Mississippi Department Of Public Safety

Mississippi Department Of Public Safety, doing business as Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division, is a child division of the State of Mississippi operating as a U.S. government entity and federal grant recipient focused on highway safety, criminal and juvenile justice system improvements, and law enforcement coordination. The division acts as the designated State Highway Safety Office for Mississippi and serves as the prime recipient on 268 federal formula grants awarded by the Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, and related bureaus.

The division's grant portfolio centers on behavioral highway safety countermeasures, impaired driving prevention, occupant protection, traffic records system improvements, juvenile justice system reform, substance abuse treatment for incarcerated individuals, forensic science capacity, and violent crime reduction initiatives. Highway safety funding dominates the footprint: NHTSA awards under Section 402 (State and Community Highway Safety), Section 405(B) (Occupant Protection), Section 405(C) (Traffic Safety Information System Improvements), Section 405(D) (Impaired Driving Countermeasures), and Section 154 (Alcohol Open Container Requirements) account for 113 of the division's 268 awards. Representative examples include a $6.321 million NHTSA Section 154 open container formula grant awarded October 1, 2025, with performance through September 30, 2029, a $4.1 million NHTSA Section 402 State and Community Highway Safety Grant awarded the same date, and a $2.229 million NHTSA Section 405(D) Impaired Driving Countermeasures Grant. On the criminal and juvenile justice side, the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded $268,411 under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners program (CFDA 16.593) on October 1, 2025, for expansion of substance use disorder treatment at correctional facilities, and $1.323 million under the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (CFDA 16.827) on October 1, 2024, for juvenile justice system reform and diversion program evaluation. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded $662,918 under the Title II Formula Grants Program on July 1, 2026, for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention compliance. The division administers the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program ($294,696 awarded October 1, 2024) to reduce drug chemistry case backlogs at the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory. Justice Assistance Grants and Project Safe Neighborhoods grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance fund state and local law enforcement violent crime reduction efforts.

Customer concentration is dominated by NHTSA (113 awards) and the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs and subordinate bureaus (57 Bureau of Justice Assistance awards, 55 general OJP awards, 21 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awards, 8 Office on Violence Against Women awards), accounting for 95 percent of recent awards. Activity has remained steady at 16–17 awards annually from 2022 through 2024, with 10 awards in 2025 and 1 recorded award in 2026 as of the source date. Eleven awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete opportunity for successor grant administration. The division operates administratively from Jackson, Mississippi, and coordinates with the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Bolivar County Correction Facility, the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory (with regional facilities in Batesville, Meridian, and the Gulf Coast), and community-based organizations across the state for program delivery and pass-through grants. All awards are formula grants under statutory apportionment; no competitive grants or prime contracts are present in the footprint.