Jackson City Council considers spending more money for gang prevention
JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson police request tens of thousands of dollars in new funding in an effort to cut down on gang violence. On Tuesday, city council members will consider matching a percentage of federal funding to pay for a special command center and gang prosecutor. Cameras provide surveillance at Lincoln Courts Apartments and at other high crime areas, but residents say crime still happens. “You could bring the United States Army in here, [you’re] still [going to] have somebody do something wrong,” Butch Merriweather said, a Lincoln Courts resident. City leaders say Jackson has a chance to get more federal dollars from the program that installed the cameras to help combat gangs. But the city must agree to spend $80,000 over the next three years. That is about $65,000 more than the city council originally budgeted for that time period. “Gangs has been around since what, the roaring 20s,” Merriweather said. “You know and it seems like the more you try to bust up, the more they say ‘well I bet I can do it and get away with it’.” Jackson police say the money will pay for a gang intelligence command center within the department where officers can monitor those surveillance cameras. “When something happens on the cameras, somebody has to respond or hear it for it to be effective,” Captain Mike Holt said, with the Jackson Police Department. Holt says a bulk of the new funding would pay for a special gang prosecutor. “They also know about the background of the person they’re dealing with,” he said. “I hope it will show that we’re going to be relentless in our effort to curb gang activities,” Mayor Jerry Gist said. Residents say they have noticed some improvement at Lincoln Courts. Merriweather says he feels safe. “There’s no way in the world you can stop crime,” said Merriweather. “Crime’s [going to] be here until the day the good Lord says that’s it.” The Jackson City Council meets Tuesday at 9 a.m.
