JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX is hearing from a lot of viewers who have questions for new Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.
He was sworn into office Sunday after winning the election a couple of weeks ago.
News4JAX has been talking with people in the community, and crime is a primary issue that people want to be addressed. They feel the city is getting more violent and they want more officers patrolling the streets.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, there have been 116 homicides in 2022. Only 47 homicide arrests have been made.
Phyllis Dodge lives in Arlington and she believes crime in that area has gone up.
“I keep seeing it getting worse and worse. We’ve been here four years in this area,” Dodge said. “There’s always been pockets of crime. We know it. You’re not going to eradicate it completely but at least make the effort.”
According to JSO’s crime map, incidents including burglary and battery have been reported in the Arlington area within the last week.
Japhus Baker lives in Oakleaf and says he also wants the sheriff to focus on the crime in Jacksonville.
“Safety, crime, the things that his job is to take care of as the sheriff,” Baker said. “No crime is a good crime, so I would like the numbers to be down. I don’t like the idea that we have the title of the murder capital of Florida.”
When we asked News4JAX viewers what questions do you have for the sheriff, one response came from Vonette Nixon, a local mother who is pleading for her son’s 2019 murder case to be solved. Nixon says it’s been three years with no answers and no leads from police. She also says she’s not alone in this — many other parents are waiting for justice for their children, as well.
Nixon’s son, Dari’one Flanigan, was 18 years old when he was shot and killed at a BP gas station on North Main Street.
“He was an inspiring rapper. He liked to sing. He was a normal 18 year old kid enjoying life,” she said. “Unfortunately, it was taken from him he died, before he was given a chance to live.”
Nixon says she hopes Waters can help solve her son’s case. She also urges anyone in the community with information will come forward and call JSO to help solve her son’s case.
“We have a lot of families grieving. It’s the holidays. It doesn’t get any easier. Unforunately, the murder rate is still high,” she said. “He was the 60th homicide for 2019.”
She says the crime in Jacksonville has gotten out of control.
“T.K. Waters, if you’re going to be the new sheriff, we want justice. We want justice for our kids. Unfortunately, we have to be their voices,” Nixon said. “You said you’re going to come in and make changes. I hope we’re going to see those changes.”
Here are some questions we’ve gotten from News4JAX viewers for the new sheriff:
- What do you plan on doing about the killings in Jacksonville?
- What do you plan to do about the aggressive drivers in the city?
- How do you plan to solve the unsolved murders?
- Since JSOs current approach is clear not working, how do you plan to reduce violent crime in the city?
Waters answered the question about a new approach for JSO on an episode of “This Week in Jacksonville.”
“We have to focus heavily on how we are patrolling our streets,” he said. “We have to realign our zones. We haven’t done that in many, many years. We have to look at our population of our city and place our manpower in those places. Logistically we have to make sure that we’re putting our people in the right places.
“We have to get closer to our community, work in smaller sections of town, get closer to our community because, in my 10 years in homicide that I spent there, I knew that we can’t solve or solve crimes without our community support and help. So we have to grow closer to our community. By doing that, getting closer working, working in smaller sections. We can get more accomplished that way.”
He also talked about addressing aggressive drivers.
“We’ll take proactive measures and we’ll go to the places that we know that where problems are happening,” Waters said. “And we’ll go to the places where we know traffic crashes are occurring where fatalities are involved.”