VIDEO: A Transitional Period for Tupelo PD

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The Tupelo Police department is in a state of transition and the new Police advisory board is helping make those changes

Tupelo is trying to make a positive out of a dark period in its history. The death of Ronnie Shumpert divided the town, and the Police department found itself caught in the middle.

Now the advisory board is going to some extensive measures to reach out to the community and let them know that their number one priority is serving the community.

“We have our prejudices with each other, and I think this board is a bugger for the police department to help of become more centered,” said board member, Ron Richardson.

The members say its easy to point fingers at police officers but say the real solution is becoming part of the department.

“If you care about your community and you want to make a difference, come help us make a difference, and that’s joining the police department. It’s a good way to reach out and get to know you’re community, enforce the laws, and maybe help people,” said Deputy Chief, Allan Gilbert.

Here’s one of the more impressive statistics: Out of the last 1.5 million calls to service in Tupelo, only 154 have had complaints.

“I think they’re staggering a lot of times. They don’t realize how many calls of service we have and how low the complaint level is,” said Gilbert. “That means we’re doing something right. Every day we strive to be better, and if that’s getting out talking to the community and just finding out what their needs are.”

Other ways to bring a positive light to the department are promotional videos and powerpoints.

Board members hope that these new strategies can show people there is a career in law enforcement.

“I really think it’s a calling that they have to do this. To come into this police department and be a police person, man or woman, whoever it may be, I think they need to feel that this is something they really want to do,” said Richardson.

Moving forward, department leaders hope that they can bring in police who accurately represent the city of Tupelo.

“That’s making sure we go out and recruit, and that’s why we’re doing the promotional videos is trying to recruit the minority population, just getting diverse people here that want to make a difference in their community,” said Gilbert.

Gilbert also mentioned that there are currently eight spots open in the department.

New ways of approaching the recruitment process could not only fill these spots quickly, but also allow Tupelo to view their police as a friend and not an enemy.