Before opening the floor, Brackney established her key points: technology, outside partnerships and resources, communication, and research are tools to build safer communities.
“I know it is going to be a difficult process to move us from where we have been, to where we desire to be,” said Brackney. “But I have no doubt that the people, the residents, the communities of Jackson have exactly what it takes to not be only Jackson rising, the city of soul, but literally the city of possibilities if we do all the things and we do it in a right and decent way.”
During the meeting, Brackney asked attendees to raise their hands if they no longer feared crime. No hands were raised.
Brackney noted she worked with Harvard University on community listening sessions focused on addressing the fear of crime before starting her role. While city officials say crime has declined, Brackney said her goal is to continue reducing crime by identifying patterns and mapping high-incident areas for a more effective officer response.
Residents raised concerns about delayed 911 response times and staffing shortages at the city’s call center. Brackney said the department is working to address those issues by recruiting officers and incorporating reserve officers, who are required to complete 30 hours of service.
As the meeting progressed, residents shared personal stories, including Shantell Johnson, whose son was a homicide victim in 2021 with a case that went cold. Johnson urged the community to stop protecting those involved in crime. Regarding the gap between law enforcement and the community, Johnson said the community must fix its own problems.
“First of all, the chief can't do anything. The hood and the community's got to fix their own problems,” said Johnson. “The police come after the fact. We just have to be real about that. And for as, the strategies that she need, the community is gonna have to stop and come off of that no snitching thing because ain't nobody suffering but them. For as crime, period. The communities got to care about themselves, other than only when the police kill you or when the white man do something.”
Jackson resident Byron Brumfield, founder of Medgar Evers Reloaded: A Mission and A Movement, welcomed the new leadership but stressed a need for better police-community relationships, free of favoritism. He said Brackney is the change the city desperately deserves and needs.
“What she’s doing, she’s getting information from the community right now,” Brumfield said. “She’s giving information from elected officials and she’s getting information from her colleagues. She’s smart enough just to think for herself. She ain’t got this person in her here, ‘Hey, do this for me.’ You ain't got this person telling her what to do. She’s her own judge and jury about the decision she makes. No peer pressure at all.”
Throughout the meeting, residents reiterated that real change must start within the community. When asked how the department plans to use technology to reduce crime, Brackney referenced working with outside departments and using resources like license plate readers and drones. She explained that the department will implement strategies and safeguards to prevent citizens from being victims of racial or gender bias sometimes established by Artificial Intelligence.
Georgetown resident Johnny Wilson shared his ideas, and Brackney responded to those concerns.
“As far as A-I is concerned, it is int the beginning stages,” said Wilson. “It is good, but it can be bad as well, especially for us as a people. Most technology are geared toward other people. And so now, we need to reprogram that and have it work better for our benefits.”
Attendees appeared optimistic, stating that the chief needs a chance to enact changes in a city they feel "needs a clean house."
The city will announce Chief Brackney’s next meeting date soon.
Find more details on the chief’s plans via "The Sit Down with Russ Latino."
