by David Ball
Staff Writer
It was the same question asked repeatedly by various members of The Jacksonville Journey steering committee: How can the State Attorney’s Office improve the prosecution of criminals and have a greater impact on crime?
State Attorney Harry Shorstein’s answer: Besides a sudden increase in funding from the state, there’s not much else that can be done.
Shorstein on Wednesday gave an hour-long presentation to the steering committee, made up of members appointed by Mayor John Peyton as well as chairs of the seven Jacksonville Journey subcommittees. Shorstein began with a historical recount and said Jacksonville has not always been a murder and violent crime leader in the state. However, there are now several “acute” causes (i.e. no snitching) now compounding the traditional “root” causes (i.e. poverty, education, housing, etc.)
“We were not always the worst city for crime, but since 2003-2004, we’ve consistently gotten worse and now we lead by a long shot,” he said. “In January, there were a score of reports that major cities were doing very well at reducing murder. Not Jacksonville.”
Shorstein said the trend might have been even worse if not for the dozens of crime deterrence programs, particularly those targeting juvenile offenders, initiated and funded through his office.
He showed numbers of juvenile arrests for murder dropped from 26 in 1990 to eight in 2006, rape and sexual offenses dropped from 178 in 1993 to 74 in 2006 and aggravated assault dropped from 576 in 1993 to 224 in 2006. A video several years old showed “News Hour” reporter Jim Lehrer calling Shorstein’s programs the country’s “most innovative, by far.”
Furthermore, Shorstein contended his office has maintained one of the best rates of conviction for filed criminal cases among the largest counties in Florida, a point that committee member and former Mayor John Delaney debated based on his own data.
Shorstein added his office has committed more resources to law enforcement, including dedicating two full-time division chiefs and eight part-time assistant state attorneys to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s $3 million Operation Safe Streets, during a year that saw a 6 percent budget cut.
“Is the collaboration with the Sheriff’s Office good? Yes, but I can’t afford to keep it going,” said Shorstein. “If I were a regular (district attorney), I’d be going in front of the City Council like the Sheriff does and get a blank check. What is absolutely crazy is the way the state funds us.”
Still, committee members said they wanted to hear ways they could help the State Attorney’s Office function better.
“If everybody was doing their job, we wouldn’t be here,” said committee co-chair and former Ambassador John Rood. “Clearly, the way we’ve been dealing with (crime) in the past has not been successful.”
Sheriff John Rutherford has stated Jacksonville’s crime problem isn’t one you can “arrest your way out of,” and Shorstein added it also isn’t a problem that can be solved through trying more cases. In fact, he said increasing arrests for lesser crimes could take Sheriff and State Attorney resources away from where it’s needed most.
In the end, Shorstein pointed to placing more emphasis on juvenile programs and community initiatives, and he specifically pointed to committee member Tony Boselli’s after-school programs at Simonds Johnson Park.
“What this man is trying to do is the answer to crime,” said Shorstein.