With the most recent St. Patrick’s Day and Memorial Day incidents in our downtown area, we are unfortunately reminded how critically important it is to feel safe and protected. Chief Smith and our police department do an outstanding job, with the resources they have, in keeping us safe and in their everyday tasks of patrol, detectives, services, and administration. They demonstrate excellence daily, and I’m so thankful for our first responders. It’s a role that all of us need and few of us would undertake. Both of these most recent incidents, and most of our high-profile crimes over the years, have been perpetrated by individuals who are not from the beach. Separating those who visit Jax Beach into “good actors” versus “bad actors” is a very difficult endeavor, and to be clear, my stance is that all are welcome to our great community, but you will act lawfully and respectfully while here or pay the consequences. Better yet, go somewhere else.
As I requested at our Council meeting on March 18, the evening following the St. Patrick’s Day incident, we must craft and pass legislation that makes it illegal to have excessively large gatherings in our central business district or along the adjacent beachfront without a City-issued special event permit. This will help our police proactively disperse these gatherings with the assurance they have the legal authority with which to do so. Chief Smith and his team have put into action increased patrols, focused cyber monitoring, and renewed intra-local arrangements with our neighboring law enforcement agencies, which have proven helpful. But all of these steps are not enough.
To that end, I support boosting our public safety budget for the upcoming fiscal year by adding additional officers and technology to help further deter such activity and all crime. Our City has grown to over 23,000 residents, and we must increase our police force correspondingly.