Stone County Sheriff’s Office Town Hall — Community Recap

Stone County's Sheriff's Office held a community town hall covering its Flock license plate reader program, new K9 unit, jail education classes, and recent grant funding. Officials confirmed Flock camera data is retained for 30 days, access is restricted and audited monthly, and the department does not use facial recognition technology. Residents also raised concerns about speeding enforcement — Mississippi law currently doesn't allow the Sheriff's Office to use radar, requiring a slower "pacing" method instead, a gap officials are asking residents to raise with state legislators.

Recent case outcomes: The Sheriff’s Office highlighted recent felony convictions, including a child sexual abuse case that resulted in a 10-year plea deal. A DUI case involving a death also resulted in conviction this term. Investigators credited careful case-building and gathering evidence thoroughly enough to secure pleas without the cost and risk of trial for the outcomes.

Grants and equipment: The department reported receiving several grants this cycle, including a JAG (Justice Assistance Grant) of $10,000 for spike strips/pursuit-ending equipment, an Occupant Protection Grant of $15,000 for overtime and enforcement, and a Homeland Security grant that funded a new truck, accessories, and a generator. None of these required matching county funds.

License plate readers (“Flock” cameras): WigginsMS.com co-founder, Sundee Williams, who has professional background in data security raised questions about how aggregated license plate data is stored and accessed.

The Sheriff’s Office responded that:

• Flock data is retained for 30 days only
• Access is restricted to specific personnel and logged/audited roughly monthly
• The department is networked with 1,200+ other agencies nationally for alerts (Blue Alert, Amber Alert, Silver Alert)
• Misuse is a fireable and potentially criminal offense; one nearby department has already terminated an employee for misusing similar systems (not Flock specifically)
• The department does not have facial recognition technology, though it noted some larger nearby jurisdictions do
• The case, Schmidt v. City of Norfolk was citated as the legal basis that there’s no expectation of privacy on public roadways

Officials cited two outcomes attributed to the system: locating a missing dementia patient in Arkansas within 16 hours, and an investigation that led to an arrest in a child exploitation case in a neighboring county.

K9 unit: Two new narcotics-certified K9s joined the department. The dogs have already been used in several recent narcotics arrests.

Narcotics and federal partnerships: The department is partnered with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and has three investigators on a Homeland Security Investigations task force, allowing some drug cases to be charged federally rather than at the state level. Officials estimated 9–12 people have gone to federal prison on drug charges from the county in the last two years, and said Stone County’s drug activity is comparatively low relative to neighboring counties.

Internet crimes against children: An investigator is part of a regional internet crimes against children task force; a recent arrest was made for possession of child sexual abuse material.

Jail education and reentry programs: New vocational trade classes (plumbing) are set to launch at the jail in partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which will provide instructors and equipment at no cost to the county. The goal is job placement with local shops after release. Existing programs — substance abuse, anger management, life skills, GED — have produced 168 graduates to date.

Drones: The Sheriff’s Office does not own drones directly, but Stone County EMA operates them with certified personnel; officials noted search warrants are still required for certain uses.

Speeding and traffic concerns: Multiple residents raised speeding complaints on specific roads, including concerns about underage drivers. The department said it dedicates “hotspot” patrols when specific locations are reported.

Radar authority — a legislative gap: Notably, Mississippi law currently does not allow the Sheriff’s Office to use radar; deputies must use a “pacing” method (following a vehicle at a matched speed) to issue speeding citations, which is harder to enforce and defend in court. Four radar-authorization bills were introduced in the state legislature this year; two passed the House but died in the Senate. The Sheriff encouraged residents to contact their state senator named as “Michael Scott” to support radar authority in the next session.

Noise/gathering permits: Stone County has no permit requirement for public gatherings or live music unless there’s a complaint or evidence of criminal activity.

Vehicle theft ring: Officials described an organized ring targeting Dodge Chargers/Challengers, using technology to locate and steal specific vehicles for resale at out-of-state auctions, with suspects traced to Louisiana and Alabama.