Jackson Police Chief Wants to End Gang Violence

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) — Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said his department is working with state and federal agencies to stop gang violence in the capital city.

Wade said the city faces a major problem with gang activity and associated violence.

“We have to first identify the problem, and we have identified it. We have a gang problem, we have a drug problem, we have a problem of sensitive individuals who have tremendous availability and accessibility to firearms in our community. We have to address that threat comprehensively. And you know, when you are part of a gang or you are affiliated with a group of individuals involved in gang activity, we don’t just want to get you, we want to get your whole group,” he said.

The police chief said the Jackson Police Department (JPD) is committed to combating gang violence. He added that it will take more than just the JPD to get the problem under control.

“We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop an anti-gang initiative. But guess what? The police department can’t do it alone. We need input, feedback, resources from the community, businesses, churches, city government and state government to move forward and address these issues here in the city of Jackson,” Wade said.

The police chief said there were worrying trends emerging nationally in youth violence. He added that part of the problem was a lack of family support in some homes.

“You know, we have to do better as a community and find more proactive activities for our kids, instead of running around at 1:30 in the morning, riding bikes or walking around looking for someone to victimize. We have to do better. We have to hold ourselves accountable. We can’t police our way out of poor parenting,” Wade said.

He hopes federal resources will help the JPD curb gang violence in the city.