Jacksonville, Fla. to Hire 40 New Officers ASAP

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --

Mayor John Peyton and Sheriff John Rutherford and leaders of the Jacksonville Journey Steering Committee gathered on the steps of City Hall Monday and announced plans to hire 40 new patrol officers this year using existing funds.

"We all agree there is an immediate need and immediately action for additional (police) presence in Jacksonville," Peyton said. "Our job is to do everything possible to ensure safety and security of our residents and our community, and today, I'm excited that we can work together to provide some immediate resource to help combat crime given the tight financial circumstances."

The push to get more officers on the streets is a prime focus of bringing down the city's murder rate, the highest in the state of Florida.

Rutherford said the funding will be diverted from the existing Jacksonville Sheriff's Office corrections budget because the jail population is lower than projected.

"We are over capacity, but we are not as over capacity as we thought we would be," Rutherford told Channel 4's Jim Piggott.

That frees up about $300,000 that will be used to hire recruits and begin their training this budget year. Officials said there is s an 11-month hiring and training cycle before the new officers would be on the street.

Adding the additional 40 officers to the payroll will require about $4 million of new money in the 2008-2009 budget, funds Peyton called a priority.

The plan needs City Council approval to raise the cap of patrol officers in the city. Peyton said he would introduce legislation at Tuesday's meeting. If approved, new police recruits will begin training at the academy this summer.

The Jacksonville Journey's Law Enforcement and Deterrence subcommittee found the city ranks among the lowest in per capita spending on police and on the number of police officers per citizen. After examining this data and the findings of an external audit of the JSO and discussions with leaders of the department, the subcommittees recommended the addition of 101 patrol officers to increase proactive policing levels and help deter crime.

The sheriff is asking for more than double that number of new officers.

"The mayor, the council and I continue to work toward my stated goal of the 225 (additional) sworn police officers our citizens need for their protection," Rutherford said. "This is a critical first step in getting to where we need to be."

For more information on becoming a police officer visit, JoinJSO.com.

Previous Stories:

• February 1, 2008: Sheriff: Extra 'Safe Streets' Patrols Begin
• December 4, 2007: Sheriff: Jacksonville Needs A Lot More Officers
• November 28, 2007: JSO Audit: Put 21 More Officers On Patrol

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