Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 45 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND GOOD ORDER (§§ 45-NEW-NEW — 45-51-NEW-006) › Chapter 1 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY (§§ 45-1-1 — 45-1-161) › GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 45-1-1 — 45-1-57) › Section 45-1-2 - Executive Director of Department of Public Safety to be commissioner; organization of department; Commissioner of Public Safety; statewide safety training officer; Mississippi Office of Homeland Security established within department; Mississippi Analysis and Information Center (MSAIC Fusion Center)

(1)
The Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety shall be the Commissioner of Public Safety.
(2)
The Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish the organizational structure of the Department of Public Safety, which shall include the creation of any units necessary to implement the duties assigned to the department and consistent with specific requirements of law including, but not limited to:
(a)
Office of Public Safety Planning;
(b)
Office of Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol;
(c)
Office of Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (to be directed by a Lieutenant Colonel of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol);
(d)
Office of Forensic Laboratories, which includes the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory and the Office of the State Medical Examiner;
(e)
Office of Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy;
(f)
Office of Support Services;
(g)
Office of Narcotics, which shall be known as the Bureau of Narcotics;
(h)
Office of Homeland Security;
(i)
Office of Capitol Police;
(j)
Office of Driver Service Bureau; and
(k)
Office of Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division.
(3)
The department shall be headed by a commissioner, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The appointment of the commissioner shall be made with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commissioner shall have, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
(4)
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner shall appoint heads of offices, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the authority to organize the offices established by subsection (2) of this section as deemed appropriate to carry out the responsibilities of the department. The commissioner may assign to the appropriate offices such powers and duties as deemed appropriate to carry out the department's lawful functions. The organization charts of the department shall be presented annually with the budget request of the Governor for review by the Legislature.
(5)
The commissioner shall appoint, from within the Department of Public Safety, a statewide safety training officer who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and whose duty it shall be to perform public training for both law enforcement and private persons throughout the state concerning proper emergency response to the mentally ill, terroristic threats or acts, domestic conflict, other conflict resolution, and such other matters as the commissioner may direct.
(6)
The commissioner, after consultation with the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police and the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association, shall be responsible for establishing guidelines for response to active shooter situations and any related jurisdictional issues.
(7)
The commissioner shall establish within the department the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security for the purpose of seeing that the laws are faithfully executed and for the purpose of investigating cyber-related crimes and suppressing crimes of violence and acts of intimidation and terror. The commissioner is hereby authorized to employ within the Office of Homeland Security a director, investigators and other qualified personnel as he may deem necessary to make investigation of cyber-related crimes, crimes of violence and acts of terrorism or intimidation, to aid in the arrest and prosecution of persons charged with such cyber-related crimes, crimes of violence, acts of terrorism or intimidation, or threats of violence and to perform other duties as necessary to accomplish these purposes. Investigators and other law enforcement personnel employed by the commissioner shall have full power to investigate, apprehend, and arrest persons committing cyber-related crimes, acts of violence, intimidation, or terrorism anywhere in the state, and shall be vested with the power of police officers in the performance of such duties as provided herein. Such investigators and other personnel shall perform their duties under the direction of the commissioner, or his designee. The commissioner shall be authorized to offer and pay suitable rewards to other persons for aiding in such investigation and in the apprehension and conviction of persons charged with cyber-related crimes, acts of violence, or threats of violence, or intimidation, or acts of terrorism.
(8)
The commissioner shall establish within the Office of Homeland Security a Mississippi Analysis and Information Center (MSAIC Fusion Center) which shall be the highest priority for the allocation of available federal resources for statewide information sharing, including the deployment of personnel and connectivity with federal data systems. Subject to appropriation therefor, the Mississippi Fusion Center shall employ three (3) regional analysts dedicated to analyzing and resolving potential threats identified by the agency's statewide social media intelligence platform and the dissemination of school safety information.
Laws, 1989, ch. 544, § 58; Laws, 1990, ch. 522, § 26; Laws, 2000, ch. 492, § 1; Laws, 2001, ch. 524, § 1; Laws, 2004, ch. 595, § 20, eff. 7/1/2004.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 458, SB 2079,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 479, SB 2543,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 403, HB 974,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2021.
Amended by Laws, 2019, ch. 427, HB 1283,§ 9, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Laws, 2019, ch. 312, HB 913,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 452, SB 2159, 5, eff. 7/1/2015.