Debating the homicide rate after the deadly weekend in Jacksonville

A local crime-fighting organization is applauding Sheriff TC Waters for his work to reduce the murder rate in Jacksonville.

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However, this comes after a brutal weekend. Three residents were killed in four separate shootings across the city.

Several crime-fighting activists said that while the weekend was a bad one, that doesn’t necessarily mean the homicide rate is up. In fact, their number has halved over the past year.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office transparency page, there were 50 homicides in 2024 compared to 100 in 2023.

Longtime pastor Adam Gray at Riverside Church adds that Jacksonville has had a reputation for violence for decades in Florida, but that’s not the case now.

Gray said several churches, called ICARE, have come together to help implement a group violence intervention (GVI) method in Jacksonville. According to him, this had a significant impact on reducing the murder rate. He said it works by starting to work with those most likely to pull the trigger in the next week or so because they are more likely to become the intended shooters.

“If you come to them and say are you ready to lay down your arms, we have vocational training or we have housing. However, if you are not willing to lay down your weapon, we also have state and federal prosecutors with us and we will put you in jail,” Pastor Gray said.

AJ Jordan by Crazy dads said his organization and other agencies are constantly taking to the streets and classrooms to talk about the dangers of drugs and gangs, which he says has helped curb crime.

“Just because the numbers are down doesn’t mean the criminals will stop. As a community, we need to continue to work with JSO to make sure the numbers stay low,” Jordan said.

Pastor Adam Gray said the organization is holding a conference Monday at Christ the King Catholic Church at 7 p.m. They’ll talk about what worked this year and how to keep that upward trend going.

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