Following extensive interviews and research, Cure Violence is releasing its assessment for the City of Jacksonville. The assessment visit was performed between February 18th and 21st of 2019.
Mayor Lenny Curry said, “My top priority is public safety. This is another important tool in the toolbox to help reduce violence throughout the city. We believe after reviewing the Cure Violence (CV) assessment, this will be an extremely valuable addition to our city and expect it to have a marked impact on reducing crime.”
Below are highlights from the recently released report.
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CV team leaders met with Mayor Lenny Curry, State Attorney Melissa Nelson, Sheriff Mike Williams and key staff.
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The assessment shows that the Mayor’s Office, State’s Attorney and Sheriff’s Office all have the capacity and will to implement the CV as part of a violence prevention strategy for Jacksonville. It was the first time in the history of CV assessment visits these three major institutions were aligned so strongly to support CV.
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Because of the cooperation between the above three agencies, there will be a rapid implementation in two locations. More will likely follow. Expect the first phase of Cure Violence to be up and running by the end of the 2019 school year.
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Cure Violence also spoke with hundreds of community members who gave very positive feedback about the potential for reduced violence.
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CV was clearly able to identify the chronic hot spots in Jacksonville where violent incidents have happened for years.
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Over six of the ten top violent ZIP codes are in Zone 5 and Zone 1. CV suggests focusing on those two areas to begin.
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CV met with Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation (NWJCDC) and the Noah’s Arc Project.
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Both organizations have relationships with the community as well as credibility to recruit potential workers who have criminal histories.
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Cure Violence staff identified multiple, strong potential Violence Interrupters in the short time they conducted the interviews for the assessment. These potential Violence Interrupters have credibility with the highest risk individuals in the targeted areas.
For more than 15 years, Cure Violence has successfully worked to reduce violence in some of the most violent communities in the United States and around the world, advancing a new health paradigm on violence and a scientific approach to preventing it. This approach is grounded in an understanding that violence exhibits hallmarks of an infectious disease. It behaves with a contagious nature and it can be prevented using disease control methodology.
Download the Cure Violence Jacksonville Assessment Report here.