JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A legal loophole is preventing the Jacksonville Police Department from having jurisdiction in parts of the city, including the area directly in front of the police department.<\/p>\n
House Bill 116 was enacted on August 6, 2026. Under the law, Jacksonville police officers may exercise arrest powers and other police powers outside the city\u2019s corporate limits only within 1 mile of the city limits, and only in areas north of N.C. Highway 24.<\/p>\n
The law also bars Jacksonville from annexing any territory south of Highway 24 and bars the city from exercising planning and zoning authority beyond its contiguous corporate limits.<\/p>\n
In the area affected by the law, a Jacksonville officer has no more legal authority than a private citizen. Officers there can perform a citizen\u2019s arrest, but they cannot legally act as police officers.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Public Safety Director and former Police Chief Mike Yaniero said the law removed that authority from a section of the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cA police officer has jurisdiction within the city and within a mile outside the city, and what this bill did is a section of the city, it removed that ability for them to be a police officer. So in order for them to enforce the law, one of the things that they would have to do is basically be a private citizen. So what it did is it stripped some of those protections that the officers had,\u201d Yaniero said.<\/p>\n
A map of the city limits shows the affected area as a white cutout in the middle of the city, where the police department sits.<\/p>\n
The Jacksonville Police Department does not currently hold jurisdiction on the entire length of Court Street or New Bridge Street, as well as Sturgeon City and other downtown areas.<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Cindy Edwards said the gap resulted from the bill\u2019s wording, which states that areas south of Highway 24 should not fall under Jacksonville police jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
Yaniero said he does not believe the gap was an intended consequence of the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that was an intended consequence. I think it was the way the bill was written,\u201d Yaniero said.<\/p>\n
The city is working with the county and attorneys to fix the issue. It cannot be resolved until at least November.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Yaniero said the city has worked out a plan with the sheriff and the district attorney to address the gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve worked with a plan with the sheriff and the district attorney, and I think we have a good plan to address those concerns, especially with those officers who are out there enforcing the law, and giving them the protections they need,\u201d Yaniero said. <\/p>\n
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