by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
In November, City Council Public Health & Safety Committee Chair Kevin Hyde asked PHS members Clay Yarborough and Stephen Joost to look into what other cities across the country are doing to combat violent crime.
That inquiry led Yarborough to a 55-page report compiled in August by the Police Executive Research Forum, which is based in Washington, D.C. and managed by executive director Chuck Wexler. Tuesday, Yarborough and Joost met to discuss the report and which facets of it can be applied to Jacksonville in conjunction with Mayor John Peyton’s two big community/crime initiatives: “Seeds of Change” and “The Jacksonville Journey: Take a Step.”
Wexler and his staff interviewed dozens of police chiefs and sheriffs from cities of varying sizes to determine exactly what is causing violent crime and what different cities are doing to combat those crimes.
“Based on all of our research and consultations with chiefs and sheriffs over the last two years, we have concluded that violent crime is taking a new path,” wrote Wexler in the report. “During the 1990s and early 2000s, crime fell sharply in most jurisdictions. But now, violent crime levels have become unstable.”
While the report cited gangs as the leading cause of violent crime among the agencies surveyed, those same agencies indicated that concentrating law enforcement on “hot spots” was the No. 1 program those agencies are implementing.
Yarborough said he sees how that works and how that can work here. He pointed at the Justina area of Arlington in his district as an example of where a “ton of presence” and “boots on the street” is making a difference.
“One thing that stood out (in the report) was the hot spots effort,” said Yarborough. “I think we are doing that. Cooperation with other departments was key.”
Joost said he’d like Sheriff John Rutherford to meet with the PHS Committee in the near future and discuss where the federal grant money U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez helped secure for Jacksonville was being spent.
Joost is also in favor of looking into the installation of ShotSpotters, a gunshot detection system developed by ShotSpotter Inc. This technology consists of placing noise-detecting sensors on rooftops and other elevated locations. Those sensors are able to differentiate between gun shots and either car backfire or a firecracker.
When the sensor detects gunfire, it notifies police through a local global positioning system (GPS) that triangulates the location of the gunfire.
“It tells you where the gunshot came from,” said Joost. “I have a study about how it works.”
In the PERF report, Rochester, N.Y. Police Chief David Moore said the ShotSpotter technology works.
“It is very, very effective,” stated Moore in the report. “In fact, we had a situation last year where a young man was shot, and we did not get a 911 call. He was lying in the street, and it was only because of ShotSpotter that we responded to that location and located the victim.”
Jennifer Smith Love, acting assistant director in charge of the Washington field office of the FBI, said ShotSpotter helped the FBI make an arrest in the much-publicized sniper shootings of 2003-04.
“After that, the FBI decided to test in Washington, D.C. in some of the high-crime areas,” said Love. “And, there is a new (element) to this, where the cameras now will actually tilt to focus to where the gunshot is coming from.”
Yarborough said he will look more into this type of technology to include the cost, how it’s installed and how it works.
Both Yarborough and Joost said an increased police presence in high-crime neighborhoods is one of the best immediate deterrents.
“I’d say most of this stuff we are either doing or are going to be doing,” said Joost. “The one that intrigues me the most is the ShotSpotter.”
Both also agreed that as members of the City’s legislative branch and members of the PHS Committee, they have an obligation to help fight violent crime.
“I think we should be out there, too. This is our community, too,” said Yarborough, adding he has walked the streets of Arlington with Rutherford. “We should be out on the front lines. I think it helps us make better laws.”
The following list identifies the top 10 factors contributing to violent crime and the percent of agencies identifying those factors as problems. These figures were gathered during an August 2007 Police Executive Research Forum survey during which participants were asked “to assign a ranking to a list of factors that are often cited as contributing to violent crime; participants were instructed to rank the factors in terms of impact they have had on violent crime in their own jurisdictions, especially any recent increases in violent crime.”
The following are the top 15 programs/policies various police forces across the country are implementing in response to violent crime in their communities or jurisdictions. The percentage of those agencies implementing those programs/policies is also included.