The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announces the launch of "OPERATION SAFE STREETS," an initiative designed to prevent murder in Jacksonville. The initiative is being led by the Violent Crimes Task Force and will focus on illegal guns, violent criminals and geographic areas with disproportionate rates of violent crime.

This comprehensive, multi-agency plan utilizes the numerous assets of our local, state, and federal law enforcement and criminal justice partners in the Jacksonville area.

The strategy is designed to utilize the entire criminal justice system with a "door to door approach" to preventing murder.

"OPERATON SAFE STREETS" creates an unprecedented partnership of the following criminal justice organizations, all focusing on preventing murder in Jacksonville:
United States Attorney's Office
State Attorney's Office
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative (HIDTA)
Florida Department of Corrections' Probation and Parole Division
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP)
Florida Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT)
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
First Coast Crime Stoppers.

Illegal Guns

• The basic principal of "OPERATION SAFE STREETS" is that any felon who carries a gun or anyone who commits a crime with a gun is going to jail. "Gun Crime = Hard Time"
• Task Force members will seek federal indictments and prosecutions on any and all eligible gun crime offenders in an attempt to maximize sentencing penalties.
• The State Attorney's Office has pledged to dedicate a special prosecutor to "OPERATION SAFE STREETS." Task Force members will closely coordinate investigative efforts on state prosecuted cases with the special prosecutor, to ensure cases bring maximum sentences to criminals arrested for murder and other violent crimes. (Example: 10-20-Life)
• Task Force members will utilize the "Project Safe Neighborhoods" initiative to make our streets safer.
• "OPERATION SAFE STREETS" partners will vigorously seek to identify and investigate the sources of firearms which end up in the hands of criminals.
• Covert and overt investigative techniques will be strategically utilized, focusing on illegal gun activity in Jacksonville.
• We will continue our strong partnership with First Coast Crime Stoppers by encouraging members of the public to call in or e-mail tips on criminals they may know who are carrying guns illegally. These tips will then be assigned to Task Force members for follow up investigation.
• We will relay our message to the public through the media. We will also keep the public informed of noteworthy cases and investigations, at their conclusion. These efforts will serve to keep the community informed, provide a message of gun crime deterrence, and encourage citizens to report gun crimes and those who are illegally carrying guns.
• We will coordinate efforts with community partners to facilitate a gun bounty program to take guns off of the street.
  

Violent Criminals

• "Operation Safe Streets" analysts will be utilized to identify violent criminals living within our city. Those with a propensity to commit murder or other acts of violence will be identified for further investigation by Task Force members. A variety of investigative approaches will be used to develop the most effective strategy for removing the violent offenders from our streets.
• Ongoing efforts to identify violent and gun crime offenders will be intensified with the help of our coalition partners and offenders with outstanding warrants will be located and arrested.
• The FBI will assist this operation by focusing on the identification, investigation, and dismantling of criminal organizations involved in violence for special prosecutorial efforts.
• Working closely with the Florida Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Department, we will strictly enforce probation and parole conditions placed on convicted violent criminals and gun crime offenders. We will also initiate immediate proceedings, and seek continual incarceration, for violent or gun crime offenders who violate their probation or parole.
• Our FDLE Task Force partners will be co-located with us, to assist with daily investigative efforts and the identification of criminals and criminal organizations. Regular information sharing meetings will be held with all "OPERATION SAFE STREETS" participants to gather information on individuals involved in murder and other violent crimes.
  

Geographic Areas

• We will utilize crime analysis geo-mapping capabilities to identify areas within Jacksonville with the highest incidence of murder, violent crime, and gun related offenses.
• We will identify problem locations, such as clubs and bars, that are believed to be involved in or are gathering places for those involved in violent crimes. Through our partnership with the Florida Department of Alcohol, Beverage, and Tobacco we will conduct specialized inspections and enforcement actions at these locations.
• "OPERATION SAFE STREETS" partners will coordinate enforcement efforts in drug and gun violence hot spots. Task Force members will debrief arrestees from these operations to develop criminal intelligence information.
• Task Force members will be involved when narcotics related search warrants are served within the identified areas. They will debrief arrestees and others present, in an effort to obtain criminal intelligence pertaining to murders, violent crimes, and illegal guns.
• Task Force members will join with the Florida Highway Patrol to initiate a new enforcement program on state roadways, in areas identified as having disproportionate levels of violent crime.
• Working with the Community Affairs Division of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, various outreach and crime prevention programs will be used to communicate the Gun Crime = Hard Time message. Likewise, School Resource Officers will be utilized in the schools to communicate the Gun Crime = Hard Time message to students.
• Drawing upon Mayor Peyton's Seeds of Change initiative, we will implement study circles and other neighborhood meetings, to create a "dialogue for change", in an effort to build relationships and gain the trust of those most affected by violence in their neighborhood.