By virtue of his relationship with Gillespie from a previous murder investigation in which he assisted, Tibbs is persuaded to remain in Sparta as chief of detectives as part of an effort to help overcome the local squad's reputation of being racist and underskilled.
Tibbs is persuaded to remain in Sparta as chief of detectives as part of an effort to help overcome the local squad's reputation of being racist and underskilled. This was by virtue of his relationship with Gillespie from a previous murder investigation in which he assisted.