Justice Department awards Jacksonville more than $73 million

The Justice Department announced Nov. 6 that it awarded Jacksonville, Florida, more than $73 million through its Model Cities Initiative. The department said the city was chosen from nearly 50 applicants for a program intended to reduce violent crime.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will lead the local effort, according to the announcement. The department cited plans to expand investigative resources and forensic capabilities, add policing capacity and use new technology. Those descriptions set out planned work; they do not establish the grant’s eventual effect on crime.

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters welcomed the award in a statement included in the department’s announcement. He said it would help strengthen investigative capabilities and improve the agency’s technology, describing the funding as a “generational investment in our community’s safety.”

The department said it would work with participating jurisdictions to finalize and carry out their public-safety plans. Program funding can cover sworn officers and other personnel, equipment, forensic work, and services addressing mental health, substance use and repeat offending; the announcement does not itemize Jacksonville’s allocation across those categories.

The initiative was announced in June and directs nearly $300 million toward local public-safety strategies, according to the department. Jacksonville is one of four selected jurisdictions, alongside East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri. The Jacksonville award is one part of that broader federal effort.

What we know / what we don't

What we know

• Award exceeds $73 million, per DOJ; uses remain described as program categories.

What we don't know

• Detailed Jacksonville budget and independent impact evaluation not reviewed.

The source record

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Justice press release: Jacksonville Model Cities award

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