Jackson Police Numbers Plummet
Jackson councilman calls for 255-officer police staffing target
A Jackson city councilman urged the council to fund a target of 255 sworn police officers during Sept. 10 budget deliberations, after department leadership testified that current staffing has fallen well below levels the city has budgeted in prior years.
At the budget hearing, Councilman Foot, addressed directly by the council president before the exchange, told fellow council members, "I think we need to step up and and be bold in in um setting a target of 255 and and put up enough money to get us there say by December or something like that." His remarks came as Jackson Police Department leadership presented staffing figures during testimony on the city budget. Council members and JPD officials cited varying numbers during the meeting, including figures of 210, 212, 230 and 237 sworn officers, reflecting different points of comparison between current strength and budgeted levels.
The staffing shortfall described at the hearing is drawn from the department's own figures, presented directly to the council. Officials indicated that the budget version then under discussion would sustain fewer officers than department leadership had requested and short of the 255-officer figure Foot proposed as a target for the city to reach by December.