Mississippi Department of Public Safety

Department of Public Safety

Department overview
Headquarters	1900 E Woodrow Wilson Ave Jackson, Mississippi
Employees	Approx. 1 400 (2021)[1]
Annual budget	Approx. $147 000 000[2]
Department executive	Sean Tindell[3], Commissioner
Website	www.dps.ms.gov

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is an administrative department of the Government of Mississippi, headquartered in Jackson. It is responsible for the state Highway Patrol and commercial vehicle enforcement; specialized investigations and controlled drugs and substances enforcement; issuing driver's licenses and firearms permits; and the state Capitol Police.[3]

History

The position of "Commissioner of Public Safety" was first created in 1938, with the establishment of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.[4]

The Department expanded in the early 1970s, when the Bureau of Narcotics was established in 1971 to conduct specialized enforcement and carry out investigations into the abuse, trafficking, manufacturing, and mishandling of controlled substances.[5] Initially under the control of the State Board of Health, the Bureau of Narcotics was transferred over to the control of the Department of Public Safety in 1972.[6]

In 2021, the Department expanded again, absorbing the Department of Transportation's enforcement division, which became the DPS' Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division and the Department of Finance and Administration's Capitol Police Office.[1] The expansion also adjusted the duties of some DPS divisions: the Bureau of Investigation became responsible for investigating all police-involved shootings (excluding those involving a member of the Highway Safety Patrol); members of the Highway Safety Patrol became responsible for conducting speed enforcement operations and running radar on interstate highways within large cities;[1] and the Office of Capitol Police's patrol area grew to include not just state government buildings but an 8.7 square mile swath of land including downtown Jackson, Jackson State University, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and residential and commercial neighbourhoods including a portion of Fondren, a "trendy enclave with a popular restaurant scene."[7] Within this expanded patrol area, the Capitol Police acted as a force multiplier for the municipal Jackson Police Department, which had experienced prolonged staffing shortages.[7]

Organization

Highway Patrol

A Highway Patrol patrol car.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol, formally called the Highway Safety Patrol, is led by a director at the rank of colonel. The director also serves as assistant commissioner of the Department of Public Safety.[4] The Highway Patrol is responsible for general policing on highways across the state, investigating major incidents through its Bureau of Investigations,[8] issuing driver's licenses and firearms permits through its Driver Service Bureau,[9] and some commercial vehicle enforcement.[10]

Bureau of Investigations

The Bureau of Investigations is led by a Lieutenant Colonel of the Highway Safety Patrol, and its membership is composed of officers seconded from the Patrol.[8] The Bureau is responsible for assisting local agencies in conducting complex investigations, maintaining the state Criminal Information Centre, investigating cases of human trafficking, inspecting salvage vehicles, operating the state's Victim Assistance Program, and providing executive protection to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House.[8] Since 2021, the Bureau has also been responsible for investigating police shootings in the state, with the exception of shootings involving members of the Highway Safety Patrol.[11]

Bureau of Narcotics

The Bureau of Narcotics is an independent DPS agency responsible for enforcing regulations and legislation concerning the "abuse, misuse, sale, and trafficking of controlled substances."[5] The Bureau is led by a director at the rank of colonel, appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety.[5]

Office of Capitol Police

The Office of Capitol Police is an independent DPS agency responsible for policing the Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID), an 8.7 square mile area in Jackson; securing the Bolton state government buildings in Biloxi; and securing the State Service Centre in Hattiesburg.[12]

In recent years, the Capitol Police's role expanded from providing security to the Capitol building and other government properties to becoming a second patrolling police force for many neighborhoods of Jackson, which already fall under the jurisdiction with the Jackson Police Department. Citing a want to better address crime in the city, Republicans in the State Legislature put forward HB 1020 to expand the CCID (and therefore the Capitol Police's jurisdiction) and create a separate court system with state-appointed judges and prosecutors.[13] Democrat Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba responded that the law was "an attack on Black leadership in every form"[14] and an example of "apartheid" given that those appointing policing and judicial officials for the CCID are white and most residents of Jackson are Black.[15]

In the first few months after starting its expanded patrols, Capitol Police officers had shot four people. In response to the outcry, the department updated its use of force policies which had not been reviewed since 2006 - when the department still mostly functioned as building security for state government offices. [16]

References

1. "Mississippi DPS expands police power with takeover of MDOT, Capitol Police, city interstates". The Columbian Progress. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
2. "Mississippi lawmakers set FY 2023 budget with extreme surplus". The Delta Democrat-Times. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
3. "Welcome". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
4. "Administration". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 19 December 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
5. "Bureau of Narcotics". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 19 December 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
6. G E Neasman; H A Brown; L G Marlow. "Performance Evaluation of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics" (PDF). National Institute of Justice. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
7. Bracey Harris and Jon Schuppe (25 February 2023). "Mississippi wants to expand an aggressive police force responsible for recent shootings". NBC News. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
8. "Bureau of Investigation". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 19 December 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
9. "Driver Service Bureau". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
10. "Motor Carrier Safety Division". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 19 December 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
11. Kayode Crown (23 August 2022). "MBI Will Not Release Names of Mississippi Police Who Shoot People, Negating Transparency Efforts". Mississippi Free Press. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
12. "Capitol Police". Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 15 September 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
13. Crown, Kayode (January 27, 2023). "White Mississippi Officials Would Appoint Courts, Bypassing Black Jackson Judges Under Bill". Mississippi Free Press. Jackson, MS: Mississippi Journalism and Education Group. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
14. Crown, Kayode (February 23, 2023). "Lumumba: New H.B. 1020 Is 'Attack on Black Leadership'; Will Not Sign Forced MOU". Mississippi Free Press. Jackson, MS: Mississippi Journalism and Education Group. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
15. Tolan, Casey (February 27, 2023). "A proposed 'takeover' has sparked a battle for power in one of America's Blackest big cities". CNN. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
16. Schuppe, Jon; Harris, Bracey (March 3, 2023). "The Mississippi Capitol Police, under fire for a string of shootings, is rewriting its rules on force". NBC News. Retrieved January 10, 2025.

External links

• Mississippi Department of Public Safety