The process of uniting the agencies in one location began 20 years ago, with construction starting in 2019. The 146,000-square-foot building will house 11 divisions on site.
Gov. Tate Reeves said a peer committee conducted an analysis and recommended to the Legislature that the facility be located in Pearl. Reeves said the building will better equip law enforcement to protect Mississippians.
Tiara Jackson
Mississippi Department of Public Safety opens doors on new facility in Pearl
“We are honoring the work that the men and women in blue all across the state do with this dedication of this new building for the Department of Public Safety,” Reeves said. “We’re able to bring all of our different agencies within DPS together to provide a coordinated opportunity to best protect the citizens of Mississippi.”
DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell said the project represents an investment in public safety by bringing operations under one roof.
“By putting everything under one roof, we’re going to be able to better communicate and collaborate within the agency,” Tindell said. “That’s going to result in better collaboration and communication outside the agency with our federal partners, as well as local sheriff’s departments and police departments across the state.”
Tindell said the building strengthens the ability of law enforcement to collaborate, communicate and enhance public safety.
Reeves said the multimillion-dollar investment will help keep the state safe and provide officers with more tools to do their jobs at a high level. He said new technology in the building will help combat crime statewide.
“We’re using technology to mitigate crime,” Reeves said. “The technology in this building is going to help us deter crime. And once crime is committed, which is inevitable, we can catch criminals and put them behind bars.”
The building is named for former Public Safety Commissioner David Huggins, who died in 2022. He served as chief of the Mississippi Highway Patrol from 1988 to 1992 and was named commissioner of the Department of Public Safety in 2000, serving until 2004.