JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The Jacksonville Police Department is clarifying what authority they have in a section of the city under a new law.

H116 went into effect in August with a section stating that, “police officers of the city of
Jacksonville shall exercise the power of arrest or any other powers invested to police officers in
accordance with G.S. 15A-402(c) and G.S. 160A-286 only within 1 mile of the corporate limits
of the City of Jacksonville that lies north of N.C. Highway 24.” Officials said this in turn created a hole in the city for Jacksonville Police.

“The only issue is with the physical arrest. No other jurisdictional powers were taken away,” Police Chief Ashley Weaver said. “The officers are still able to do investigations, still able to make traffic stops, issue citations, do investigative detentions and do everything about our jobs except the physical arrest.”

For those physical arrests, Weaver says they have a mutual aid agreement with the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office where they will exercise their powers of arrest in the area.

“Additionally, just to make sure that we are doing the citizens of Jacksonville the best that we can do under these circumstances and ensuring the victims of crimes in those areas get the right services and we ensure that those cases go through the criminal proceedings the way that they should, we also have an agreement with the sheriff’s office on if we do need to go out and make an arrest that we will take a deputy with us as well,” Weaver said.

Weaver says they are working with the District Attorney’s Office on how to proceed with arrests in the area that happened from the time the law went into effect from the time that the police were notified about the change.

“The investigations themselves aren’t an issue, because those jurisdictional powers weren’t taken away,” Weaver said. “It’s just the physical arrest.”

The city says they are working to get the language in the law changed with legislators, who do not go back to session until November.

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