By Aleesia Hatcher and Francine Frazier
Despite a violent weekend that involved three shootings in 48 hours, ICARE, a group of local faith leaders in Jacksonville, will spend time Monday highlighting the significant overall drop in Jacksonville’s murder rate from the same time last year.
ICARE wants to focus on the progress the city has made in combatting deadly violence.
ICARE says murders are down 50% from the same time last year. According to News4JAX records, as of Oct. 28, 2023, 104 murders had been reported in Jacksonville.
So far this year, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has recorded 50 murders, with another five incidents still pending classification.
ICARE credits a program introduced in 2016 called “Group Violence Intervention.”
ICARE Executive Board member Geneva Pittman said that despite several recent shootings, violence continues to decrease in Jacksonville.
“We’ve learned from the sheriff, that he has a special task force that’s working to combat the violence that’s going on because, in our research, we discovered that it’s just a small group that’s perpetuating the violence that’s taking place in our city,” Pittman said.
She added that she‘s confident that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is “on top” of the recent shootings and hopes they will continue their work to keep violence in the city contained.
“We met with our sheriff, and we congratulated him and his task force on what they have done to stop the violence,” she said. “But you know, there’s still some going on, but we’re hoping that he will continue to work to keep the violence down.”
ICARE is hosting a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Christ the King Catholic Church on Arlington Road North.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said JSO is pleased with the progress in the reduction of the murder rate, but the work continues.
“The men and women of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office are dedicated to reducing crime and continue working very hard to make sure our city remains safe,” Waters said in a statement to News4JAX. “The drop in murders and violent crime can largely be attributed to our Group Violence Intervention (GVI) strategy which we implemented in 2016. It has been a game-changer. Our officers focus on prevention and being proactive, partnering with excellent community resources. We will continue to do the hard work, and we are currently expanding our programs to help ensure everyone’s safety in our great city.”
The sheriff and members of ICARE have met at the sheriff’s office multiple times, as recently as this month.
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