JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The latest survey of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office -- conducted by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Laboratory -- suggests that most city residents feel safe in their neighborhoods -- depending on where they live -- however, gun violence is still a concern across the board.
People living in all six zones participated, and the survey was taken in 2022 between Nov. 21-Dec. 27. Here’s a breakdown of each zone:
- Zone 1 covers Downtown, Springfield and the Eastside.
- Zone 2 covers Arlington and Intracoastal West.
- Zone 3 covers the Southside, Mandarin and San Marco.
- Zone 4 covers Riverside, Avondale, Ortega and the Westside.
- Zone 5 covers the Northwest, New Town, and Baldwin.
- Zone 6 covers Northside, San Mateo, and Oceanway.
READ: JSO 2022 Community Survey
Of those surveyed, 87% said they feel safe when they are in their neighborhood, which is up about 13% from the 2021 results. Despite this boost, people in each area said they would like to see an increase in police presence in their neighborhoods.
In tjhe zones covering Mandarin, the deep Northside and the Southside, residents have high confidence that their neighborhoods are safe -- each was near or above 90%.
But in Zone 1, which is downtown going into Northwest Jacksonville and the Eastside, their confidence is a lot lower -- only 74% consider their neighborhood safe.
Necola Williams was out taking a stroll Wednesday morning and said she frankly thinks crime is too high in her Northwest Jacksonville neighborhood and new numbers from this JSO study about her part of town weren’t surprising.
“This area years ago was high rated on drugs, crime, killing and everything. It’s always been,” Williams said. “It’s calmed down now compared to what it used to be.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is the public’s concern about gun violence. In all six zones, those surveyed agreed that gun violence is their biggest concern.
In total, 42% said they were concerned about gun violence.
According to News4JAX records, during the survey period, there were 15 homicides in Jacksonville, and at least 12 of those involved gun violence, including a deadly police shooting.
The other top concerns for those surveyed were addressing homelessness (20%) and mental health in the community (14%).
The survey also addresses concerns about police brutality and if this is something that people in each zone personally worry about.
The latest map shows:
- A 46% concern in Zone 1
- 36% in Zone 2
- 29% in Zone 3
- 39% in Zone 4
- 55% in Zone 5
- 41% in Zone 6
Compared to data from 2020, this concern has gone up except for Zones 1, 3, and 6. In 2020 64% of Zone 1 was concerned about police brutality, which is down 28%. Zone 3 stayed the same and Zone 6 is down 2%.
The racial breakdown of residents concerned about police brutality is telling: white residents only are concerned about that at 18 or 19% over the past five years, while Black residents’ concerns are above 60%.
More than half of those surveyed (54%) agreed that JSO does a good job at handling complex investigations.
Only 38% of respondents think that JSO has enough officers to meet the city’s needs.
In Zone 1, 75% said their experience with police was positive, while the Southside, Oceanway and Mandarin all had lower opinions on the question of whether encounters with JSO were courteous and competent. In Northwest Jacksonville neighborhoods that number goes down considerably to 62%.
The racial breakdown of views on police shows a 59% approval rating among white residents, 52% among Hispanics and 47% among Black residents.
JSO’s job performance approval has consistently fallen since 2016, going from near 80% approval down to just above 50% last year. The disapproval numbers have steadily increased during those years as well.
This is the fourth time since 2016 the community has been asked to weigh in on JSO’s performance.
In response to the latest results, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the department plans to reevaluate the city’s patrol areas and try to create a greater police presence.