Video: Mississippi Highway Patrol School In The Works

STARKVILLE, Miss.(WCBI)—The Mississippi Highway Patrol continues to be short staffed.

Department of Public Safety leaders have been lobbying the legislature for a new Trooper School..

And Monday lawmakers agreed to pay for one.

For law enforcement, protecting the community is a tough job but it gets tougher when force numbers are low. Master Sergeant Criss Turnipseed says there are a few reasons numbers can be low.

“There are a lot of guys that are on the Mississippi Patrol that are also in the guard, National Guard or reserve. So, they have their leave two weeks a year for annual training and then monthly for meeting guard drill and the an act of a deployment could extend from six to nine months leave,”said Turnipseed.

Turnipseed says he’s excited that senate bill 2698 cleared the house and senate but that means the real work starts for them.

“That’s good news for us and we are looking forward to that. We’re already making preparations now in the planning phases for after that bill is signed. So, we can go ahead and start doing all the things to get prepared to actually have the school. Of course, you’ve got the interview process the background checks. The extensive workings and goings on that you have to do to prepare for the school. We’re excited about that. We’re hoping to get a lot of candidates,”said Turnipseed

According to Turnipseed, the department isn’t just looking forward to increasing the man power but it’s ready to have a larger pool of qualified applicants.

“We are always excited about adding new men and women to our forces and getting them out there and serving the public. There’s been a lot of people showing interest. We get questions about it all the time and now we actually have an answer say look it’s coming soon,”said Turnipseed.

Low numbers with law enforcement not only hurt the officers but Turnipseed says it has a bigger impact on the community,” said Turnipseed.

“The public, it puts the public in a bad position especially when you know they are involved in anything out here on the road waiting on an officer to come assist them or work an accident or to help them if they are a stranded motorist that might make them wait a little bit more before they can get some help from us,”said Turnipseed.

Senate Bill 2698 is not an allocation for extra funds. The money used to fund the trooper school will come from funds already obtained by the troopers.
The Bill is awaiting the signature of Governor Phil Bryant.