by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“(Jacksonville) being the murder capital of Florida is unacceptable and the leadership in this building hears the community when it says enough is enough,” remarked Mayor John Peyton as he stood on the steps of City Hall Monday morning.
Peyton was there with Sheriff John Rutherford, Jacksonville Journey Steering Committee co-chairs Betty Holzendorf and John Rood and Paul Perez, chair of the Journey’s Law Enforcement and Deterrence Committee.
Peyton pointed out Jacksonville spends far less per capita on public safety than most other cities and counties in the state and added, “We have a serious murder and violent crime problem. As the recommendations from the subcommittees of The Jacksonville Journey indicate, this community must take action now to combat the problem.
“While many of the actions identified by this citizen panel will be long-term items, adding police officers to the streets of our city is something we can do now that will have an immediate impact. I am very pleased that we were able to work with Sheriff Rutherford to add these positions without the need for additional funding this year.”
Rutherford said the training and salaries for the 40 new positions will be paid for through savings realized in the Sheriff’s Office budget this year. Expenses for inmate meals and medical care and a reduction in overtime costs for corrections officers have saved JSO about $300,000 due to a reduction in the jail population.
“It’s not just about adding more officers, we will utilize the additional manpower to enhance the Operation Safe Streets program in high-crime areas,” said Rutherford.
He did caution that it will be 11 months after the new class of officers begins their training before they will be on the streets and he hopes to begin the class in July. That would mean the 40 new officers would go on duty in June, 2009.
“The mayor, the City Council and I continue to work toward the stated goal of the 225 sworn police officers our citizens need for their protection,” said Rutherford. “Through savings we have recognized this fiscal year, I am able to ask the mayor and council to raise our sworn employee cap by the 40 positions and fund them starting in this fiscal year. This is a critical step in getting where we need to be.”
When asked if funding additional officers beyond the 40 new positions announced yesterday would require increases in taxes, Peyton said it’s too soon to know.
“We looking forward to taking the Jacksonville Journey Funding Committee’s recommendations to the public,” said Peyton.
Rutherford also pointed out his department has a big job ahead to identify 40 qualified candidates in a short period of time. The last time JSO hired as many as 30 officers in a year was in 1999. Rutherford said due to budget issues, only seven sworn positions have been filled in the past five years and recruitment efforts have been curtailed based on budget issues.
“We don’t have a waiting list of potential officers and we’re hoping to fill the class by July,” he said. “All I can say is anyone who is interested in being a member of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office should go to www.joinjso.com where they can find out about the requirements and fill out an on-line application.”