JACKSONVILLE, Fla — 2019 was a violent year in Jacksonville. The city recorded at least 158 homicides according to our news partner the Florida Times-Union. That's more homicides than Jacksonville has had in any single year in more than than a decade.
First Coast News Anchor Heather Crawford sat down one-on-one with Sheriff Mike Williams to talk about the violence and what is being done to stop it.
"I wouldn't say it's getting worse to the point where we abandon all these issues and strategies and move in a different direction. That's not the case, just the opposite quite frankly," Williams said.
He said the sheriff's office has already laid a solid foundation.
"I think when you look at right officers in right place at the right time doing the right work, when you look at all the technology we've brought in and programs like Cure Violence which I'm a fan of, I think all those things working together is what gets you to the point of success in driving down those numbers," he said.
Williams believes a small number of people are behind a significant amount of violence.
"We know exactly what's happening. The challenge is getting in and disrupting that," he said.
While he's focused on continuing to do what he says is working, he cautions it takes time.
"One of the messages we have to the community is, if you're not buying, selling or using drugs in the community, and you're not associated with people who do, your chance of being a victim is very low," Williams said.
Northwest Jacksonville is an area that saw a lot of violent crime in last year. There were 27 homicides in zip code 32209, according to the Times-Union.
"We have Northwest Jacksonville, and we have a couple of other spots that we are going to really put some intensive resources in different pockets, Williams said. "Hot spot policing is an easy way to describe it, but we are going to add and plus up what we've been doing in that area to see how much impact we can have and where is the number where we begin to see an impact in the numbers going down."
There are some key questions to address, he said, including: "How many policemen does it take? How much technology does it take to impact these six square blocks of the city?"
The sheriff is putting more officers on the streets in those hot spots. He plans to have a conversation about expanding the Cure Violence program and said engaging the community is a top priority. He encourages residents to join the Sheriff's Watch program and notes people can always report anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers.
"We will make a harder push in 2020 to really pull the community in and start talking about beyond support for JSO. We want to develop active partnerships with the community, so calling us before you have an incident in your neighborhood and reaching out and getting us engaged in some of these potential conflicts before they explode into gun violence," Williams said.
He said the International Association of Chiefs of Police has been in town for several months assessing the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office from top to bottom and is expected to report its findings to the Jacksonville City Council in February.
The group is assessing whether the department is staffed appropriately and using its resources effectively. The sheriff said he's looking forward to seeing the the resulting recommendations and acting on them.
Williams also told First Coast News everyone in the patrol division below the rank of lieutenant is now equipped with a body camera so most of the interactions that people have with a police officer in Jacksonville will now be recorded.