by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Over the course of his four-and-a-half years in office, Mayor John Peyton may not have uttered a single, public, negative word about the city of Jacksonville.
That ended Thursday.
What did it? Violent crime and the state’s highest murder rate.
“It’s not my style to air the dirty laundry of this community,” said Peyton, as he introduced “The Jacksonville Journey: Take a Step” initiative at Russell Cook Jr. Park and Community Center near Talleyrand Avenue in East Jacksonville. “This is simply too important to ignore.”
Peyton said he will use the “bully pulpit” of his office to do whatever it takes to lower the violent crime and murder rate in Jacksonville. And, Peyton won’t be alone. His new initiative includes the help of nearly 130 of Jacksonville’s most prominent business leaders, current and former City Council members and an entire public relations committee.
Dubbed the steering committee and chaired by Ret. Ambassador John Rood and former State Sen. Betty Holzendorf, the committee has been divided into six subcommittees: Positive Youth Development, Intervention/Rehab, Funding, Public Relations, Education, Truancy, Dropout & Literacy, Law Enforcement Deterrence and Neighborhood Safety & Stability.
The six committees will meet several times over the course of the next 120 days and have been charged with creating and implementing strategies that not only cut down on crime, but deter future crime.
Peyton assured the large crowd that gathered in unseasonal heat that this initiative isn’t lip service and he’ll accept nothing less than positive results.
“We are not looking for another study,” said Peyton. “We are not looking for unproven remedies and we are not willing to take risks on something that’s unproven or untested.
“This is not being laid out by politicians, but by citizens. The truth of the matter is, we have to do more. We will work across lines that divide and not let our differences dilute unity.
“This is our challenge.”
Sheriff John Rutherford attended. While Rutherford certainly appreciates the business community’s willingness to get involved and offer up ideas, he also knows that more officers in the high-crime neighborhoods is the best deterrent right now and has proven effective in the past.
“The situation is this: Jacksonville leads the state in murders,” said Rutherford. “Also, we are experiencing the most carnage ever on our roads. We have had 166 traffic fatalities on our roads this year.”
Rutherford maintains a higher police presence — which will, in turn, create a better relationship between the residents of high-crime areas and the police — is ultimately the best crime fighting weapon. A better relationship, Rutherford says, will slowly erode the unwritten, “no snitching” policy that has engulfed cities across the country.
“We want our officers out of the car, meeting the community and solving crimes,” he said. “Trust will change the attitude and eliminate that unwritten rule.
“We had 70 extra officers on the streets working overtime in 2006. Our tips went up 200 percent and the murder rate the second half of the year went down 38 percent.
“No snitching has always been a problem, but it does seem to be more blatant than ever. Now, it’s more important than ever to be in the community.”
Local NAACP head Isaiah Rumlin agreed with Rutherford that a larger and more trusted police presence is the current best deterrent to violent crime.
“Our position is that whatever you see as it relates to crime should be reported to the authorities,” said Rumlin. “We do not believe in the no snitching policy.”
Rumlin says while many residents understand they can report crimes anonymously, many question if that anonymity extends to their neighborhoods.
“Part of the problem is residents are fearful of not law enforcement, but fearful of their own community,” said Rumlin, adding that a better relationship with JSO is imperative. “We need more community policing. The police officers have to get to know the community and gain the respect of that community.”