The city’s newly-formed Task Force on Safety and Crime Reduction recently had its first meeting.
The group, which met Friday, is charged with combating violent crime in our area - a tall order in Jacksonville, which has been Florida’s murder capital for most of the last 20 years.
Addressing longstanding poverty issues in the city is expected to be a major focus.
Florida Times-Union Reporter David Bauerlein, who covered the meeting, appeared on First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross on Monday with a look at the issue.
“The zip codes in Jacksonville that are doing the worst are not just the worst in Northeast Florida, they’re some of the worst in the entire state,” Bauerlein said.
This is not the first time city leaders have tried to tackle violent crime rates.
The Jacksonville Journey anti-crime initiative was created a decade ago and its programs did reduce violence. But when the recession hit, city budget cuts slashed Journey programs, and murder rates and violent crime rates went back up.
You can read Bauerlein’s story on Jacksonville.com.
Melissa Ross can be reached at mross@wjct.org, 904-358-6382 or on Twitter at @MelissainJax.
