? I was afraid that is what I would hear. Lordy, lordy!

@11:04

The ONLY reason JA bought out the apartments instead of moving was because the board of directors at the time consisted solely of Eastover residents who would see their property values plummet if JA left the area for greener pastures. They didn't have the best interest of the school, or the children in mind. The were ONLY interested in the value of their houses. Anything else is a simple lie. Keep that in mind when you cut the check for the designer drug highschool of NE Jackson.

2:09

That's pure stupidity. One might try to call it ignorance but it is too willful to insult the less informed.

2:09, wow, chip on your shoulder about something? I don't send my kids to JA, and even I can see your comments are just plain crazy. JA is in an excellent location and is a great school. After all, the name of the school is JACKSON Academy, not Greener Cow Pasture Academy Out In the Middle of Nowhere.

Now, back to the topic of this thread, have they caught the shooter yet?

If we had a better sense of where people are buying guns, would that let us solve some of the issue. We, as a public, need to know if the victims and/or perps are carrying guns. Get the guns and you solve a large part of the problem. Get the judiciary that returns gun dealers to the street and you solve part of the problem.

So I was coming down 55 about 8 am and a line of Police cars came down the interstate with blue lights going. Then there were one coming from the south. All from Non-Jackson jurisdictions. First dont they know they are not welcome but second what is the purpose. Did Jackson request the help? Cops in other areas are so desperate for crime that they have to travel to Jackson to get it.

4:52 These people don't buy guns... they STEAL them! They know that 9 out of 10 pickups in the south have at least one in the console or under the seat. Every day in the city there are dozens of vehicles broken into during the lunch hour all along the I55 corridor alone. Multiply even a few X weeks X months...

6:11 PM....I would try and explain it to you but it would be over your head....

@4:52 - Cute rewrite of 9:39's post. First, it's more important to know whether or not the victim is in a gang than if the victim is armed. Then you say "Get the guns and you solve a large part of the problem." Get whose guns? The victim's? Pssst, might want to look at Chicago...no handguns allowed yet Chi-town leads the nation in just about every category of violent crime.

Note to 6:11 pm yesterday, Ridgeland Police are always welcome in Jackson, particularly when JPD's Beat Officers are called from their beats to an emergency. Officer fired at is always an emergency. We would do the same for them. We appreciate their concern and assistance. You must have drunk the Stokes KoolAid.

The gang's weapon of choice is a gun. But, with no guns they would use knives or like in one North Mississippi county, the perp used gasoline and burnt the victim alive. Believe me, these types just don't care as long as they can continue their completely wasted lives and feed off others.

JPD requested K-9 assistance from Madison and Ridgeland.

A few years ago I was stopped at a store in Jackson and a man jumped into the car seat beside me. I wasn't used to the culture of Jackson then and was not alarmed but bothered. The man said he was broke and needed some money. I suggested getting a job. He then pulled a gun and said he was going to take my money. He held the gun in one hand and started looking in the glove box. When he turned his head I grabbed the gun. After a struggle I too0k the gun away from him. He immediately ran from the area. I was going to call the cops until a passerby gave me a piece of advice. Calling the cops on a black man in Jackson would not be a very good idea.
I threw the 38 pistol I took from the man in a pond and learned a very valuable lesson that day.

2:09 is spot on about JA's reason for not moving to a safer area. I was very involved with the School when the decision was made. It was indeed made in an attempt to preserve home values in the area.

Well, regardless of the reasons (and I'm sure there were more than one), I think it was a good decision by the school to stay where they are. Honestly, I thought about sending my children to school there with location being one of the positive reasons I considered it. I also think it was a great decision to buy the apartments next door to it.

10:53, it sounds like you received bad advice. With better advice, you could have been his last victim.

No, 11:10am, 2:09 is NOT spot on. A glaring reason would be that more families in Eastover send their kids to First Pres/Jackson Prep or St. Andrews than JA.

The most glaring reason is the fact that not even half of the board of Trustees then or since live in Eastover.

Lastly, FSS Management (who owned The Oaks) approached JA and provided an option to purchase. When management required residents to leave, they began demolition and once demolition began, JA decided to exercise the option to purchase that was offered. It was a no-brainer and had no conspiracy theory aspect of trying to supposedly save home values.... and that doesn't even remotely make sense, but I'm sure it sounds good when you tell yourself.

12:44, the advice was right. If I would have called the cops and if they would have shown up I would be setting there with a possible stolen gun in my possession and a story about some black man who tried to rob me. Knowing the character of the Jackson cops I believe I did the right thing. After all if they would have arrested him he would have been let out OR and never went to trial.