Tupelo is a fairly safe city, as it is a popular tourist attraction bringing in 100,000 people a year. There are about 36,000 residents within the city and well over 100,000 in the metro area. An incident of violence to tourists is usually unheard of. However, there are times when police officials may have to intervene in a situation. Furthermore, there may come a time when fire officials and or medical care is needed right away. When you are in need of an emergency, you can contact the Tupelo police department, the fire department and or the hospital.
The Chief of Police is currently Tony Carleton. He runs one of the best law enforcement agencies in the entire state of Mississippi. The police operate under a strong moral code which puts the community first. This program has the cooperation of politicians, policeman and individual residents. This explains why Tupelo is one of the lowest cities for crime in the state. Within the city, there are 115 officers and 14 administrative leaders. The city itself is only 52 square miles and includes 10 zones of patrolling. There are three major parts to the operation: patrolling, investigation and special operations.
The Tupelo Fire Department had been in operation since 1905. This department’s mission is to respond to a variety of emergency calls as well as promote fire safety and fire education in the community. The fire department regularly reaches out to the community with its tours, site visits, speaking engagements and demonstrations. Over 2,000 smoke detectors have been provided to various establishments. There is also a working program that helps put smoke detectors into the hands of the hearing impaired. In all, there are seven fire stations, seven engines and 91 employees. The fire department also provides basic life support EMS services for injured people. The fire chief is currently Thomas Walker.
Lastly, there’s the North Mississippi Medical Center, sometimes referred to as the Tupelo Hospital. This hospital is a regional health care organization serving 24 counties in the state and as far as Alabama. The hospital provides a number of acute diagnostic and therapeutic services. The hospital operates a network of over 30 individual clinics and nursing homes. Healthcare offered is cost-effective and very accessible to the residents of the Tupelo area.
It’s good to know that if you are ever injured or put in a precarious situation, emergency help is just a phone call away!
