JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is meeting people where they are through a series of town halls.
The first one happened Thursday night in downtown Jacksonville at the Main Library.
JSO talked a lot about its efforts for transparency, which include its transparency portal, and people also got the chance to ask questions about issues they’re concerned about.
Dozens of people showed up Thursday night to hear from JSO about their efforts to keep the city safe, but they also had the opportunity to submit questions for Sheriff T.K. Waters to answer.
Waters explained how JSO approaches gang or group violence. He said JSO will identify young men whose names pop up in multiple shooting investigations and reach out to them.
“We recognize that that individual needs a visit from us,” he said. “It’s informational; it’s a discussion.”
Following the event, News4JAX spoke with Waters about the Julio Foolio murder case. JSO is still searching for a fifth suspect believed to have been one of the shooters in the Jacksonville rapper’s murder in Tampa.
“Close. That’s all I’ll say,” he said.
Four suspects in the brazen shooting death have already been arrested.
“I’m glad they’re off the street. We talked about some of that tonight. You know, these guys that are doing this stuff over and over again. I’m glad they’re off the street. We’re very close to the last one. That’s all I’ll say,” Waters said.
During the town hall, the Sheriff’s Office shared how people can access the transparency portal. That portal shows 35 murders for the year so far, which is down from 59 at the same time last year.
AJ Jordan, the outreach coordinator for MAD DADS Jacksonville, said one murder is too many but it’s good to see the numbers trending down.
“You notice, because the community’s involved, JSO is doing a much better job with reaching out to our community, talking to our citizens, and that’s making a difference,” he said. “He answered all the questions. You know, I was concerned about the gun deaths, the murder rate, and he answered those questions. I mean, we got 1,512 guns that’s been recovered. And most of those guns probably been stolen out of cars. And knowing that those 1,512 guns have been recovered, they can’t be used in crime to hurt our citizens.”
Waters encourages people to call the Sheriff’s Office when there are issues in their community.
“If it applies to loud music, and someone’s doing it, then call us because there’s no way we can know, right? Unless somebody tells us. Call us. It’s our responsibility to get out there and answer that call for service. Let us know please (904) 630-0500. If it’s an emergency, 911, call us. And we’ll come and run it,” Waters said.
There are going to be five more town halls in each district. Here’s the remaining schedule:
- District 2: Thursday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. - The Chruch of Eleven22 at 651 Commerce Center Dr.
- District 3: Thursday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. - Sheraton Hotel at 10605 Deerwood Park Blvd.
- District 4: Thursday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. - First Coast Christian School at 7587 Blanding Blvd.
- District 5: Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. - Paxon Revival Center at 5461 Commonwealth Ave.
- District 6: Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. - North Jax Baptist Church at 8531 N. Main St.
All the meetings are free and do not require an RSVP.
Transparency site changes
To enhance transparency and provide broader access to information, JSO launched a new Transparency Portal.
The updated portal consolidates JSO’s transparency data and crime mapping, offering the public access to permissible public safety data.
Managed in-house, the portal will be updated daily, allowing the community access to current, verified data 24/7 without the need for a public records request.
For more information, visit the new portal at: transparency.jaxsheriff.org.