Sanders looks to restructure police department, requests officer raises

Published 10:18 am Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Meridian police officers will see more competitive pay and clear opportunities for advancement under a restructuring of the police department, Police Chief Malachi Sanders said Tuesday.

At a City Council work session, Sanders said clarifying when and how officers can achieve promotions and receive raises will both help with morale and create a level playing field for law enforcement across the patrol, criminal investigation and other MPD divisions.

“I want to look at giving the team, Meridian PD, the opportunity to move forward,” he said. “Meridian is moving ahead. We’re going to suppress crime, but I’m asking you, the City Council, to help us out with this by improving their pay to where it’s comparable to other cities in the state of Mississippi.”

New Meridian officers without prior law enforcement experience make approximately $43,500 annually, and Sanders said he is asking the City Council to increase that to $50,000 going forward. From a recruitment and retention standpoint, he said, $50,000 is on the low end of what is needed.

“Right now we’ve got a city like Laurel that’s half the population of Meridian. They’re making $51,000,” he said.

After two years, officers will be promoted to Police Officer First Class, which comes with a raise in pay, Sanders said. At four years, they will be promoted to Corporal, Sergeant at six years and Staff Sergeant at eight years. Lateral hires, who are officers with law enforcement experience at other agencies, will see their prior work reflected in their pay and rank when they start at MPD, he said.

“It’ll be fair around the board,” he said. “There shouldn’t be a guy with three years of service making more than a guy with 19 years of service. It’ll be fair across the board.”

The new structure will also see pay increased for investigators in MPD’s other divisions such as, criminal investigations. Acting Capt. Dareall Thompson said currently there are some patrol officers making more than CID techs, when it’s the techs who are required to respond in the middle of the night when needed.

Sanders said CID officers are expected to have a lot more training and knowledge than patrol officers, and the pay structure should reflect that. The new structure will put CID officers about $3,000 over what patrol officers are paid, he said.

While officers will be able to rise to Staff Sergeant over time, further advancement up the ranks will require officers to demonstrate the knowledge and experience expected of those in higher ranks, Sanders said. Instead of time on the job, advancement will be merit-based, and officers will have to successfully pass the necessary tests to move forward.

For the current staff at MPD, Sanders said his plan will increase payroll by $319,000. The figures, however, do not include fringe benefits or unfilled positions, which will need to be funded as he plans to fill them as quickly as possible.

Mayor Percy Bland said his administration will crunch the numbers and get that to council members to review. The raises in pay will have to be passed by the council and funded in the fiscal year 2026 budget to move forward.