Lessons From Jackson, Mississippi, for Trump’s Crackdown on Urban Crime
The Republican-led state intervention in policing a blue capital city shows progress and complications. ‘If you live in Jackson, you’ve got some grit.’

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https://www.wsj.com/us-news/trump-c...e?st=yrgojD&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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Similar to what President Trump has done and threatened elsewhere, Reeves and other Republican leaders
brought in outside law enforcement. They expanded the jurisdiction of the state-controlled Capitol Police, which previously protected mostly state buildings, to patrol a swath of Jackson, the Democratic-run capital. Local leaders opposed what they called a takeover.
Two years later, results and resident opinions paint a complicated picture.
Murders citywide are down sharply, while some other types of crime are up. Downtown Jackson, beleaguered for decades, has few businesses and largely empties out by dusk. Just blocks from the governor’s mansion, homeless men wander among derelict buildings and collapsed storefronts. The Mayflower Cafe, an institution, has a security guard outside to help customers reach their cars safely.
Belhaven and some other neighborhoods show signs of development. Many other areas have burned-out homes, vacant businesses and empty lots. Stray dogs wander among overgrown kudzu, banana plants and mimosa trees. Trash and broken glass cover sidewalks. Roads are rutted and pocked. On one street, a feral peahen roams.
In a distressed part of the city’s northwestern section, Larry Stevens, who works part time cleaning a convenience store, said drugs and crime remain constant. “Everybody and their mama, they smoke every day. It’s the same as ever.”…”
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A feral peahen?