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Jacksonville mayor, sheriff and state attorney share progress report on crime-fighting technology

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Wednesday, Action News Jax learned Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams and State Attorney Melissa Nelson are crediting the Crime Gun Intelligence Center for what they’re calling progress in crime-solving.

Action News Jax investigator Courtney Cole spoke to neighbors to see if they think the technology is working.

"I just lost two godsons in the last two months,” said Julia Gray.

Gray told Cole losing loved ones never  gets easier and that she had just lost one of her two godsons on Monday.

Before that, Gray said she lost her son, Marquette Clark, to gun violence in May 2018.

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“My child didn't even get to live his life from being a child,” said Gray.

She told Action News Jax her son was shot and killed while someone was trying to rob him on the corner of Moncrief and Ken Knight Drive.

“Things are so bad here in Jacksonville to the point where you don't know what to do,” Gray said.

When Cole spoke with Gray about the progress the sheriff, mayor and state attorney feels they've made with Shotspotter, NIBIN and the Real Time Crime Center, Gray replied it’s not  enough.

“It would be better if it was more of a collaborative effort versus, ‘I'm going to do this, you're going to do this,' and it's supposed to all come together — nothing's going to work like that,” Gray said.

Gray said what could work is getting more sheriff's deputies in communities before there is a crime scene.

"Having some actual sit-down conversations with teenagers and adults from these communities to find out what the real issues are and how they can help,” Gray said.

While Gray holds out hope that the person who killed her son will be found, she told Cole she's only talked to the detective on his case three times in the last six months and the state attorney once.

"I honestly feel like as a whole, they can do better. It hurts,” said Gray.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Williams said since the opening of the Crime Gun Intelligence Center in April:

  • 254 cases have been opened with NIBIN leads
  • 171 unique guns are involved in those cases
  • 70 of those guns have been recovered

The sheriff even touted a clearance rate of  60% when it comes to murder cases.

“We never quit working those cases. On December 31st we don't close all the cases and start over. That process is always ongoing,” said Williams.

Some neighbors have told Action News Jax they feel like the technology is reactive, and not proactive.

"There's not a lot of proactive-type technology available. It's hard to anticipate when something may occur using technology. Technology is about getting people there quicker, being more efficient,” said Williams.

The sheriff says now that all this technology is installed and running, there is some work to do to make the grade.

“In terms of city participation, partnership with state and federal partners, [and] our heavy-level partnership with the state attorney’s office, I'd give that part an A,” Williams said. “So we have a lot of leads, we're learning as we go. I'd give us a good solid B+. We've gotta continue, though.”

Curry also talked about progress being made by Cure Violence: “Cure Violence is having a positive impact on violence in the target areas. Both sites have had a stretch of at least 25 days in a row without a shooting or killing.  It’s a small step, but the right one. We continue evaluate the impact but fully expect to see positive results.”

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