by David Ball
Staff Writer
It was an impressive gathering of community leaders and figureheads at the first meeting of Mayor John Peyton’s “Jacksonville Journey: Take a Step” steering committee on crime Thursday.
And what came out of that meeting seemed to be an equally impressive expectation for what the group should accomplish — developing specific action plans that will lead to a dramatic decrease in murder and other violent crime not in years, but in months.
“We have to make a statement with this committee,” said former State Sen. Betty Holzendorf, who co-chairs the steering committee along with former Ambassador John Rood.
“I always felt the city you were born in is the city you should be proud of,” she added. “Things now I’m not too proud of. But this is going to get us back on track.”
Peyton hand-picked the close to 130 people who will make up the steering committee and its seven subcommittees — Positive Youth Development; Intervention/Rehab; Funding; Public Relations; Education, Truancy, Dropout & Literacy; Law Enforcement Deterrence; and Neighborhood Safety & Stability — to meet several times over the next 120 days.
At Thursday’s opening session, members of the steering committee and chairs of the subcommittees each took turns describing their professional and civic backgrounds and what they see as key crime prevention and reduction issues.
The group touched on a few specific goals like identifying the root causes of crime, engaging community and faith-based groups and securing funding for law enforcement and education. Some said assembling the group itself was a major first step.
“This is a prominent committee. Very, very impressive,” said former Duval County Sheriff Nat Glover. “It immediately creates a momentum. People expect a lot from this experienced group.”
However, some said city leaders have been here before. Former Mayors John Delaney and Ed Austin and former Sheriff Jim McMillan spoke about spikes in crime surrounding the prevalence of crack cocaine during the late 1980s.
“We have faced crises before,” said McMillan. “We faced a murder rate at one time that was worse than this.”
Paul Perez, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said that past murder spikes could be correlated to specific triggers, such as crack cocaine. However, he said this new wave of violence seems to be cultural, and will likely be much harder to solve.
“Violence is glorified, where the music they listen to and the clothes they wear, the gun is the symbol,” said Perez. “We need to look at the data and the statistics out there, and then figure out how we approach it.”
Adam Herbert, former president of the University of North Florida and current president of Indiana University, said the group should focus efforts to understand the problems faced by the segment of the Jacksonville population most linked to violent crime.
“I am troubled by the growing number of young black men not graduating from high school; and more falling into the criminal justice system at alarming rates,” said Herbert. “This is a very important part of the overall problem.”
It will be up to the subcommittees to develop the recommendations the committee eventually adopts.
Former Jaguars player and civic activist Tony Boselli, chair of the Neighborhood Safety & Stability subcommittee, said he expects the group to work efficiently like he did on the field with the Jags.
“Everyone knew what the goal was and what the game plan was, and you go out and execute it,” he said. “Let’s pick three or four things, action items, to focus on and make a difference.”
However, many of the 130 members will have to get used to organizing meetings through the mayor’s office and avoiding talking about committee issues with other members, as those would violate the state’s Sunshine Laws.
Chief Deputy General Counsel Cindy Laquidara opened the meeting with a brief overview of the rules that will govern the openness of the group, and she drew plenty of questions.
“I know that it’s counter intuitive,” said Laquidara. “You’re being asked to help the public, and you can only help the public if you follow the law.”