Section 45-6-3 - DefinitionsFor the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context shall otherwise require:
(a) "Commission" means the Criminal Justice Planning Commission.(b) "Board" means the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training.(c) "Law enforcement officer" means any person appointed or employed full time by the state or any political subdivision thereof, by the state military department as provided in Section 33-1-33 or by a hospital as provided in Section 41-9-41, who is duly sworn and vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals and the enforcement of the criminal and traffic laws of this state and/or the ordinances of any political subdivision thereof. The term "law enforcement officer" also includes employees of the Department of Corrections who are designated as law enforcement officers by the Commissioner of Corrections pursuant to Section 47-5-54, those district attorney criminal investigators who are designated as law enforcement officers, the acting Commissioner of Public Safety, the acting Director of Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the acting Director of the Office of Homeland Security, and any employee of the Department of Public Safety designated by the commissioner who has previously served as a law enforcement officer and who would not otherwise be disqualified to serve in such capacity. However, the term "law enforcement officer" shall not mean or include any elected official or any person employed as a legal assistant to a district attorney in this state, compliance agents of the State Board of Pharmacy, or any person or elected official who, subject to approval by the board, provides some criminal justice related services for a law enforcement agency. As used in this paragraph, "appointed or employed full time" means any person, other than a deputy sheriff or municipal law enforcement officer, who is receiving gross compensation for his or her duties as a law enforcement officer of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) or more per week or One Thousand Seventy-five Dollars ($1,075.00) or more per month; for a deputy sheriff or municipal law enforcement officer, the term "appointed or employed full time" means a deputy sheriff or municipal law enforcement officer who is receiving gross compensation for his or her duties as a law enforcement officer of Four Hundred Seventy-five Dollars ($475.00) or more per week or Two Thousand Fifty Dollars ($2,050.00) or more per month.(d) "Part-time law enforcement officer" shall mean any person appointed or employed in a part-time, reserve or auxiliary capacity by the state or any political subdivision thereof, by the state military department as provided in Section 33-1-33 or by a hospital as provided in Section 41-9-41, who is duly sworn and vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals and the enforcement of the criminal and traffic laws of this state or the ordinances of any political subdivision thereof. However, the term "part-time law enforcement officer" shall not mean or include any person or elected official who, subject to approval by the board, provides some criminal justice related services for a law enforcement agency. As used in this paragraph, "appointed or employed" means any person, other than a deputy sheriff or municipal law enforcement officer, who is performing such duties at any time whether or not they receive any compensation for duties as a law enforcement officer provided that such compensation is less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) per week or One Thousand Seventy-five Dollars ($1,075.00) per month; for a deputy sheriff or municipal law enforcement officer, the term "appointed or employed" means a deputy sheriff or municipal law enforcement officer who is performing such duties at any time whether or not they receive any compensation for duties as a law enforcement officer provided that such compensation is less than Four Hundred Seventy-five Dollars ($475.00) per week or Two Thousand Fifty Dollars ($2,050.00) per month.(e) "Law enforcement trainee" shall mean any person appointed or employed in a full-time, part-time, reserve or auxiliary capacity by the state or any political subdivision thereof, by the state military department as provided in Section 33-1-33 or by a hospital as provided in Section 41-9-41, for the purposes of completing all the selection and training requirements established by the board to become a law enforcement officer or a part-time law enforcement officer. The term "law enforcement trainee" also includes any employee of the Department of Public Safety so designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety. Individuals under this paragraph shall not have the authority to use force, bear arms, make arrests or exercise any of the powers of a peace officer unless: (i) The trainee is under the direct control and supervision of a law enforcement officer;(ii) The trainee was previously certified under this chapter; or(iii) The trainee is a certified law enforcement officer in a reciprocating state.Laws, 1981, ch. 474, § 2; Laws, 1990, ch. 434, § 1; Laws, 1992, ch. 531, § 8; Laws, 1993, ch. 416, § 29; Laws, 1996, ch. 422, § 2; Laws, 1998, ch. 394, § 2; Laws, 2003, ch. 490, § 2; Laws, 2004, ch. 388, § 1; Laws, 2007, ch. 510, § 1, eff. 7/1/2007.Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 390, SB 2347,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2023.Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 403, HB 974,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2021.Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 359, HB 1434,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2020.