Vicksburg Mayor recommends first female to lead the city’s police department

VICKSBURG, Miss. (WLBT) - Mayor George Flaggs, Jr. has chosen Deputy Chief Penny Jones to serve as the incoming chief of the Vicksburg Police Department.

If Jones is confirmed by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, she will be the first female in the department’s history to serve as chief.

The more than 20-year veteran began her career at the Vicksburg Police Department in 1999. She has served as a deputy chief, patrol commander, domestic violence officer, senior patrol officer, narcotics officer, and criminal and crime scene investigator.

Mayor Flaggs say she is the best choice for the job and believes she has what it takes to help combat crime in the city.

“Deputy Chief Jones is a dedicated and accomplished law enforcement officer with over two decades of extensive experience in public safety,” Mayor Flaggs said. “She holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice and is nearing the completion of a second master’s degree in Workforce Education. I believe Penny to be a qualified and driven individual with the experience necessary to make our police department the best that it can be.”

Jones says she is honored to be nominated.

“I am a native of Vicksburg and I love the city. I want to continue to work with our local leaders and the great men and women of the Vicksburg Police Department to help sweep drugs and crime off the streets.”

The vote is scheduled for Tuesday, July 6, at 10 a.m. in the Robert M. Walker Building Board Room.

Mayor Flaggs chose not to reappoint Milton Moore as police chief for the City of Vicksburg.

Moore was appointed in July 2017.

Patrice Clark will have more on the story on WLBT tonight.