DESOTO COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - A double shooting in Whitehaven meant double duty for police. Officers from both Memphis and Southaven worked the call Monday night.
The shooting happened in Whitehaven, but everyone involved immediately drove to Mississippi, leaving crime scenes in both states.
Memphis and Southaven police are two different departments, but often work as one team.
"A lot of people think that line is magic," say Southaven Police Lt. Mark Little.
That line being the state line, the border between Mississippi and Tennessee.
"Us, Olive Branch and the county share a state line with Memphis and Shelby County. It is very common that we share crimes."
Little says it's imperative all Mid-South police departments work together. "We all have to be on the same team."
The different departments often deal with the same criminals.
Mississippi police are able to access Tennessee's criminal databases. "We use theirs on a daily basis." But right now, Tennessee can't use theirs.
Little says that's changing soon.
"We're getting everything together with all of our agencies in DeSoto County to start sharing our info in our RMS system with them."
They've been working on it for a year, and the project is almost complete.
Little says to be able plug in a name in one or two different databases and be able to find out everything they can about a person will dramatically improve on how well the two states are already working together.
When officers cross the state line, they have to abide by the policies of that city's police department, meaning officers in Mississippi must know Tennessee's procedures and vice versa.
