K.B. Turner has made law enforcement his life.
The Columbus native and chair of the University of Memphis Criminology and Criminal Justice Department grew up in north Columbus dreaming of being a police officer. He knew a handful of officers with the Columbus Police Department and even went on rides-along with some when he was still at student at Lee High School in the early 1970s.
“Most kids, at least in my era, probably wanted to do one of two or three things,” Turner said. “They wanted to be a pilot, teacher, nurse, firefighter or a police officer, something you’d seen in the neighborhood. … I can’t point to any one thing in particular (that made him interested in policing) other than seeing officers in uniform and learning more about what they did.”
The goal took him to Jackson State University where he got a degree in criminal justice in 1983. Within a year, Turner found himself in Nebraska working as an officer with the Omaha Police Department, starting a 30-plus-year career in law enforcement. That career eventually brought him back to Mississippi as an adviser and consultant to law enforcement administrators and department heads — and, most recently, back to his hometown where the city council has hired him to complete a comprehensive evaluation of the Columbus Police Department.
This will include building relationships with the public and the police officers, as well as more rides-along — these with more of an eye toward policies and procedures than those from his boyhood adventures four decades ago.
Columbus contract
The city is paying Turner $19,000 for a six-month contract to study CPD, a rate Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said mainly factors in travel and other expenses.
Turner first introduced himself to Smith and CPD administrators at a public meeting held in 2016 at Columbus High School. He briefly explained to city leaders his work helping police departments, and the mayor began checking references on Turner last fall.
“They told me … he was very good. He was highly recommended,” Smith said.
By early 2017, with the city facing a public crisis of rising crime and a shrinking police officer roster, Smith decided the city needed Turner’s services.
The city council, in January, unanimously agreed.
Turner’s background
Turner’s work at the University of Memphis takes him to police departments all over the country to train them on everything from recruitment to better public interface. Since becoming a certified police officer in Mississippi in 2004, he’s also worked on-and-off advising sheriff’s offices around the state, including those in DeSoto, Tunica and Bolivar counties.
Department heads in those counties told Columbus officials things like response times to calls, recruitment numbers and officer morale all improved after a few months of Turner working with their agencies.
“Since he was a police officer, … he treated them different(ly) than we would as civilians and that was one of his big advantages,” city public information officer Joe Dillon said.
From 2004-05, Turner was a reserve deputy sheriff for DeSoto County and stayed on as an adviser, sometimes on a voluntary basis, until about 2013.
“Mostly he helped us with the hiring process, training division, reorganizing,” DCSO Chief Deputy Macon Moore told The Dispatch.
In all cases, Turner said, his consulting offers fresh eyes to law enforcement agencies that are facing various challenges.
Goals in Columbus
The issues facing CPD also face police departments all over the country, Turner said — especially recruitment. He wants to develop a recruitment pitch for CPD after working with the department for a couple of months.
In general, he said, recruiters should emphasize the typical pay and benefits. But Turner tells potential officers that becoming a cop is a way to be engaged in their own community and keep it safer.
“Be a part of the community,” he said. “Be a part of an organization that you can make a difference in people’s lives. That’s the basics.”
Turner also plans to get the public involved with CPD. He’s encouraged citizens to form neighborhood watches, host “nights out on crime” and even volunteer with CPD. He has set up six public meetings in each ward to hear citizens’ concerns and suggestions. At each of the meetings — of which there have so far been three — he has citizens complete anonymous questionnaires that will factor into his final findings.
He’s also ended each of those meetings with impassioned pleas for volunteers and officer applicants.
“All of us, if you have any affinity of where you’re from, want to do something for that city, to make it better, and I don’t think I’m any different than the average person,” he said. “I’ve developed skills … and am happy to assist in any way I can.”
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 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.