JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A dozen local members of the AME Ministerial Alliance spoke out Tuesday, outlining a seven-point plan to fight the current rash of criminal violence that the group said turned the tide during a rash of murders in 2006.
"At that time, we brought attention to the problem of gangs in Jacksonville, although many denied that fact," said the Rev. Fredrick Wallace of St. James AME Church. "We walked neighborhoods, such as Eureka Gardens Roosevelt Gardens, Cleveland Arms, Hilltop Apartments and others so say to the community, ''It's time to take your community back from the criminal elements of this town.'"
After an escalation of violence in the last few weeks that included two shootings last week that resulted in three deaths -- one a a mother of three police say was an innocent bystander -- the ministerial alliance is the latest to call the city to action.
The group gathered at New Bethel AME Church in New Town, not far from where many of the violent incidents have taken place, to call for the city to take many of the same steps to raise public awareness and enlist support of the city leadership and the business community over the six weeks, before school gets out for the summer
"We realize that an election is approaching. However, we cannot wait until May 19 to take action. How many more children will be killed between now and May 19th?" said Mark Griffin of Wayman Ministries and spokesman for the alliance of 37 northeast Florida churches. "How many more gang shootings will take place between now and May 19th? How many more funerals will we have to officiate between now and May 19th? This is about people, not politics. We cannot afford to point finders at each other while criminals are pointing guns at our children."
The plan includes:
- Neighborhood walks
- Direct engagement with misguided youth
- Collaborative efforts with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the mayor's office, City Council, and other entities
- Community block parties
- Public service announcements
- Creation of safe zones to provide additional resources for police officers and community members
- Community forums
Wayman Ministries began an outreach program in Eureka Gardens, at the time the most crime-ridden complex in Jacksonville. The number of homicides at the complex dropped from eight in 2007 to none for the next two years.
"Let's dust off a plan that worked almost 10 years ago," Griffin said. "It worked then, and we believe it will work now."
Later Tuesday, a different group of pastors gathered at First Timothy Baptist Church on the Northside to also address the uptick in violent crime. They called for more police officer, but were quick to say that Mayor Alvin Brown was not responsible for the reduction of officers over the last few years.
"That responsibility has to be at the hands of the one that's responsible," said John Newman of Mount Calvary Baptist.
"We just need more action; this church can't do it alone," community activist Clatties Dawkins said.
Both groups of pastors who spoke Tuesday had mixed feelings about the request made Monday by the Rev. Ken Adkins for a 9 p.m. curfew in troubled parts of Jacksonville and to allow the Florida National Guard to patrol the city.
Adkins delivered letters Monday to Brown, Sheriff John Rutherford and Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
Tuesday, Warren Davis, of the governor's office, wrote back.
"The governor appreciates your concerns about crime in Florida and Jacksonville in particular," Davis wrote. "Our government is structured on the notion that local communities can best assess the needs of their residents. Voters elect local officials to manage local government business and make decisions about funding and resources for law enforcement agencies. Those dissatisfied with local officials' performance can always make their views known directly to those officials."
Sheriff Rutherford said late Tuesday he does not supporter a change to the current current curfew law, saying it wouldn't impact gang violence.