JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Is the homicide rate going down in Jacksonville?
Monday night was violent in the city, with three shot and one dead. But numbers show nights like this may be becoming more rare.
It's halfway through the year and the number of homicides in the city is lower now compared to last year, according to numbers from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Fourteen fewer people have been victims of homicides to date this year compared to the same period of time last year, JSO's database shows. That's about a 25 percent reduction.
The data shows there's been a homicide every four days on average in Jacksonville. This year 41 people have been killed; last year 55 people were homicide victims by this date.
While those numbers could be lower, anti-crime advocates say any reduction in the number of homicides is good for the community. M.A.D. D.A.D.S. is now in its 20th year of building trust in neighborhoods that have seen violence and advocating for people to give anonymous tips that could help solve crimes and get criminals off the streets.
AJ Jordan with M.A.D. D.A.D.S. believes building trust and having police officers who are visible help reduce crime. He says although 25 percent fewer people have been homicide victims this year, many families are hurting.
"When you visible, when people see you and they know that you care, M.A.D. D.A.D.S. cares, JSO cares, it makes a difference," Jordan said. "We have to keep building that trust with our communities so they will keep speaking up."
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters credits the lower homicide rate to policing and community partnerships. He tells First Coast News in part of a statement: "Fundamentally, it is the hard work, day-to-day, by the men and women of JSO that is lending to the downward trend in homicide and violent crime numbers. Certainly, proactive policing by both patrol and the violence reduction section are part of the equation."
Jordan hopes the new mayoral administration beefs up programs that fund after-school programs and guidance for young people. First Coast News reached out to Mayor-elect Donna Deegan's campaign's public relations team to ask about that but they didn't get back to us.
Last year and 2020 saw a higher number of homicides. There were 164 homicides in 2022, according to a tally by First Coast News's news partner at the Florida Times-Union.
Read Waters's entire statement below:
“The reduction in the homicides is the result of multifaceted policing and community partnerships. Fundamentally, it is the hard work, day-to-day, by the men and women of JSO that is lending to the downward trend in homicide and violent crime numbers. Certainly, proactive policing by both patrol and the violence reduction section are part of the equation. Successful operations by narcotics and other units are significant crime reducers, as well. Our relationships with community partners and our work in prevention through our violence reduction section are also part of the lowered homicide numbers. Prevention, intervention, and enforcement – these are all aspects of the downward trend, and they could not be possible without the dedicated work of the public servants who work at this agency.”
Consulting firm AH Datalytics analyzed information from JSO's public database and has compiled a list of numbers from cities across the country. See that information here.