Supporting the Rule of Law: A Framework for Addressing Crime in Jackson

“No one is above the law.”

This common refrain illustrates the importance of one of America’s most important founding principles: the rule of law. Since its founding, the United States distinguished itself among nations by adhering to the rule of law, as opposed to the rule of men.

Today, in cities across America, the rule of law is under attack. Lack of accountability has created a culture of lawlessness, with incidents of gun violence and murders across American cities.

In Mississippi, the city of Jackson is experiencing a similar crisis, with startling reports of violence and crime on a regular basis. These crimes are a direct result of a breakdown in the rule of law, and they warrant a response from policymakers.

For the last decade, Mississippi’s leadership has worked to reform the state’s prison system, and for good reason. These reforms optimize the use of taxpayer dollars to deliver a better return on public safety, using incarceration when needed.

But smart justice reform is based on the same bedrock principle on which our American way of life is built – the rule of law. And when that breaks down, it undermines not just criminal justice reforms, but public safety in general.

Criminal behavior is a multifaceted issue with no easy fixes. This problem will not be solved by simple slogans like “getting tough on crime” or simply throwing more money at the problem.

Reports of violence in cities like Jackson and across American cities are disturbing. However, the upside is that Mississippi isn’t in this alone – we can learn from other cities by implementing practices that work and avoiding those that don’t. Leveraging evidence to implement proven practices ensures that policy changes have the desired outcome and avoid unintended consequences that only worsen the problem.

Earlier this year, the Council on Criminal Justice released a comprehensive action plan aimed at addressing the gun violence seen in cities across the country. The Council, comprised of leaders in law enforcement, public health, and academia, outlined 10 immediate steps that cities can take to address violence.

Importantly, this framework is supported by evidence and avoids costly policy failures of the past that contributed to the current challenges.

These recommendations are instructive and can serve as a framework for addressing crime and restoring the rule of law in Jackson. The following recommendations are excerpted from this report, which can be viewed in full here.

Identify the key people and places driving the violence

In every city, violence concentrates among small sets of individuals, groups, and locations. To effectively reduce violent crime, cities should begin with a rigorous problem analysis like this one completed in Oakland. These analyses draw on incident reviews, shooting data, law enforcement intelligence, and social network mapping to identify the people and groups most likely to become involved in a violent incident. Also critical: mapping the occurrence of such incidents to reveal the micro-locations, or “hot spots,” where most violence happens. These analyses should then be reviewed by trained street outreach workers and other non-police individuals with relevant experience. This foundational work is critical to creating a shared understanding of a city’s violence and guiding collaborative efforts.

 Create a plan for engaging key people and places

Addressing violence demands a multi-disciplinary response and a strategic plan to effectively organize these efforts, such as these paired plans from Dallas. Most critically, leaders must coordinate stakeholder activities focused on the highest risk people and places. Plans should be practical and actionable, detailing concrete commitments: for key people and in key places, who will do what, by when? These commitments should use SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) criteria. Plans should also identify which activities will not be undertaken in order to maintain focus, as trying to do too much often results in failure. Finally, plans must emphasize partnership, particularly between members of law enforcement and impacted communities, where relationships are often severely strained.

Address key locations using place-based policing and investment

A combination of place-based policing and investment can calm violent spaces. Police are necessary to disrupt existing cycles of violence and stop others from starting. But such short-term actions must be supplemented and quickly replaced by place-based interventions and investments to change the nature of violent micro-locations and the communities in which they are located. Problem-oriented policing, conducted in collaboration with residents as demonstrated by the Community Safety Partnership in Los Angeles, can begin the process. Environmental crime approaches such as cleaning-and-greening in Philadelphia as well as changing traffic patterns and repairing, upgrading, and adding streetlights can influence the trajectory of these areas. Finally, targeted investments and deployment of resources must be made to improve education, employment, healthcare, housing, transportation, and other socioeconomic factors that can give rise to crime and violence in the first place.

 Place responsibility for violence reduction efforts at the top

Every city suffering from high rates of violent crime should have a permanent unit dedicated to violence reduction operating inside the mayor’s office, with senior leadership reporting directly to the mayor. These units, such as the Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) in Los Angeles, can provide direct services as well as administer funding and should act as a hub for city anti-violence efforts. Housing the unit outside the mayor’s office or placing intermediaries between the mayor and the unit’s leadership will significantly diminish performance and long-term viability across administrations. These units must be sustainably staffed and substantially funded in order to be successful long-term.

Within law enforcement agencies, chiefs and other top leaders must demand a consistent focus on preventing violence, not just making arrests, and on working with citizens and community partners. Effective management also includes rewarding officers for outcomes like reduced victimization, rather than outputs like the number of pedestrian or car stops they make. Similarly, non-law enforcement leaders such as those running community-based anti-violence organizations should maintain a focus on anti-violence outcomes, not outputs such as services delivered.

Ending the cycle of violence is critical to ensuring public safety in Mississippi, and policymakers should address the issue head-on. By implementing best practices from other jurisdictions and avoiding easy slogans, leaders can avoid costly policy mistakes that only serve to worsen the problem and deliver results that make Mississippi a safer place to live.