What would local car break-ins, gun crime and gang activity have in common?

All three and more were topics for discussion at Tunica Sheriff K.C. Hamp’s School Safety Initiative this week, the first in a series of meetings with stakeholders on the front lines in the fight against rising juvenile crime.

Hamp has organized the Tunica County task force after being appointed by Mississippi governor Phil Bryant to a similar statewide effort.

The increasing involvement of juveniles – all under 18 and many as young as 11 or 12 – in a rash of car thefts, car break-ins and thefts of guns and electronics from vehicles, and the use of weapons in drive-by shootings is alarming to law enforcement, school administrators, and youth court officials.

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