Jackson Jambalaya

I care about Mississippi, and I care about Jackson, our capital city. As a longtime resident of Rankin County, I also care about the metro Jackson area and believe we are all in this together. No matter how far out you drive or how high the wall is around your neighborhood, crime in Jackson is going to have negative consequences and spillover effects in neighboring cities. That is why as your next attorney general I am committed to helping turn our capital city around. Care and commitment, however, are not going to be enough. We are going to need a plan. Above all, we are going to have to make Jackson a safe place to live, shop, dine and do business.

Jackson’s homicide rate for 2018 was 50.3 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the nation, worse than New Orleans, Memphis, and even Detroit. In comparison to 24 different cities with more than 150,000 people, Jackson was ranked third. And it’s getting worse. Through the first week of July, our capital city recorded 55 homicides. At the current rate, Jackson will suffer from more than 100 homicides in 2019, making it the deadliest year ever.

I’ve spoken with some people who feel like Jackson is never going to turn the corner. These people have lost hope. The people of New York felt the same way back in the 1990s. Ten years later, New York had done the impossible: reducing the murder rate by 73 percent; the vehicular theft rate by 73 percent; and the robbery rate by 67 percent. In 2018, New York’s murder rate hit a 50-year low of 3.31 per 100,000 people.

The story is well known among criminologists. Then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton adopted what is called the “Broken Windows” approach to policing. The hypothesis behind Broken Windows policing is that as law enforcement addresses minor offenses they will be able to more effectively combat more serious crimes. The way it works is this: the offender who vandalized your house yesterday is likely to be the same offender who robs your house tomorrow. If this person is held to account for “breaking the window,” so to speak, he is significantly less likely to do something much worse. In addition, Broken Windows policing understands that disorderly conditions – that is, broken windows and graffiti – encourages and justifies disorderly behavior.


Broken Windows policing alone, however, is not enough. The NYPD also worked with other agencies, nonprofits and foundations to employ the Broken Windows model in target areas, like Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center. Homeless people were hired to pick up trash. The transit authority cracked down on riders who didn’t pay their subway fares. New community courts were established to expeditiously deal with minor offenders. Finally, Giuliani and Bratton empowered police officers, making local commanders responsible for specific neighborhoods.

Broken Windows policing clearly worked in New York, and it has since been vindicated in other localities and through experimental research. It can work in Jackson too. Again, we need a plan. First, focus on “frequent flyers.” These are people who have repeatedly been arrested for low-level crimes, but then released as “not a priority.” New York made low-level offenders a priority, and it paid off.

Second, we need to employ the Broken Windows model around the state capitol complex. This would begin by using the Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID), created by the legislature in 2017, as a beachhead to fight crime. The CCID provides a mechanism for infrastructure improvements near the state capitol building. With some changes in the law, this model could be used to fight crime in Jackson too.

Under my plan, we would expand the CCID to include Precinct 3 and other high-crime areas in Jackson. In turn, we would expand the jurisdiction of the Capitol Police to include full felony and misdemeanor arrest powers within the CCID. As they did in New York, we would also allocate new resources to deal with the increase in arrests. I propose establishing special circuit court judge positions, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, with primary jurisdiction over criminal offenses occurring in the CCID. Under my leadership, the Attorney General’s office would also serve as a coordinating hub to bring together local and federal agencies and nonprofits to help address the problem. My office would likewise make sure that offenders go to jail instead of being released to commit more crimes.

The time for talk is long past. We need action based on a proven model and solid research. As attorney general, I have a plan to stop the madness. Let’s work together to prepare the way for a renaissance of our capital city and our state.