By Maggie Wade - bio| email
JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - A group of neighbors near Wingfield High School say it is time to take a stand. They met at Wingfield to organize a neighborhood association with the help of Jackson Police, and city representatives, including Councilman Tony Yarber.
Officers say 66 thousand people live in South Jackson. There are currently 60 officers working the area. Ten more officers will come on board February 18th after they graduate from the training academy. Neighbors say they are no longer willing to let crime rule their community.
"We're concerned about the children walking home from school you know, they don't have side walks, people speeding down our streets and the crime that's on the rise," said Parent Joseph Lattimore.
"We decided, myself and some of my neighbors that enough is enough," said neighborhood association organizer Donald Purvis. "One of the things that we have known for a very long time is that we need to become more organized as a neighborhood so this is the first step."
Purvis said he is hoping the neighborhood association will meet monthly to map out strategies for dealing with crime and help the area rise from the ashes.
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