Instead of combating the smash & grab criminal activity, the JSO stepped up its appearance in the Avondale area as a publicity stunt and only enforced moving violations on the local residents. One of the part-time writers of the local newspaper ‘The Resident’ received a ticket for riding her bicycle without a headlight en-route during the early morning to her waitress job. The local newspaper saw you for what you were and published my editorial ‘Jacksonville Budget Cuts And Good Riddance JSO’.

See page 4 of the The Resident News:

http://www.residentnews.net/January/January%202008.htm

City of Jacksonville (COJ), do you think that just declaring a crime watch zone is going to work and reduce crime? You might want to do some research on Virginia Tech. The Virginia Tech declared itself a ‘violent free’ zone and see what happened there back in 2007. Criminals have absolutely no regard for laws or signs period.

If the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) were even serious about combating crime in the Riverside/Avondale neighborhoods, they would have a small team of officers riding bicycles on the neighborhood streets. On a bicycle the officer could easily pick up the blatant clues of criminal activities and elements. It is quite easy to sense which direction or house where the smell of marijuana or crack is emanating from, to hear deviant behavior, or observe homes that have grow lights. An officer in a car with the dark tinted windows up is completely isolated from the crime on the other side of that police car door.

I find it humorous that John Rutherford blames the ‘crack’ babies for the increase of crime. The crack babies born 20 years ago were raised in a government welfare funded violent environment. The theory is now that these crack babies are of age, they are not afraid of law enforcement and look forward to gratifying acts of violence.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/15716774/detail.html

You forgot to mention that JSO emboldened criminal activity since your department’s main emphasis has been revenue generating moving violations. It is not bad enough that the law abiding citizens should be afraid of the bad elements in this community but also the Law Enforcement picking off the law abiding citizen(s) on slight moving violations for revenue generating purposes. These crack babies have been committing crimes over the years without retribution from the JSO over the years so yes they have become bold. I will grant you some truth to your statement.

The JSO seems to think that placing traffic cameras to catch traffic violators in the affluent areas of Jacksonville can fund 100 more officers. I can only guess what the additional officers will do but pursue even more traffic violators.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/717/114/

Intersections to be equipped with cameras:

· Beach at Atlantic

· Beach at San Pablo

· Beach at Kernan

· Beach at Southside

· Beach at University

· Beach at Saint Johns Bluff

· Butler Blvd. at 9-A

· Southside at Baymeadows

· Blanding at Youngerman Circle

· Atlantic at Kernan

How come the COJ does not install some of these traffic cameras in the crime-ridden neighborhoods on the Northside and the Northwest of Jacksonville? Is this a racially sensitive issue so we can’t offend them? Apply the rule of law equally to all citizens. If the criminals cannot pay for the traffic violation, impound their car. That way the crime stays local to a neighborhood and they can’t share the misery with everyone else. The JSO may even be able to locate the driving patterns or residences of some of the criminal elements.

Observing the physique of the JSO officers, I believe they could not chase a criminal anyway. The officers who used to hang out at Tobacco Cove West had a difficult time fitting in the leather seats as they enjoyed a cigar on the company clock. Just last night I observed an officer the size of a walrus wattle into Brown Brothers BBQ on King Street. How is someone like that going to chase a criminal down an alley and hop over a fence in pursuit?

For some reason we are not allowed to bring up the fact that Jacksonville’s crime has spiked since hurricane Katrina. Those helpless Louisiana refugees. With all the studies that the city performs to defer action on real political action, I am surprised there has not been any study or analysis on how many known criminals were from Louisiana since Katrina.

It is my belief that Jacksonville Sheriffs Office was allowing the crime in Jacksonville Florida to escalate at the expense of the taxpayer’s safety so the taxpayer would scream against the voter approved Florida Property Tax amendment. The City Of Jacksonville was fighting against any proposed tax cuts. Every response to any government situation always requires more government spending. Sheriff John Rutherford has already increased the JSO spending by 50 percent in the past five years and the situation has only become worse.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/030608/opl_254121063.shtml

Calling the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office every time you witness criminal activity is useless. The JSO refuses to respond now. Documenting criminal activity on their web site is also a useless activity. The JSO never responded or followed up on my invitation to assist them in observing the criminal activity. Instead of spending the resources for crime watch signs for a false sense of security, that money could of funded another policeman.

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