JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Journey is one step closer to revival, with legislation aimed at recreating the crime prevention program now officially filed on behalf of the mayor’s office.
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The bill would establish a Jacksonville Journey Forward Board, which would consist of 11 members, with all but two appointed by the mayor.
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The Sheriff and State Attorney would both get one board member selection and JSO would also have a liaison who could attend meetings, but would not have a direct vote.
“The oversight board will be made up of individuals who have experience and expertise in these collective areas,” said Jacksonville Director of Community Initiatives Charles Griggs.
Griggs explained the board would oversee community crime prevention and mitigation efforts and work to help the programs better collaborate and determine which efforts are working, and those that are not.
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The board would not be in charge of making recommendations on active police crime fighting efforts, rather it would focus on the city, community and private efforts and bring recommendations back to council regarding new programs and funding.
“We just want to know how these things are working together and how we can best build upon those successes,” said Griggs.
The original Jacksonville Journey, which launched in 2008 under former Mayor John Peyton, saw crime rates plummet within two years of its establishment.
Griggs argued given the recent drop in violent crime here in Jacksonville and other major cities across the US, now is an opportune moment to capitalize on that trend by relaunching the Journey.
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“And what we believe is that if we work together we can get a better idea of why that is, and when we find out what is really going on and why we’re seeing these numbers go down, we’d like to do more of that,” said Griggs.
Griggs said it’s the administration’s goal to get the Jacksonville Journey legislation across the finish line by early September.
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