Police chief, district attorney teach Gulfport students about dangers of guns and crime

On the stage is a model jail cell. To one side of the cell stands Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper, the other side is District Attorney Crosby Parker.

In the stands, an audience made up of the seventh-grade class of Bayou View Middle School in Gulfport.

A deep voice comes from inside the cell.

“If you commit a crime this will be your home for 23 hours a day,” the voice warns, as the door to the model cell swings open.

Out steps a man dressed in a sleeveless vest and sunglasses, holding an orange jumpsuit.

“This will be what you ware every day,” he warns. “If you have underwear, it will be because someone gave it to you.”

The man speaking is Rip Daniels, the CEO of JZ 94.5 and one of the idea men behind the presentation, put on by Gulfport police and his radio station, where students hear from them about the consequences of criminal activities.

Daniels and his staff had the idea for the program after talking to young people and learning kids wanted to commit crimes and go to jail for social status.

“We discovered some schools that it’s not the football hero, but the thug that is getting most of the respect,” Daniels said. “What we seek to do as a radio station is change the fad. We have to make jail and doing the crime uncool.”

The program has been going on for the better part of a decade, with intermittent breaks because of COVID and hurricanes.

In addition to hearing from Daniels, students have the opportunity to ask Cooper and Parker questions about the criminal justice system. The students peppered the two with questions such as what is the definition of sexual battery.

“Whenever kids talk about something, you know they are talking about something that has some sort of personal experience for them,” Parker said. “Whenever those questions get asked, it’s important that we answer them.”

Parker also explained to the students that even though they are under 18, for crimes involving a gun they can be charged as an adult.

“Gun possession is very bad, it can lead to someone being killed, or a hole in your chest or being shot,” said Adam Griffin a 13-year-old student at Bayou Middle School who attended the presentation.

In addition to hearing from Parker, Griffin and his fellow students also heard from Cooper.

“I don’t want to be telling parents their kids are dead,” Cooper said to the students as he warned them about the dangers of guns. “Nobody says anything about other kids with guns.”

Cooper said although he can come off as harsh in the presentations, he feels it’s for the best.

“They need to realize there are consequences for the crimes being committed by youth in this community,” he said. “I just want to get through to these children.”