Data Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation - Crime in the U.S. MLA Citation: Other Cities in MS; City Name Population Rate; Brookhaven: 12,125: 57.73: Jackson: 166,024: 46.98: Vicksburg: 22,298: Jackson's homicides per year have doubled over the last decade, peaking in 2021, when the city's murder rate more than 12 times the national average, making Jackson one of the deadliest cities . More than a quarter of the citys population lives below the poverty line. JACKSON, Miss. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. In 2020, which heralded the outset of COVID-19, the number of homicides rose in Jackson to 130, the largest number of homicides in the city since 1995 when the city recorded 92 murders. The Chicago Police Department reported the city had 799 homicides in 2021, more than Jackson's 155. ( WJTV) - The City of Jackson has crossed into the triple digits when it comes to homicides for 2021. People who left were people who have means to do so. Voters and public officials choose police reform in moderation after George Floyd's murder. Also, he said Jackson once had a robust reserve unit of citizens. If they think people are afraid of them, then they going to be way more eager to just to commit a crime, Bingham said. Since then, community leaders have hosted several other forums in the citys wards. The rate in Jackson, with a population of 153,701, was about 100 per 100,000 population. Thats how connected these programs were with kids and the staff we hired, said Rochelle Taylor, who served as president of the program. When they approached the kids, they confirmed Finchs suspicions almost without hesitation. The city was 56% Black in 1990. Current Jackson Police Chief James Davis said last year that the Jackson Police Department was budgeted for 400 sworn officers but had a vacancy of about 100 officers. Now let us turn to take a look at how Jackson does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. Higher than Birmingham, Atlanta, Detroit, and even Chicago, the city with the most overall slayings in 2021. Atlanta, which has a population about four times that of Jackson, had roughly the same number of slayings as Jackson. In 2020, Jackson reached a record-breaking 128 homicides. There are many factors at play. Jackson, MS: Year: # of homicides (population, homicide rate) 1995: 92 (191k, 48.2 homicides per 100k) former all-time record 2019: 83 homicides 2020: 128 (157k, 81.5 homicides per 100k) 2021: 155 (154k, 100 homicides per 100k) St. Louis, MO: 1993: 267 (estimated population 382k, 69.9 homicides per 100k) former record for the highest rate 2019: 194 That heightened violence has continued through 2021 for many large cities. St Louis, who last year, . The city had a population of 153,701 at the 2020 census, down from 173,514 at . Police say 18-year-old Kennedy Hobbs had stopped at a Texaco gas station-convenience store and was an innocent bystander when she was shot three times on June 1. By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. A local business owner was shot outside a barbershop while sitting in his car. by Jimmie E. Gates, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, Mississippi Today January 26, 2022, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. Property crimes that are tracked for this analysis are burglary, larceny over fifty dollars, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In addition, NeighborhoodScout found that a lot of the crime that takes place in Jackson is property crime. We continue to work behind the scenes to tackle violent crime in Jackson, Lumumba said in a statement. Authors note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed Los Angeles instead of Chicago when discussing homicide rates for the Windy City. We have always had poverty and unemployment with us, Johnson said. For this analysis, 3 On Your Side calculated per capita rates of killings for cities with a population of at least 130,000, including major ones like Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, as well as cities that had previously been ranked for high homicide rates, such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge. But as Ive said before, this is a problem we cant merely out-police. Mississippis gun laws are among the most permissive in the country. As of Friday, the city had already seen 130 homicides in 2022. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Jackson for 2022 is expected to be lower than in 2019. The city has a population of roughly 200,733, based on the 2020 Census. All the trademarks displayed on this page are the property of Location, Inc. It was higher than in 98.3% U.S. cities. (Theres) no economic growth, nowhere to work. Now, more than a quarter of its population lives below the poverty line. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Lumumba said state laws make it difficult for officers to detain suspects believed to be carrying illegal firearms. Atlanta police said they investigated 158 homicides in 2021, but three of those were from incidents that happened in the previous year. Lorenzo Neal, a pastor at New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson, said kids who used to play at a park across from his church and sit on his steps to use the WiFi dont come around anymore, even though the parks have reopened. Detroit has reported losing some police officers to surrounding cities over the years but no mass exodus. Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. However, while we share that unfortunate reality, it would be incomplete to summarize the rise in crime in Jackson to the pandemic alone. To put the numbers into perspective, in 2020 St. Louis was the countrys deadliest large city, cataloguing 87 homicides per 100,000, and that was clearly at the top of the list of larger cities, Rosenfeld said. It is my prayer for 2022 that we learn to resolve our issues without violence and that we strengthen our love and bonds as families and communities to continue to build a stronger, safer and more prosperous Jackson for all.. There is no way a police force as small as Jacksons is going to effectively investigate a homicide. In fact, your chance of getting your car stolen if you live in Jackson is one in 183. The record was broken Friday evening when a man was shot twice and died on Derrick Street. Stores in the city's only mall closed one by one before the shopping center finally shut for good in 2018. Sign up for our newsletter. The program is affiliated with the Peoples Advocacy Institute, a Mississippi-based community engagement nonprofit. Based on 2021 reporting from the New York Post, in the Mississippi capital of Jackson, a city of some 150,000 people, homicide rates have reached as high as (roughly) 98 murders per 100,000 residents (via World Population Review ). Raw data sources: Luckett says that as the city became more integrated especially following the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 the area declined, as Black residents began to spend their money elsewhere and White residents began to move to the suburbs. These programs face an uphill climb to success. Please reload the page and try again. Updated The Jackson MS murder/homicide rate for 2015 was 31.08 per 100,000 population, a 12.18% decline from 2014. He said too often those who commit crime, if arrested, are repeat offenders. But violence interrupters have not yet led to a total, sustainable crime reduction across an entire city. a proud member of the I think the police here in Jackson do a good job, Bingham said. 1 min read. Gabriela Szymanowska is a breaking news and public safety reporter for the Clarion Ledger. The Chicago Police Department reported the city had 799 homicides in 2021, more than Jackson's 155. Homicide numbers have soared across the country the past two years, but based on cities with at least 100,000 population, Jacksons per capita murder rate is the highest in the United. Even when prosecutors believe they have a solid case against a defendant, an influx of cases and a backlog of evidence prevents them from presenting evidence. This Web site is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (2018-FU-CX-K045). In June, a federal judge ruled that Jackson could not ban the open carry of firearms. Davis said the COVID pandemic has hampered community policing. The search engine finds the neighborhoods that are the optimum fit to the set of criteria you choose. All Rights Reserved. Other US patent applications are currently pending. All are part of a violence interruption organization called Strong Arms of JXN. I dont understand how the number of police officers have declined so much without alarming people, said Johnson, who also once served as Mississippis corrections commissioner. Birminghams homicide rate was 65.75 per 100,000 population. Crime risk data are updated annually. 2023 Cable News Network. Neither of the two Black business districts survived into the 90s and 2000s, and neither did the downtown district. However, then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom said the city would hire 250 new officers. But the number Lashanda Jennings-Hobbs cares most about is the one attached to her daughter. It will take all of us working together, city, county, state and federal leaders, civic leaders and the community itself, to successfully root out the scourge of violent crime in our city.. He said you will never be able to stop all homicides but, if you tailored law enforcement to those in that age group, it might reduce some homicides. NYPD top cop pick highlights the slow rise of female police chiefs nationwide. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The resulting homicide rate for Louisville is much lower. For now, the number is back up, to 69. NeighborhoodScout provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. Its terrible, said Jennings-Hobbs. Davis said the COVID pandemic has hampered community policing. The rate in Jackson, with a population of 153,701, was about 100 per 100,000 population. Podcast: 57 years of covering Mississippi sports, Jimmie E. Gates, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. However, then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom said the city would hire 250 new officers. Advertisement The latest victim, 15-year-old Sullivan Blackman. If you ignore all the small crime, it will lead up to something major. The number of homicides calculated for each city came from the latest available data from news media sources in that respective market or crime statistics from that citys police department. But in April 2020, Mayor Lumumba was worried that a mix of pandemic-induced toxic stress and the proliferation of guns might lead to an uptick in violence, and so he issued an executive order banning the open display of guns in public in the citys 113 square miles. The groups activities range from museum tours to court-ordered after school programs. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. No one has been charged in Hobbs death. Jackson had a. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Former Jackson Police Chief Robert Johnson, who became chief in 1995, said poverty and unemployment cant be blamed for the surge in gun violence in the Mississippis capital city. So much of outreach work is just showing kids something different. Additionally, in March 2023, the Jackson Police Department supplied WLBT with information on additional homicides it had never disclosed publicly. Jemeria Williams is comforted by Shantell Johnson during the "Peace in the Street. Jackson Homicide Rate Reaches Record High By Hunter Estes January 15, 2021 Justice & Due Process 2020 proved to be one of the deadliest years in Jackson history. Jennings says more comprehensive community policing - having enough officers that they can go into gas stations and restaurants, increasing visibility - and curfews combined with more activities for young people can also help tremendously.