Security in downtown Vicksburg has been beefed up after the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in October announced plans for a new partnership for patrolling the district.

“They have private security through (the Vicksburg) Main Street (Program),” Chief of Police Penny Jones explained of businesses downtown, mainly along Washington Street. “They’ve had security working at night and in the evening time. Now, they’ll be there during the daytime. Security will be parked up and down the street, and then we’ll take over in the evening time. And we’re just encouraging the businesses to, of course, if they see something, say something.”

The new partnership between private security company FSA Enterprise, LLC, based in Natchez, and the Vicksburg Police Department (VPD) was finalized in early November when the board unanimously approved a contract that will run for a year from its Nov. 4 effective date and will pay private security guards $16.75 per hour.

According to the contract with the City of Vicksburg, FSA Enterprise, LLC will provide one security guard, who will patrol Washington Street from the 1500 block to the 900 block Tuesday through Saturday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., after which time, a VPD officer will pick up patrol. 

Private security guards are not armed, but Jones said they are working closely with VPD, should any emergencies arise. Flaggs has several times stressed that shootings and other violent acts, coupled with “panhandlers” in the downtown district, necessitated the change in security protocols.

“We are going to shut this down,” Flaggs said in October. “Enough is enough and it has to end.”

Flaggs also called on business owners downtown and other citizens to report such individuals to police.

“If panhandlers approach you begging, I ask that you take a picture and call the police to report it,” he said. “Especially if they are frequently seen. The picture will help police to know who they are looking for, as well as allowing us to keep a record of panhandlers that have come into the city.”  

VPD officials said any documentation through photography should be done safely and at a reasonable distance and police should always be notified of the situation.

Jones also stressed the security protocols concerning “panhandlers” are aimed at safety and loitering and are not targeting homeless people.

“We have to be careful about violating people’s rights,” Jones said at a recent town hall-style meeting. “Just because a person is homeless doesn’t mean that we can say, ‘Hey. We don’t want you here.’ If they’re committing a crime, of course we’re going to say something to them, but they have just as much a right to walk around as anybody else. We just have to be careful.”