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Capitol Police and sheriff report early implementation of solicitation and squatters laws; 911 routing and jail overcrowding remain concerns
Summary
Capitol Police said it has been educating the public and moving solicitors while completing permitting procedures, but enforcement faces logistical limits; Sheriff Tyree Jones reported more than 920 pretrial detainees and officials described intermittent CCID 911 routing issues tied to vendor software.
Capitol Police Chief Beau Lucky told the Select Committee that the Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID) and Capitol Police are preparing policies and permitting paperwork to implement the new solicitation statute and that, while the permitting process is not yet in place, officers have been asking solicitors to move along and reported a decrease in panhandling in several high-activity locations.
Chief Lucky said CCID is reviewing municipal models to align forms and minimize legal exposure and estimated the permitting process could be functional "within a month or so." He also told the committee that enforcing the squatters'removal law is complicated by the difficulty of locating and contacting property owners for consent to clear vacant businesses and that many owner contacts are out of service.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones described detention and jail-capacity pressures and requested resources to speed pretrial case processing. "As of this morning, we were in excess of 920 pretrial detainees in our custody," the sheriff said, noting a recent peak near 940 and the resulting strain on detention services and county budgets.
Panelists discussed holistic approaches to homelessness, including models that combine housing vouchers, employment requirements and counseling; officials noted intensive programs can carry high per-person costs (a CCID-panel speaker estimated roughly $20,000 per person per year for some provider models) and emphasized that funding would need to be secured in advance.
On public-safety technology, CCID representatives reported intermittent failures in direct 911 routing linked to an Entrada/Motorola implementation; landline routing generally works but voice-over-IP and cellular location calls are intermittently routed to the county or require rollover transfers. CCID staff said the vendor is preparing updates but could not give a firm completion date for full reliability.
Committee members said they will invite the agencies back for follow-ups and requested further data on jail housing alternatives and coordination with nonprofit shelter providers.
