A unified approach between local, state, and federal law enforcement in Mississippi’s capital city agencies has resulted in hundreds of arrests as well as large quantities of drugs and illegal guns removed from the streets so far.
Leaders on Thursday provided an update to the ongoing “Operation Unified” mission, an all-hands-on-deck approach from police agencies to exhaust the state’s resources to rid Jackson’s streets of drug traffickers and violent criminals.
To date, more than 600 arrests have been made, over 200 illegal firearms have been seized, and more than 500 pounds of various drugs have been confiscated by authorities, according to Governor Tate Reeves.
“We’ll continue doing whatever it takes to make our capital city a safer place for all Mississippians,” Reeves said. “Thanks to all of our law enforcement officers for once again bravely serving our state.”
The operation began in January and was announced in February at a press briefing at a location less than one block away from where a viral video showed an individual shooting what appeared to be an assault rifle from a vehicle while traveling near the QuikTrip gas station near I-55 North Frontage Road. An arrest has since been made in connection to the shooting.
Agencies participating in “Operation Unified” include the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Capitol Police, Homeland Security, the Jackson Police Department, the Hinds County District Attorney, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the FBI, DEA, and ATF, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell, whose office oversees Capitol Police, ensures that this partnership is a long-term commitment to Jackson’s crime epidemic, rather than a quick fix.
