Hinds Co. Sheriff wants to deputize for chiefs of police and deputy chiefs

JACKSON, Mississippi (WLBT) – Police chiefs and deputy chiefs in Hinds County may soon have the capacity to respond to crimes outside of their jurisdiction.

Hinds County Sheriff Lee Vance said he is contacting the county police chiefs and asking if they want to be deputized.

Vance said Terry’s police chief Michael Ivy was the one who gave him the idea and said it “made perfect sense”.

“Maybe something’s going on opposite his jurisdiction,” Vance said. “He would be able to act if his police powers were extended.

“It makes perfect sense to me, so we extended this idea to (Ivy and) every other police chief in Hinds County.”

Vance said the move would also improve relations between municipal law enforcement agencies and his office.

“One of the things I wanted to do when I was elected was to create an atmosphere of unity, cooperation and communication with all law enforcement entities,” he said, “especially those in Hinds County”.

He said he was also inspired by the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, saying the sheriff often met with police chiefs there and thus developed a relationship with those officers.

“It’s something they were doing there, everyone is on the same page in Rankin County,” he said. “It would be something to make Hinds County law enforcement agencies just as cohesive.”

The sheriff has said he would like to have a stand-in ceremony this month.

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