Jackson, Miss. - The United States Attorney’s Office, along with its law enforcement partners, will hold several town hall meetings throughout the City of Jackson over the next several weeks to discuss Project EJECT and solicit input from the community, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. Project EJECT is an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT stands for "Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together."
As part of the awareness component under Project EJECT, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to engaging with the communities of Jackson and not only explaining the good work that law enforcement is doing to combat crime but also soliciting input, suggestions and feedback from citizens directly in order to ensure the work of Project EJECT is positive and has a long-lasting impact.
"In order to effectively combat crime in Jackson, we must raise awareness in our communities to the work we are doing under Project EJECT and solicit input and feedback about our work from our fellow citizens. Law-abiding people of the metro area vastly outnumber the criminals, and by working and partnering together, we can do so much more to clean up our Capitol City for all Mississippians and future generations," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
Town hall meetings will be held on the following dates, from 6-7 p.m.:
August 6 - Sykes Park Gymnasium - 520 Sykes Road, Jackson
August 9 - Greater Bethlehem Temple - 1505 Robinson Street, Jackson
August 16 - First Baptist Church Jackson - 431 N. State Street, Jackson
August 20 - Broadmeadow United Methodist Church - 4419 Broadmeadow St, Jackson
August 27 - New Horizon Church - 1770 Ellis Avenue
August 28 - Medgar Evers Library - 4215 Medgar Evers Boulevard
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is currently working on scheduling dates for additional locations in other areas of Jackson in the very near future.
Project EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. PSN is program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Since announcing Project EJECT in December 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Jackson Police Department, and agents and task force officers from various federal and state law enforcement agencies, have indicted over 70 individuals for federal crimes ranging from carjacking to illegally possessing firearms to business robberies to drugs. Of those individuals whom have been arrested and are being prosecuted, approximately 97% have been detained while awaiting trial. For those whom have been convicted and sentenced, the average sentence thus far for crimes prosecuted under Project EJECT is over 6 years in federal prison.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
