Grand jury calls for more training at MPD, new jail
Apr. 12—The April 2024 Lauderdale County Grand Jury is recommending Meridian Police Department provide more training for its detectives, according to a report released Thursday.
The grand jury, which sat for two days, called for MPD detectives to receive more training in collecting, documenting and preserving evidence and for the department to hold them accountable if they fail to meet the department's standards.
"The Meridian Police Department should establish a protocol for training all detectives documenting that competency standards have been met for collection, documentation and preservation of evidence and enforce consequences for failure to meet those standards," the grand jury said in its report.
The grand jury also said it identified a "critical need" for additional training in interview and interrogation methods, collection and maintenance of evidence, report writing and case investigation. It recommends the next grand jury follow up with MPD to see what progress has been made.
Responding to similar recommendations by previous grand juries, Meridian Police Chief Deborah Naylor Young has explained officers are required to have 24 hours of continuing education each year, and many of Meridian's officers exceed that amount.
Young, who took over as Meridian's top cop in August 2021, inherited a department that was reeling from having five police chiefs in one year. The leadership instability, along with low pay and changing attitudes toward law enforcement, caused many MPD officers to seek jobs in other departments.
While the department has been recruiting aggressively, many veteran officers left leaving a department that is younger and has less on-the-job experience.
Meridian Mayor Jimmie Smith and Chief Young declined to comment on the grand jury report.
Detention Facility
On the county side of law enforcement, the grand jury is recommending county officials look toward the construction of a new detention facility. In its report, the grand jury said it found the current detention facility to be safe and clean but also "inadequate and outdated."
The current detention facility, which opened in 1998, has a capacity of 290. The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department, which operates the facility, has struggled with overcrowding as it works to house its own detainees and those from other law enforcement agencies.
In 2017, Lauderdale County supervisors authorized then Sheriff Billy Sollie to explore what all will be needed to build a new jail, but those initial conversations did not lead to construction of a new facility. At the time, Sollie said the next detention facility should be designed with a capacity of 500.
Contact Thomas Howard at thoward@themeridianstar.com
