A.G. Gancarski
With Jacksonville’s Mayor and Sheriff up for re-election this year, there may be no better time to peruse the State Attorney’s gang reduction strategy.
In part, it’s a useful review to see where policy is and where it’s going. Also in play, however: the political symbiosis between the three first-term Republicans, whose messaging and political operations have considerable overlap.
Much has been said by all three parties about the symbiosis between the offices (a contrast to the friction four years back, especially between former Mayor Alvin Brown and Sheriff John Rutherford).
Compare that squabbling to the united front posited by State Attorney Melissa Nelson in the roll-out tweet.
Proud of all the hard work that went into this document from #TeamSAO4 and our partners at @JSOPIO and @CityofJax. We believe in meeting these challenges head-on with smart strategies. https://t.co/4314GH7HLd
— Melissa Nelson (@Nelson4SAO) January 22, 2019
With crime (and gang crime and murders) offering the dramatic backdrop to the next several weeks in Jacksonville ahead of the March first election, the “gang reduction strategy” helps to frame the three officeholders’ understanding of a problem that, at least thus far, has not been solved.
“Although the overall crime rate in Jacksonville is down, homicides, aggravated assaults, and other instances of violence increased in 2017 …. caused, in part, by a small group of offenders made up of young adults and gang affiliates. These … ‘entertainment groups,’ consist primarily of young black males between the ages of 16 to 24,” the report posits.
The “entertainment groups,” per the report, communicate via “high-quality rap videos” that feature “drill music,” the latest in a series of hip-hop subgenres that inculcate said violence.
The report moves on to again divorce current office holders from blame: “Jacksonville is not the only city in the United States grappling with issues of violence. Other cities, including Los Angeles, Houston, and Fort Worth, Texas have also experienced an increase in violent crime in recent years. … this increase in violence is not representative of our community values nor is it evidence of neglect on behalf of our leaders. It is instead a problem caused in large part by a small group of juvenile and young adult offenders that our community has been unable to meaningfully engage.”
Will voters concur? That’s the question upon which a number of political futures hangs.
After spotlighting specific examples of collaboration between the offices, the SAO report offers cautions, citing recommendations of “new … national innovations” rooted in “neuroscience” and a better understanding of the “young adult brain.”
Meanwhile, some of what’s being done currently isn’t working.
Cited: “gang call-ins” and “custom intervention notifications,” which see miscreants told that help exists for them; by and large, the report notes that gang members aren’t availing themselves of these exit ramps.
Other initiatives, such as ShotSpotter and the use of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, are still works in progress.
“The projects and technological advancements outlined above are promising and serve as a reminder of our community’s dedication to solving this problem. However, they are not enough to effectively combat and prevent violence within Jacksonville,” the report contends.
To that end, a “comprehensive violence reduction plan,” one with an oversight component, may be necessary.
Gun bounty programs could be part of that. So too could be a “One Jacksonville” program in which city “mentors and volunteers” help with life skills and offer academic guidance. And a program for males like the PACE Center for Girls, which is showing strong results in terms of stemming recidivism, is another recommendation.
Even social-media intervention, or counter-programming, with city funded “e-responders” is a possibility. As are “gang injunctions” (designed to impose legal sanction for wearing colors and the like) and “boot camp” re-education programs for those as young as 14 who are nonetheless tried as adults.
With State Attorney Melissa Nelson close to an inevitable re-election campaign, and Sheriff Mike Williams and Mayor Lenny Curry each currently facing ballot challenges, it will be interesting to see if the rhetoric about the #CurryCrimeWave will reflect the policy proposals advanced by the SAO, which clearly is comfortable with the current incumbents on the 2019 ballo
