Newly elected Hinds County officials sworn-in

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Newly elected Hinds County officials were sworn in during a ceremony at the Hinds County Courthouse Friday morning.

Among those being sworn in, constables, justice court judges, a new district attorney, sheriff, and more.

3 On Your Side caught up with Sheriff Lee Vance about what he plans to tackle now that he is in office as Sheriff.

He told us he is ready to make a positive difference in the way criminal justice is handled in Hinds County.

“We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and go to work side by side with the City of Jackson,” Vance said. “A key to our success is getting into partnerships with our federal partners. One of the things we’re organizing now is getting a meeting with law enforcement, officials, and politicians in Hinds County so we can come out there with some unified plans and goals with how we’re going to make this the safest county in the country.”

Vance told us he plans to address security issues at the county jail, and once a solution is complete with that, more officers will be freed up to hit the streets.

He also says he is interested in helping those who work under him achieve career advancement.

Hinds County also has a new District Attorney.

District Attorney Jody Owens told 3 On Your Side, he is also ready to get violent criminals off the streets.

“We’re meeting this week to figure out how we can take the prosecution of this to the streets,” Owens said. “We can’t wait for violent crime to stop, there’s only so many police officers. We have to make sure the people who are committing violent crimes can only do that one time in our community. Those people that have terrorized and are predators in the community have to be stopped.”

Owens also discussed his plans to address the backlog.

“We are going to prosecute violent crime as quickly as possible and make sure people aren’t languishing in the county jail," Owens said. “We’ve seen an uptick particularly at the end of the year in violent crime, and individuals need to know it will not be tolerated in Hinds County. In addition, we know we have a backlog that needs to be addressed. We’re going to systematically look at who is in jail, which cases are too old to successfully prosecute and find the most responsible way to deal with those cases so we can start 2020 with a fresh start for the community and for the county."

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