JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There is growing frustration in the communities affected by crime and residents are experiencing 'crime fatigue.'
"It is going to take the families. It is going to take those people who are concerned to put an end to it," said Diallo Sekou, CEO of the Black Commission.
The Black Commission is a community activist non-profit now calling for a sense of urgency.
"We've been in a crisis and it is time to act," he said.
As a father, he knows the impact of these crimes; his son was killed in street violence in Atlanta.
Sekou wants to see more done in prevention and intervention.
"If you had a section of the community that was dying from opioids addiction, city council members would find a million dollars and give to a doctor or clinic in the county," said Sekou. "This is the same thing."
The Black Commission is not alone in its call for urgency.
"We cannot arrest our way out of this," said Ben Frazier.
Frazier is President of the Northside Coalition, another community non-profit.
"We are suggesting that things are so bad right now there needs to be a city-wide state of emergency declared," said Frazier.
Frazier is also a member of the city's newly created task force on crime. It will have its first meeting January 25th.
"We think there's not enough of a sense of urgency," said Frazier. "People are still sitting back on their butts while people continue to die."
The Northside Coalition presented a ten-point plan in September to the city. It calls for economic development, jobs, a reduction in the availability of guns and the implementation of the 'Cure Violence' program.
Sekou's Black Commission has adopted resolutions calling for similar outcomes, including an emphasis on mental health services.
"We've got to do things differently," said Frazier.
Thursday, a meeting is planned to address the crisis.
It will be held in the Wells Fargo building located at 6th and Main.
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