JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents in the city’s Murray Hill area said they are a little more relieved after being able to speak face-to-face with Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams during a neighborhood crime walk Tuesday night.
The walk began at the Murray Hill Playground, at the corner of Dancy and Kingsbury streets. In the past week alone, crime in the area has been up so Williams and 30 more officials met with neighbors to try to understand what the community needs.
The walk took place less than week after police said a man was shot multiple times at a home on Chestnut Street. He is expected to recover.
It’s one of the many crimes that Williams wants to stop citywide.
“We're pushing this concept, down to the lieutenants that work in this area, the zone commanders and the officers, to spend sometimes knocking on doors in the neighborhoods and asking people, ‘How can we help you?’ Especially when it comes to areas that have had some recent incidents,” Williams said.
In the past year, within a mile of Dancy Street, there have reportedly been three assaults, one vehicle theft, two robberies and seven burglaries.
Donna Troup, the owner of One Stop Thrift Shop, said three of those break-ins happened just last week when someone broke into several businesses on Edgewood Avenue. She said thieves hit a barbershop, Dreamette Ice Cream and even broke the glass door at Moon River Pizza. The owner of Moon River Pizza told News4Jax whoever did it got away with several beers and documents.
Troup said the crime is getting out of control.
“People are moving out because of the crime. We want good people to stay, but they are afraid to stay,” Troup said. “We’ve had homes broken into, cars broken into, a car stolen in the area. It’s got to stop.”
Fortunately, that’s the sheriff’s mission with crime walks and residents said they’re optimistic that things will change.
“He (Williams) was actually very responsive to my concerns. He actually set me up with another officer so I could talk about my specific problems,” said Jennifer Wood, a Murray Hill resident. “There’s definitely less to worry about. I walk out some more outside more now and I just want that trend to continue. I want to be able to walk outside more often and feel comfortable and safe in my own neighborhood so was great to see things like this going on.”
Anyone with information about a crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.