Jackson Jambalaya

JPD Chief James Davis issued the following statement.


The Jackson Police Department is committed to serving the citizens in the city of Jackson with honor, integrity and professionalism. In response to the so called “Blue Flu”, it is blatant speculation that those Police Officers that are out on personal, sick, family or medical leave today in the Jackson Police Department (JPD) are out as a result of “Blue Flu”. To speculate that any officer that did not report to work today as a result of working conditions or pay raises is without substantial facts and evidence.

It is not uncommon for staff to use the personal or sick time they have accrued to be out of office. The fact that we had several officers out today, either for personal, sick, family or medical leave, is purely coincidental.

As with any organization that has personnel out on any given day, we’ve made the immediate adjustments to ensure that all Beats and areas that serve the city of Jackson were covered effectively and in a timely manner. We are committed to providing the best police services possible.

Over the past two years, I have advocated for all Police Officers to receive pay raises because they deserve it. This advocacy includes a three-phase roll-out plan in the following order:

Entry-level Officers
Corporals
Supervisors

Last year, JPD officers received a 2% raise, this year alone, we were able to secure a pay raise for all entry-level officers to ensure their starting salary was comparable to that of surrounding police departments. We have also been able to improve not only working conditions, but Department morale.

To improve working conditions, morale and the safety of our officers, we’ve purchased advanced technology such as body worn cameras for all officers. Adding brand bulletproof vest, new SUVs and
patrol cars to our fleet were additional features the Police Department needed to improve the working conditions and morale within the Department.

Adding to our numbers, we have hired experienced officers and in recent years graduated three (3) recruit classes, and we are in the finalization of plans for a new recruit class next month. These are some of the measures we will continue to be committed to take and develop our Department and ensure that the Jackson Police Department has the capacity to protect and serve the citizens of Jackson that we took an oath to protect.