Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Jacksonville, Fla.    

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced the expansion of an existing crime fighting tool, at a news conference, Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 2:30 pm, at the Police Memorial Building (Press Briefing Room) at 501 E. Bay Street.

Conceived by the Interchurch Coalition for Action Reconciliation and Empowerment (ICARE) last year, the group was handing out a flyer to those attending church services at ICARE member churches. The intent was to serve as a tip card for the police.

The document solicited information from them about criminal activity occurring in their neighborhoods. The parishioner would fill out the card, place it in the collection plate, or return it to a clergy member or lay leader, who would turn it over to police following services. The tipster's identity was not known to anyone, unless they indicate that they would like to talk to police, personally.

Working with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to make the tool as effective as possible, the content has been enhanced, and it is now a tri-fold brochure that can be sent directly to JSO. It is a self addressed, postage paid tip card. It also contains helpful contact numbers for the citizen to retain for their use.

During the development of the Sheriff's OPERATION SAFE STREETS multi-agency initiative directed at the community issue of murder and gun crime, the HOT SPOTS Tip Card was identified as a potentially effective community outreach tool. The ICARE organization agreed to share the concept and to allow JSO to develop the content so it could be helpful in launching investigations, and to circulate the card to a broader audience, city-wide.

Today, Sheriff Rutherford will publicly thank the ICARE coalition for their ingenuity in creating the card and their generosity in sharing it with JSO. It will now be a part of the community outreach efforts already underway, encouraging citizens to partner with the police, anonymously or openly, to report crime.

Mr. Rob Sievert-Wagner, the lead organizer of ICARE, along with several other members of the organization's leadership, will be available to the media at Thursday's announcement. A list of those representatives from ICARE member churches is attached.

"I continue to be encouraged by the way citizens are joining in this effort to help drive down the murder rate and stop gun violence, by reporting crime. We want to help people get involved by making it as simple for them as possible, so now we're introducing yet another tool that is a safe and simple way to report crime.

"These community outreach efforts and raising public awareness, combined with the enhanced police presence on the streets, are all working," Rutherford said. "We appreciate ICARE's spirit of partnership in sharing the Tip Card tool with JSO and the community." Rutherford said. 

ICARE, founded in 1997, is a coalition of 25 organizations in Jacksonville representing a diverse cross-section of the faith community. The mission of ICARE is to powerfully address neighborhood and city-wide concerns by holding our economic and political systems and leaders accountable to act justly and fairly. They focus on the areas of Education; Health Care; and Crime. www.thedartcenter.org

The mission of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is to protect the lives and property of the citizens of this community, to preserve the peace and to prevent crime and disorder while constantly guarding personal liberties as prescribed by law. www.coj.net/sheriff
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