JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office hosted the Sheriff’s Neighborhood Crime Prevention Walk Saturday morning, giving community members a chance to meet Sheriff T.K. Waters and let him know about ongoing issues.
A group of officers followed Sheriff Waters through Arlington in Zone Two, in a bid to humanize Jacksonville law enforcement.
“I can walk around, knock on doors, shake hands,” Waters said, “and let them know I’m a real person who’s really concerned about real issues, and they get to put a real face to the name.”
A recent University of North Florida poll found that 47 percent of registered voters think the biggest issue Jacksonville faces is crime.
Sheriff Waters said these walks are part of his plan to address that.
“We are law enforcement personnel that are charged to do a job in this city,” Waters said, “and we’re going to do that. We’re going to do it whether you’re a speeder, whether you’re breaking into cars, whether you’re selling drugs and whether you’re shooting a people. We’re going to do what we’re supposed to do.”
He encourages people to join the Sheriff’s Watch in their area.
“It requires one day a month for you to show up in the place where you have your zone commander, your lieutenants, your officers in that meeting,” Waters said, “and you can tell them directly what’s going on.”
Sheriff Waters said they plan to do these walks every three to four weeks.
