Jackson Co. Holds Community Watch Meeting for Citizens

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Crime Stoppers held a Community Watch meeting for a packed room in Vancleave Thursday night. Sheriff Mike Ezell says his deputies can’t be in every place at once, but citizens can be the ears and eyes out in the community.

After Hurricane Katrina, many families relocated and many neighborhoods are not as close as they once were. Law enforcement agencies say Neighborhood Watch programs and police tips work. In early February, police were able to make arrests in a string of burglaries in Vancleave because of community involvement.

Ezell says, “We can’t be everywhere all the time. We’ve got to have some folks helping us and that’s basically how we solved that last crime. I tell you, we got on Facebook and made some calls and we had great media support and word went out and I’m telling you, we got them.”

Sheriff Ezell believes Neighborhood Watch programs could help reduce crime in Jackson County.