The Ledger reports:
Jackson Police Chief Robert Moore believes he knows why the past six permanent chiefs of the department have lasted an average of just more than two years.
There is an air about the city, partly created by the media, that chokes the department's ability to succeed, he said.
"The Police Department has taken a beating over the years," Moore said last week, talking on his cellular phone while driving to his home in Springfield, Ill. "Until that environment changes, the department and this city will not change. People in Jackson need not depend on who can best demonize the crime picture and sell it to the constituency. That's exactly what (Frank) Melton did."
Melton, a former television executive, defeated Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. last week in the Democratic primary. He made Moore a target of his campaign, vowing, if elected, to remove the lawman from his office atop the Standard Life Building.
After the votes were tallied Tuesday night, Moore quickly announced his retirement — effective June 30, when his three-year, $113,000-a-year contract expires.
Ten different men have led Jackson's police department during the past 15 years. It's a high-pressure job. The chief is often the face of the mayor's administration, called upon to go before the cameras during tough times. He leads a 500-officer department with a nearly $40 million budget.
Jackson State University criminologist Jimmy Bell disagreed with Moore's viewpoint, saying the media can't cast doubt on a department that is doing a good job. To be a success, though, the next chief is going to have to be media savvy to win over the public's trust, Bell said.
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