# Mississippi

Mississippi’s Board on Jail Officer Standards and Training (BJOST) certifies county, municipal, and youth detention jail officers after a 96-hour basic course and can cancel and recall a certificate. No state body that certifies Department of Corrections correctional officers, or that sets or inspects jail operating standards, was found. Since 2023 the State has required single-sex restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters in facilities housing state inmates, kept intervention-court pleas out of the definition of a technical probation violation, and required the Department of Corrections to keep written protective-equipment policies for inmates handling cleaning chemicals. The Mississippi Code is not published on an official state website, so some statutory points are taken from agency documents and enrolled bills; entries are dated by effective date.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/mississippi

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** Board on Jail Officer Standards and Training (BJOST), staffed by the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Standards and Training and created by the County Jail Officers Training Program Act of 1999, effective July 1, 2000. Its training covers “all jail officers in the state (county, municipal and youth detention).” “The Board develops and administers the curriculum and approves training delivery systems,” and “the Board monitors compliance with the law” ([DPS, BJOST](https://www.dps.ms.gov/public-safety-planning/standards-and-training/BJOST)). Law enforcement officers are certified by a separate board, BLEOST, covered on the [Mississippi Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/mississippi). No state body certifying Department of Corrections correctional officers was found, and whether those officers fall within BLEOST’s “law enforcement officer” definition (Miss. Code Ann. 45-6-3) could not be checked.
- **Statute:** County Jail Officers Training Program, Miss. Code Ann. 45-4-1 and following (certification at 45-4-9); BLEOST at 45-6-1 and following. BJOST rules: 31 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 101 ([BJOST policy manual](https://www.dps.ms.gov/sites/dps/files/New%20BJOST%20Policy%206-28-23.pdf)). Section numbers come from the BJOST manual and from enrolled bills on the Legislature’s bill-status site, because the Code is not posted there.
- **Minimum standards:** Jail officers must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or GED, be U.S. citizens, be in good physical and mental condition as verified by a licensed practitioner, and have good moral character, with no conviction or guilty or nolo plea for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, verified by background investigation; veterans need an honorable discharge. Since January 1, 2000 no person may be appointed or employed as a jail officer unless certified, no uncertified person may serve as a jail officer for more than 2 years, and an employer may not pay a jail officer who does not meet the requirements or whose certificate is suspended or revoked (45-4-9, as summarized by [DPS](https://www.dps.ms.gov/public-safety-planning/standards-and-training/BJOST); 31 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 101, ch. 2).
- **Basic training:** An approved CPR and first aid course and the Board-approved 96-hour Standardized Detention Officer Course at an approved training facility. Youth detention officers take an additional 24-hour juvenile course. The course outline in the BJOST manual totals 96 hours and includes “understanding and applying continuum of force” ([BJOST policy manual](https://www.dps.ms.gov/sites/dps/files/New%20BJOST%20Policy%206-28-23.pdf)).
- **In-service training:** No annual in-service hour requirement for jail officers was found; the BJOST manual covers approval of in-service courses but sets no minimum. BLEOST continuing education applies to law enforcement officers (see the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/mississippi)).
- **Decertification:** BJOST may cancel and recall a certificate issued by administrative error or obtained by misrepresentation or fraud, or when the holder has been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, been fined for, or been placed on probation or pretrial diversion for a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, “or other due cause as determined by the Board,” including conduct breaching the minimum standards or greatly diminishing public trust (Rule 4.2). Staff open a certification review file; the director may take administrative action effective in 30 days unless the officer requests a hearing, or the Chair may convene a hearing before the full Board with certified-mail notice, the right to appear, present witnesses and documents, and counsel, and a written decision with findings of fact (Rule 4.3). An aggrieved officer may appeal to the chancery court of the county of employment (Rule 4.3 J). For a certified officer who leaves, the agency must return a Termination/Reassignment Report with the original certificate within 10 working days; when the officer was discharged or resigned pending a disciplinary investigation, an explanation “should accompany” the report ([BJOST policy manual](https://www.dps.ms.gov/sites/dps/files/New%20BJOST%20Policy%206-28-23.pdf), chs. 3, 4, 9). No public decertification list was found.
- **Jail standards:** BJOST sets training and certification standards for jail officers, not facility standards. No state body that sets or inspects county jail operating standards was found. According to DPS, the 1999 act declared the administration of county jails, municipal jails, and youth detention facilities a matter of statewide concern.
- **Probation and parole officers:** Adult probation and parole officers work for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Their certification and training requirements could not be confirmed from official sources available without the Code. Since July 1, 2025, a plea or sentence in an intervention court is not a “technical violation” (47-7-2(q), as amended by SB 2359). Bills to move these officers to the Department of Public Safety failed in 2025 and 2026, and caseload caps failed in 2023 and 2024.
- **Restrictive housing:** No limit on solitary confinement or restrictive housing was found among the measures enacted from 2023 to 2026. The Solitary Confinement Reform Act (HB 1122, 2024) died in House committee on March 5, 2024. Earlier statutes could not be searched because the Code is not posted on an official site.
- **Corrections use of force:** No corrections-specific use-of-force or pregnant-restraint statute was found among the measures enacted from 2023 to 2026. The BJOST basic course covers the force continuum. Whether an earlier Mississippi statute restricts restraints on pregnant inmates was not verified.

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Apr 6, 2026 — **Department of Corrections must keep written protective-equipment policies for inmates handling cleaning chemicals** — HB 1444 (2026 Regular Session) · Approved by the Governor April 6, 2026; effective on passage (sec. 2) — “The Mississippi Department of Corrections shall maintain written policies and procedures for providing appropriate personal protective equipment to inmates handling cleaning chemicals and supplies.” The act takes effect “from and after its passage,” and the Governor approved it April 6, 2026. — **For corrections staff:** The Department must now have a written policy on protective equipment for inmates handling cleaning chemicals; officers who supervise cleaning crews will apply it under Department rules. — [HB 1444, as sent to the Governor](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2026/pdf/HB/1400-1499/HB1444SG.pdf)[HB 1444 history](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history/HB/HB1444.xml)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **An intervention-court plea or sentence is not a technical probation violation** — SB 2359 (2025 Regular Session), amending Miss. Code Ann. 47-7-2(q) · Approved by the Governor March 6, 2025; effective July 1, 2025 (sec. 2) — A “technical violation” is an act or omission by the probationer that violates a condition of probation set by the court or the probation officer. The definition now adds that it “shall not include a plea or sentence in an intervention court provided under Chapter 23, 25 or 27 of Title 9.” The bill’s title describes the change as applying to parole supervision; the amended text is in the probation definition of 47-7-2. — **For corrections staff:** Probation officers may not treat a supervisee’s plea or sentence in an intervention court as a technical violation. — [SB 2359, as sent to the Governor](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/pdf/SB/2300-2399/SB2359SG.pdf)[SB 2359 history](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/SB/SB2359.xml)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Single-sex restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters in facilities housing state inmates** — HB 188 (2025 Regular Session), Dignity and Safety for Incarcerated Women Act · Approved by the Governor March 18, 2025; effective July 1, 2025 (sec. 7) — Every multi-occupancy restroom, changing room, and sleeping quarter in a correctional facility “operated, regulated or authorized by the Mississippi Department of Corrections to house state inmates” must be designated for males or for females, defined by biological sex. “No incarcerated individual shall be housed in a sleeping quarter that is designated for one sex unless he or she is a member of that sex.” Exceptions cover custodial or maintenance work, medical assistance, emergencies, and temporary non-overnight use directed by the facility. Facilities must take reasonable steps to give privacy from the opposite sex. Incarcerated people may sue for declaratory and injunctive relief, with attorney fees, within 2 years. A 2024 version (HB 585) died in Senate committee on April 2, 2024. — **For corrections staff:** In Department of Corrections facilities, and in other facilities the Department authorizes to house state inmates, restrooms, showers, and multi-person cells must be assigned by biological sex, and the facility can be sued if they are not. — [HB 188, as sent to the Governor](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/pdf/HB/0100-0199/HB0188SG.pdf)[HB 188 history](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB0188.xml)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

No enacted Mississippi act affecting corrections staff that is waiting to take effect was found.

These bills were not enacted: the Solitary Confinement Reform Act (HB 1122, 2024; died in committee March 5, 2024); body-worn cameras for Department of Corrections correctional officers (HB 1742, 2026; died in committee February 3, 2026); transfer of probation and parole officers to the Department of Public Safety (SB 2235, 2025, died in House committee March 4, 2025; SB 2042, 2026, died on the Senate calendar February 12, 2026); probation and parole caseload caps (SB 2356, 2023; SB 2024 and HB 948, 2024); and an appropriation to update the BJOST basic course curriculum (HB 391, 2025; died in committee February 26, 2025). [2026 all measures](https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/all_measures/allmsrs.xml)

Not verified: if Department of Corrections correctional officers or probation and parole officers fall within BLEOST’s law enforcement officer definition, the BLEOST acts on the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/mississippi) also apply to them, including HB 691 (2024, continuing education), HB 565 (2025, 72-hour separation reports), HB 611 (2026, discovery in discipline hearings), and SB 2416 (2026, drug retests). Department of Corrections hiring standards, academy hours, and in-service requirements were not found in official sources.

## Checked and unchanged

- BJOST rules: refiled effective July 31, 2023 (Filing 27036) as a reorganization and renumbering; the Officer Ledger page found no change to a jail officer standard to credit. The posted BJOST manual (“New BJOST Policy 6-28-23”) carries the history line “adopted - 01/2001; rev - 06/2004, 02/2011.”
- No 2023 to 2026 act on jail facility standards, restrictive housing, or corrections use of force was found among the enacted measures reviewed.