During this past calendar year, Jackson was named America’s deadliest major city with a homicide rate of 99.5 per 100,000 residents.
That rate easily surpassed the likes of New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, and Baltimore. The second-highest rate was Louisville, Kentucky with 76.4 per 100,000 residents.
To work towards reducing deadly crime in Jackson, local and federal law enforcement officials have brought a new initiative to Mississippi’s capital city.
The Violent Gun Reduction/Interdiction Program (VGRIP) was announced on Thursday.
“As we all know, homicides in the city of Jackson have increased to record levels in the past two years. We’re seeing businesses robbed at gunpoint, cars taken at gunpoint, disputes handled by gunfire,” Southern District U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca said in a video statement. “This initiative will address the perpetrators of this violence, and it will be led by the FBI.”
LaMarca and company have wasted no time as he has already reported that 13 individuals have cases pending or have been indicted in the federal system.
The last time the city of Jackson accepted federal help in trying to put a stop to crime was in 2019 with the Project EJECT initiative that resulted in nearly 100 arrests.
Jackson’s 155 homicides in 2021 are the most recorded in the history of the capital city.
