Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins isn’t wasting any time when it comes to bringing the Metro Narcotics Task Force back up to full strength.
Wednesday morning, Hawkins asked the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors to hire four new deputies to replace the four now-departed city officers. The board unanimously approved adding $288,637 to the sheriff’s annual budget to accommodate the hires.
With the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, well underway, District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders noted the county would only be on the hook for about half the total amount in this year’s budget.
The task force was made up of nine agents: four each from the Columbus Police Department and the sheriff’s office, plus one supervisor from the LCSO. In late February, Police Chief Joseph Daughtry announced he was temporarily reassigning the four city agents to combat manpower shortages and overtime issues in his department.
Daughtry said there was no timeline on when those officers would return, and he would work with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics for drug enforcement inside the city.
The county alleged that this was a violation of the interlocal agreement that set up the task force, which requires 90 days notice be given before it is dissolved. At its March 6 meeting the supervisors lit the fuse on that notice. Hawkins said at that time task force agents will continue to work cases inside the city limits as well as in the county.
Hawkins told The Dispatch after the meeting he hoped to make hires within the next couple of weeks and have the agents in place by the end of the month.
“Public safety is expensive,” Hawkins said. “It costs money to hire officers, but it’s worth it to the safety of the citizens of Lowndes County that we replace these guys and bring the unit back up to where it needs to be.”
Eyes in the sky
Hawkins also got approval to ask for quotes to buy 20 new surveillance cameras at an estimated price of $63,300.
Hawkins asked that they be paid for with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The county has around $1 million that has not yet been allotted.
“We have four cameras now,” he said. “This would give us a significant increase in coverage.”
The sheriff’s office bought four solar-powered, mobile cameras in December 2021 to be deployed in high-crime areas, Hawkins said. The new cameras would essentially do the same thing, and will join the existing network.
Hawkins estimated it will take about a month to get receive cameras once they are ordered.
The existing cameras have been a huge help, Hawkins told The Dispatch after the meeting.
“They have been of significant help during investigations,” Hawkins said. “They are our eyes and ears. We can’t be everywhere and cover everything with the manpower that we have. Having something that can identify problems and identify suspects has been very significant for us as far as solving some of these crimes.”
The cameras will be mobile, he said.
“Having cameras in the right place is a key part of it,” he said. “… We can move them around and put them in problem areas.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
