Crime Drove Woman Out Of South Jackson

Joyce Smith says the south Jackson neighborhood she loves so much has gone from a safe place to live to a prime target for criminals.
“People were breaking in houses and my next door neighbor got broken into and got hit up side the head and her car was stolen,” she said.
Smith says crime is bad enough. What’s worse, according to her, police took too long and in some cases never responded to calls for help.
“So we decided we had to get out of here,” she says.
Smith moved to Pearl three months ago. She had lived in that same house 30 years.
She and her family spent Thursday cleaning out a storage shed at her Cooper Road home.
As soon as she finds a buyer, Smith is planning to sell the house.
“Been here a long time hated to leave it,” she says.