Capital Soup

Florida News Straight From the Source

You are here: Home / Archives for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

Gov. Rick Scott Statement on the Passing of Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Police Officer

Posted on

Governor Rick Scott made the following statement this afternoon regarding today’s vehicle crash that took the life of Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Police Officer Lance C. Whitaker.

Governor Rick Scott said, “My wife, Ann, and I are heartbroken by the loss of Officer Lance C. Whitaker. I spoke with Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams this morning to express our condolences to him and everyone at the Sheriff’s Office. Everyday our brave men and women in law enforcement risk their lives to keep our communities safe and we must demonstrate our gratitude for their sacrifices. Tonight, I ask every Floridian to join us in praying for Officer Whitaker’s family during this incredibly difficult time.”

Senator Bean & Representative Daniels Present $250,000 in State Funding to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

Posted on

On behalf of the State of Florida, State Senator Aaron Bean (R-Fernandina Beach) and State Representative Kimberly Daniels (D-Jacksonville) yesterday presented a $250,000 check to Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and Dr. Charles Moreland, who attended on behalf of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. During the 2018 Legislative Session, Senator Bean and Representative Daniels worked diligently together to help secure the $250,000 in state funding for the City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Matching Grant.

“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office does an exceptional job protecting our community, and this COPS Matching Grant will allow them to keep more officers on the street to fight crime,” said Senator Bean. “This state funding shows the Florida Legislature’s commitment to the men and women of law enforcement and to protecting every citizen in the City of Jacksonville.”

“Public safety is a core function of government,” said Representative Daniels. “I have chaired the Public Health and Safety Committee for the City of Jacksonville and served on the Florida House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. Sponsoring the COPS Grant with Senator Bean is an honor, and I am proud to be able to present this state funding for this great cause.”

The COPS Grant funds will be used to maintain 15 sworn officer positions that have allowed the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to implement a three-pronged approach in Jacksonville, which includes a Blight/Nuisance Squad, Sheriff’s Watch Apartments and the Group Violence Intervention Program. The funding will permit the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to continue these innovative programs with the ultimate goal of reducing firearm-related crime and homicides.

“The COPS Grant truly demonstrates the state’s continued support of our efforts to improve and enhance the quality of life for Jacksonville citizens,” said Mayor Curry. “We are grateful to Senator Bean, Representative Daniels, the Duval Delegation, and the state legislature for sharing our commitment to public safety.”

“The COPS program is just one of the ways our Florida legislators have been supporting our efforts here in Jacksonville,” said Sheriff Williams. “Senator Bean has been a great partner to law enforcement, and the entire Duval County Legislative Delegation has been very responsive to all that we are trying to accomplish. We are extremely appreciative of their support.”

Senator Bean represents Senate District 4, which includes parts of Nassau and Duval Counties. He can be contacted in Tallahassee at (850) 487-5004 or in his District Office at (904) 757-5039.

Dozens Arrested in Massive Multi-Million Dollar SNAP/EBT Fraud Investigation

Posted on

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution joined the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Secret Service, and other federal authorities in announcing the end of a lengthy investigation involving five million dollars in benefits fraud.    

“Food stamp trafficking steals from Florida’s hardworking taxpayers,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The SNAP/EBT program is designed to provide services to the most vulnerable among us and for anyone to take advantage of this system is shameful. I want to thank local and federal authorities for putting an end to this scheme and look forward to my Office of Statewide Prosecution holding these defendants accountable in a court of law.”  

The investigation focused on fraudulent transactions involving the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, commonly known as the SNAP/EBT throughout the Jacksonville area.

Many of these fraudulent transactions occurred when individuals took advantage of taxpayers and Floridians entitled to benefits offered by SNAP/EBT. The defendants allegedly traded personal benefit cards from beneficiaries to make phony food purchases or went through a middleman ultimately swapping benefits for cash at a rate of 50 cents on the dollar. These fraudulent transactions occurred at fictitious seafood and meat shops established as part of the undercover operation. The Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will prosecute more than 115 felony cases relating to this massive investigation.

Throughout the investigation, law enforcement conducted multiple undercover operations and created fictitious businesses where the fraudulent transaction took place. During a six-month period, undercover detectives conducted approximately 390 undercover transactions at these business, meeting with more than 130 individuals. SNAP/EBT cards are explicitly required to be used strictly for the purchase of food. The SNAP program is USDA-funded and administered in Florida by the Florida Department of Children and Families. The program provides supplemental nutrition assistance to vulnerable populations, such as seniors, children and families in economic distress.    

As a result of this investigation, more than 115 individuals have been charged with felonies and 61 others with misdemeanors. The following agencies also assisted in the investigation: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigators, Florida Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Children and Families.

New Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office survey shows community supports police

Posted on

The Public Opinion Research Laboratory (PORL) at the University of North Florida recently conducted a community survey on behalf of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that reveals the community overwhelmingly supports police on the First Coast.
The JSO Community Survey results show the vast majority—78—percent, of Jacksonville residents approve of the way the Sheriff’s Office is handling its job. Patrol Zone 2 had the highest level of overall approval at 83 percent, while Patrol Zone 5 had the lowest level of overall approval, with 73 percent.
“In a somewhat surprising finding, given the national narrative the last year or two, even the areas of town that face the highest crime rates are very supportive of the police,” said Dr. Michael Binder, PORL faculty director.
Most Jacksonville resident—88 percent—agreed they feel safe in their neighborhood. Patrol Zone 3 had the highest assessment of neighborhood safety, 93 percent. Patrol Zones 1 and 5 had the highest percentages of respondents who indicated they don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods, with 20 percent and 21 percent respectively.
Overall, 70 percent of residents agree that Jacksonville is a safe place to live. In Patrol Zone 1 (33 percent), Patrol Zone 4 (35 percent) and Patrol Zone 5 (32 percent), approximately a third of respondents don’t think Jacksonville is a safe place to live.
“In a lot of ways, this is analogous to the ‘I don’t like Congress, but I like my Congressman’ phenomena,” said Binder.  “Residents feel safe where they live and work but are less optimistic about Jacksonville in general.”
When asked about specific encounters with JSO personnel, 79 percent agreed they found them to be courteous and competent. Patrol Zone 6 had the highest level of perceived courtesy and competence, with 84 percent. Patrol Zone 5 had the most respondents (19 percent) who disagreed that JSO personnel are courteous and competent. While white respondents strongly agree (61 percent), only 35 percent of black respondents strongly agree that JSO personnel are courteous and competent.
“While generally in agreement about courteousness and competency, the strength of agreement is one of the few findings that greatly differs among racial groups,” Binder noted. “If improving community relations is a goal of JSO’s leadership, this might be an area to focus on for the future.”
One of the most intriguing findings of the entire survey is the consistency in the responses of an open-ended question about what JSO could do for the respondent in their neighborhood, according to Binder. Across all patrol zones, approximately half of the responses wanted an increase in patrols, visibility or police presence.
Most Jacksonville residents—61 percent—think JSO does a good job investigating officer-involved shootings. However, there are meaningful differences across racial groups, with 71 percent of white respondents agreeing that JSO does a good job handling these occurrences, whereas only 44 percent of black respondents agreed.
“In light of recent media attention, this highlights one of the differences in opinion within Jacksonville’s diverse community,” said Binder.
Additionally, the survey revealed that at 93 percent, there is unequivocal support in Duval County for the use of body cameras for JSO officers.
“There is almost no variation across patrol zones,” noted Binder. “The stunning levels of support for the implementation of body cameras across all demographic groups, and I suspect likely for differing reasons, suggests that JSO should find a way to bring this initiative to life.”
For the complete report click here.
Methodology
The survey was sponsored and funded by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and conducted November 14 through December 11, 2016, by the Public Opinion Research Laboratory (PORL) at the University of North Florida. The PORL has a 27-station telephone-polling laboratory that uses Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. A sample of the polling universe (Jacksonville, Florida, residents age 18 and older) was selected through the use of Random-Digit-Dialing methodology for both landlines and cell phones. Scientific Telephone Samples provided all of the telephone numbers used for the survey.
The total sample contained 1,711 adult Jacksonville, Florida, residents and had a response rate of 16.5 percent. AAPOR Response Rate 4 includes an estimate of what proportion of cases of unknown eligibility are actually eligible and includes partial interviews as completes. The margin of sampling error for the entire sample is +/- 2.4 percentage points. Margins of error for each patrol zone are larger.
Upon reaching individuals through the landline telephone sample, respondents were selected in the household by being the first qualified participant to be available to participate. The breakdown of completed responses on a cell phone to a landline phone was 81 percent to 18 percent, with less than 1 percent unknown. Cell phone sample respondents were selected by being the first qualified participant to answer the phone.
To ensure a representative sample, surveys were conducted in both English and Spanish. Calls were made from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week (except for Thanksgiving weekend). Stratified sampling, using the six JSO police patrol zones was used for geographical representation. Quotas were placed on each subgroup to ensure a large enough sample of completed surveys from each patrol zone. Each JSO police patrol zone was weighted by age, gender and race to the estimated 2015 American Community Survey. This analysis produced sample data for demographic characteristics of people who are 18 years of age or older and live in Jacksonville, Florida (excluding the Beaches communities).
The PORL is a full-service survey research facility that provides tailored research to fulfill each client’s individual needs from political, economic, social and cultural projects. The PORL opened in 2001 and is an independent, non-partisan center, a charter member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative and a member of the Association of Academic Survey Research Organization. For more information about methodology, contact Binder at (904) 620-2784 or by email at [email protected].
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.