Key Milestones of DPS
Updated: Aug 10
The origins of the state Department of Public Safety date back to the establishment of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol (MHSP), with expansions over the decades to address evolving public safety needs. Below is a chronological list of key milestones based on historical records.
1938: The MSDPS was effectively founded when Senate Bill 161 was signed into law by Governor Hugh L. White on April 1, creating the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol (now known as the Mississippi Highway Patrol) under the supervision of a newly established Commissioner of Public Safety. This marked the beginning of organized state-level highway enforcement in Mississippi.
1938: The initial act provided for 53 patrolmen and additional personnel including a commissioner, chief of patrol, director of the Driver License Bureau, chief record clerk, stenographer, and five assistants allotted to the DLB.
1938: Gov. White appointed Maj. Thomas Butler Birdsong as commissioner, and Capt. Webb Burke as chief of patrol.
1938: Details on the first Recruit Training School held at Camp Shelby: Out of 3,300 applicants, 633 were selected to take competitive physical and mental examinations. From those, 1,970 were selected as recruits to attend school. Of the recruits, 53 were chosen upon graduation as patrolmen with 13 place on reserve.
Late 1930s - 1940s: The primary focus of MSDPS during this period was on highway safety, patrolling roads, and enforcing traffic laws, which layed the groundwork for broader roles.
1955: The MDPS Headquarters was moved to 1900 Woodrow Wilson Ave. in Jackson.
1958: The Mississippi Crime Lab was created by legislative action.
1963: Legislation was passed creating the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy (MLEOTA) to improve training of officers. The MLEOTA was dedicated in May 1966.
1966: The state Legislature funded the Mississippi Crime Laboratory, now referred to as the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory. It began with just three employees. This is where physical evidence is collected, preserved, analyzed, and interpreted. This includes processes such as latent print examinations, firearms examinations, toxicological analyses, comparison of hairs and fibers, gunshot residue analysis and serological examinations in suspected rape cases.
1971: The Bureau of Narcotics was established to handle specialized enforcement and investigations related to controlled substances, initially operating under the State Board of Health.
1972: The Bureau of Narcotics was transferred to the control of the MDPS, expanding the department's role in drug enforcement. In the same year, the MHP integrated its ranks with the hiring of the first African American troopers—R.O. Williams, Lewis Younger, and Walter Crosby—marking a significant step toward diversity in Mississippi law enforcement.
1972 (September 1): The first African-Americans in the history of DPS joined MHP as troopers - Lewis Younger III, K.B. Evans, and R.O. Williams.
1976: Construction of the MDPS headquarters in Jackson was completed, providing a central base for operations.
1980-1984: Gen. Sidney B. Berry serves as commissioner.
1980: The first three female troopers graduated from the training academy - Felicia Breland, Barbara Roby and Linda Wilburn.
1983: An executive order by Governor William F. Winter explicitly tasked the Commissioner of Public Safety with coordinating the state’s “war against crime, part of which is the fight against illicit drugs and narcotics.” That order made clear that MBN and other agencies were required to cooperate under the DPS‐lead.
1984-1988: James L. Roberts, Jr. serves as commissioner.
1988-1992: Louisa O. Dixon serves as the first female commissioner of DPS.
1988 (April 1): 50th Anniversary of the signing of Senate Bill 161, designated the establishment of DPS. The Mississippi Highway Patrol Benefit Association marked the occasion with a 12-foot-tall monument in memory of the 22 officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.
1991: The first state morgue was completed as an addition to the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory and Medical Examiner's Office. The state-of-the-art, 27,000 square foot facility included a walk-in cooler/freezer large enough to facilitate numerous cases in the event of mass disaster, an in-house x-ray, and a laboratory.
1992-2000: Jim Ingram, a retired FBI agent, served as commissioner. He was appointed by Governor Kirk Fordice.
1992: The new laser speed detection device was introduced to speeders during Memorial Day weekend. It's primary advantage is that it rendered commercial radar detectors ineffective.
1996: The state Legislature created the Mississippi Crime Stoppers Advisory Council to advice and assist in the creation of local crime stoppers programs, utilize the media in promoting local programs, and help increase the flow of information between law enforcement agencies.
2000-2004: David R. Huggins, previously the Chief of MHP, serves as commissioner.
2000: Mississippi became the fifth state in the nation to electronically submit fingerprints to the FBI. DPS would implement a statewide Amber Alert System two years later.
2001, 2002: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chose Mississippi as a "model state" for the implementation of a pilot program designed to raise public awareness about the importance of seat belt usage. As a result, the state saw one of the highest increases in seat belt usage in the nation.
2004-2005: Rusty Fortenberry served as commissioner during the early term of Governor Haley Barbour.
2005-2007: George Phillips served as commissioner, leading the agency during Hurricane Katrina.
2007-2008: Charlie Williams served as Interim Commissioner.
2005: In anticipation of Hurricane Katrina, the state activated the National Guard in preparation for the storm's landfall, and DPS made plans for 60 MBI officers, 31 MBN agents and 90 uniformed patrol officers to respond after the hurricane passed. In the storm's aftermath, MSDPS officials worked long days and nights with sleep confined to a patrol car or on the ground for the first two weeks. Personnel from outside the southern district rotated in shifts of 12 hours per day for three to five days until February 2006.
2008-2011: Stephen Simpson serves as Commissioner. He was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour.
2010: MHP launched an electronic citation pilot program, which went fully operational in 2011. The eCite software allows troopers to electronically issue a ticket and makes the process quick and accurate.
2011-2017: Albert Santa Cruz, also appointed by Governor Haley Barbour, serves until retirement in 2017.
2013: The Mississippi Wireless Integrated Network underwent a $221 million system upgrade which allowed 22 state agencies and about 150 local government entities to communicate on a single, statewide radio system.
2015: The new State Crime Laboratory - at a cost of $30 million - opened in Pearl.
2016: MSDPS administers the Law Enforcement Officers and Fire Fighters Death Benefits Trust Fund which allocates the payment of $100,000 to a first responder who dies or receives accidental or intentional bodily injury that results in the loss of the covered individual's life.
2017-2020: Marshall Fisher, previously the Director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Department of Corrections, serves as Commissioner.
2020: Sean Tindell, a former prosecutor, state representative, and Mississippi Court of Appeals judge, was appointed as Commissioner of Public Safety by Governor Tate Reeves in May, leading the department through modern challenges.
2020: Under Tindell, MDPS implements its highly successful "Skip the Line" program at driver's license bureaus across the state. The program allows Mississippians an opportunity to schedule their own appointments or renew driver's licenses online, greatly reducing wait times.
2021: Major expansion occurred when DPS absorbed the Mississippi Department of Transportation's enforcement division (reorganized as the Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division) and the Capitol Police Office from the Department of Finance and Administration. This also included duty adjustments, such as assigning the Bureau of Investigation to oversee police-involved shootings (excluding MHP incidents), expanding MHP speed enforcement on interstates in large cities, and enlarging the Capitol Police patrol area to an 8.7 square-mile zone in Jackson to assist local police amid staffing shortages.
2023: The MDPS held its first-ever "All DPS General Assembly", gathering nearly 1,000 sworn and non-sworn employees for departmental unity and updates.
2024-2025: The state Legislature greatly expands the jurisdiction of the Capitol Police from an 8.7 square mile zone in Jackson to approximately 20 square miles, an over 150 percent increase. The move follows heated debate from lawmakers who argued for the need for increased public safety in the Capital City and others who questioned the constitutionality of a separate and independent state-run police force in addition to the Jackson Police Department.
2024–2025: Relocation of MDPS headquarters to a new multimillion-dollar facility in Pearl is underway, with completion delayed from initial timelines but expected soon to address outdated infrastructure at the 1976 building. Additionally, in 2025, the department accepted applications for Cadet Class 70. Participants started training in February 2026.
Spring of 2026: DPS staff moves into the new $70 million headquarters in Pearl, Mississippi.
These milestones reflect the department's growth from a focused highway patrol to a comprehensive public safety agency. For more details, the official DPS website provides additional context on its evolution and contributions.
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