Message From Sheriff Joe Berlin

Hello from the Jones County Sheriff's Department in Jones County, Mississippi! Our county spans 701 square miles with nearly 68,000 residents calling this exciting place "home". The wildly popular HGTV television show "Home Town" is filmed here in Jones County in the City of Laurel. Ben and Erin Napier have become renowned television stars and we get to watch them as they restore homes and make people's home ownership dreams come true. If you haven't already, we invite you to come visit our fun and exciting home town.

Jones County is located in southeast Mississippi in a region called the Pine Belt. We have millions upon millions of pine trees in this area including the loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, slash pine and longleaf pine. We have many freshwater lakes, rivers and streams that traverse our beautiful county and exploring the great outdoors is very popular as a result of our generally warm climate and abundance of recreational opportunities.

The people of Jones County are known for their friendliness, gentle nature and southern charm. We couldn't tell you about Mississippi and Jones County without mentioning the outstanding classic southern food choices here. Fried chicken, garden fresh peas and turnips, steaming hot cornbread and a huge glass of ice-cold sweet tea sets the stage for many a family meal here.

As the Sheriff and Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Jones County, my responsibility includes providing for the safety and security of the residents of and visitors to Jones County. Our dedicated team of law enforcement professionals at the Jones County Sheriff's Department are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year providing exceptional service. Law enforcement is a rewarding career; indeed it is a calling, with the main focus of our jobs being helping people. 

The past four years serving as your sheriff has been rewarding to say the least. Since taking office, our department has made several upgrades for the inmates at the jail.

A few upgrades include a chat system to allow loved ones to stay in contact with inmates, additional security cameras to keep both inmates and our correction officers accountable, and technology upgrades to all cells to ensure inmates are being taken care of.

Our department has also upgraded the medical provider and staff at both the Adult Detention Facility and Juvenile Detention Facility to allow inmates to receive better medical care.

Moreover, our department has even partnered with inmates on a good faith volunteer basis for inmates to work. We believe this provides inmates with a purpose while serving their sentence and in return saves money for the taxpayers of Jones County.

Along with corrections facility upgrades, we have also made upgrades for our deputies. Each deputy has been issued a body camera to record interactions on incident scenes.

Our Criminal Investigations Division (CID) recently received a FARO Scanner to help digitally capture the crime scene for cases that will go to trial. This is a major upgrade that few departments within the state have the ability to do.

As your sheriff, we have been able to be under budgets each year since 2020, recruited highly qualified deputies, provided training for other law enforcement officers, and have one of the most proactive narcotics teams in the state.

Over the next four years we will work tirelessly to not only meet, but exceed your expectations as law enforcement officers. We've already made several upgrades, but this is just the beginning. We are nearing on 600 "Most Wanted" arrests, are working to establish a better facility for the department, and will continue helping the Jones County School District by enhancing security at the elementary schools with a deputy present in the morning drop-off car line.

As your Sheriff, I believe in an open-door policy for all citizens and visitors of Jones County. It's my hope that we are truly caring for our community, working to do better each day, and exceed expectations of those we serve.

I would love to hear from you, please give me a call at 601-425-3147 or via email at jberlin@co.jones.ms.us should you have any questions or wish to share any concerns about the Jones County Sheriff's Department. May God richly bless you and your family in the days, weeks and years ahead!

 

Sincerely,

Sheriff Joe Berlin