Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams announced a new crime initiative they claim is already lowering crime throughout Jacksonville.
“Putting the right policemen, in the right place at the right time, does reduce crime,” said Williams.
Sheriff Williams said since January, they have used 24,000 man hours on the street, equaling more than $1 million. It's a plan to reduce crime in what he calls high trouble areas, and so far it's working,
"We have really from our high in January, created an on average reduction cumulative reduction to about 40 percent in non-domestic shootings," said Williams.
Non-domestic shootings are defined as shootings that do not involve domestic violence. In June of 2015, there were 81 non-domestic shootings. That number went up in January of this year to 90 non-domestic shootings. That number dipped down to 50 non-domestic shootings, just last month, but it was a tough start for July.
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The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has worked at least seven murders in just the first seven days of July.
"You can't take a snap shot of one day or three days. We're going to have those up and downs in a course of a month, in a course of a year, we're going to have that," said Williams.
While holding up a "I want to live to see my daughter graduate college" sign, Timmy Hagans said he has never been pulled over before or even arrested, but he is still terrified of that 'what if' moment.
"If I'm in my car, I always look in my rear view mirror. I'm making sure I'm doing under the speed limit, got my seat belt on, everything," said Hagans.
It’s a fear, he said screams louder every time he sees a JSO officer, mainly because of the racial tension, not just in Jacksonville, but across the country.
We did some checking and out of the 1,643 officers, less than half are black.
"Our overall demographic for the agency is about 30 percent African American and it trickles down from there," Williams.