Jacksonville, Fla. — Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry is touting the success of his crime-fighting initiative, Cure Violence.
Cure Violence operates by sending ‘violence interrupters’ into communities to serve as mediators.
Action News Jax brought you an exclusive interview with Mayor Lenny Curry on Tuesday. Curry touted the success of cure violence in two areas, the Northside “Bridges to a Cure” and the “Noah’s Ark Project,” which operates in zones 1 and 5.
On Tuesday, Mayor Curry said the Northside Bridges location hadn’t seen a murder in 99 days, and Wednesday would extend that streak to 100 days. Today his office clarified, saying there was one murder during that time.
The “Noah’s Ark” area, according to the mayor, went 85 days without a murder earlier this year.
In a news briefing on Wednesday, Curry announced the third area of focus for Cure Violence will be added to the city.
The Mayor's office tells us the third area of focus for Cure Violence will be on the Northside, North of Edgewood. The city says the expansion is made possible by a $500,000 state grant from FDLE.
Curry said in Wednesday's briefing focusing on specific target areas can push crime into other areas of the city.
“Law enforcement experts have told me and shared with me, that when you focus on an area, whether it be through policing, or whether it be in this case through cure violence, that there’s the possibility that that behavior will move, but we’ve got to start somewhere,” said Curry.
There have been 97 murders this year in Jacksonville, compared to 79 at this point in 2019. The mayor’s proposed budget includes an additional $1.75 million for Cure Violence.
Cox Media Group
