Captain Michael Holt

Captain Michael Holt is a 34-year veteran of the Jackson Police Department (JPD) who has dedicated most of his career to ensuring that patrol officers and investigators conduct their jobs in a trauma-informed, client-centered way, particularly when it comes to assisting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

It was his vision to partner JPD with several community agencies including: Jackson Madison County General Hospital, Wo/Men’s Resource and Rape Assistance Program (WRAP), West Tennessee Legal Services, and the District Attorney’s Office for the 26th District of Tennessee to establish a comprehensive Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). As a result, West Tennessee’s only Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)/SART program was established in 2005, serving 19 counties in rural West Tennessee that provides 40-hour basic SANE training to over 100 nurses in Tennessee and beyond. 

Captain Holt was also responsible for establishing a Domestic Violence Unit within JPD and the Jackson-Madison County Mayor’s Advisory Council on Domestic and Sexual Violence, which comprises key decision makers from governmental and nongovernmental organizations who meet to look at ways the system can better respond to and support victims of domestic and sexual violence. 

Captain Holt’s ongoing commitment to collaboration and partnership also led to the opening of the Safe Hope Center, a family justice center, in Jackson, Tennessee. Victims’ immediate access to trauma-informed services doubled as a result of the opening of the center and the enhancement of coordination and collaboration among victim service providers. He currently chairs the Domestic Violence Response Team and the SART, where he continues to ensure that allied professionals throughout the region are exposed to the most up-to-date and evidence-driven information on best and promising practices in victims’ services.