JACKSON, Miss. — A Jackson city councilman said Monday that the Jackson Police Department could afford to hire more uniformed officers by cutting back on the number of civilians employed by the department.
Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill released the findings of a
done at his request by business students at Millsaps College. The report was completed in December 2008, but was only recently released.The study analyzed the 2007 JPD roster, which had 617 full-time employees, of which 429 were sworn officers and 188 were civilian workers. The report found that 39 percent of JPD employees were civilians, compared to the southeast average of about 21 percent.The study was designed to identify ways that JPD and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department could save money and operate more efficiently.By cutting back on the number of civilians, JPD could afford to hire 100 additional officers and provide raises for those already on the force, Weill said.”I’ve talked to precinct commanders, patrolmen and mid level management in the police department and they all agree — we’ve got too many civilians,” Weill said. “If we have more boots on the ground, we can put targeted, new police officers in higher crime areas and that would bring down crime all over the city.”Weill said he would present the results of the study Monday during a public safety subcommittee meeting at City Hall.There are currently 480 sworn police officers employed by JPD. Mayor Harvey Johnson said one of his goals is to bring the number of officers up to 500.
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