Published on Sunday, September 3, 2006
in the Florida Times-Union

Price reduction frees up $2 million to fight crime

Jacksonville will get an extra $2 million to help reduce the city's homicide rate.

Gov. Jeb Bush said the added state assistance will come in the form of a $2 million reduction in the cost of providing health care to Duval County inmates, freeing up that money to be used for crime prevention.

Bush instructed the Duval County Health Department, which in August signed a $9.4 million contract with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for inmate care, to reduce its price by $2 million.

"This comes as good news," Sheriff John Rutherford said Friday. He said he will confer with the mayor and City Council leadership to determine how best to use the funds.

Mayor John Peyton said state Sen. Jim King was instrumental in talking with the governor to obtain the reduction.

Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj said the state is reducing the cost of service without any reduction in the quality or the amount of care.

"The governor understands the need to combat the crime problem," she said.

The Sheriff's Office contract for inmate health care had been with a private provider for the past decade. Under the new contract, the Health Department will assume and expand medical services within the jail facilities and will create an on-site clinic that officials said would do away with the need to take many inmates to Shands Jacksonville.

Others have been called to service to help reduce violent crime in Jacksonville, where there have been 103 homicides this year.

The Florida Highway Patrol, for example, added 30 of its troopers to the uniformed police on the streets of Jacksonville over the past four weekends.

The effort cost the Highway Patrol $122,000, but had some good results.

The deployment, called Operation Road Block North, reaped 77 drug arrests, 63 other arrests, 17 handguns, one AK-47 and $65,152 in seized currency, according to Lt. Bill Leeper, FHP spokesman.

The operation was part of the state's response to Peyton's call to Tallahassee for help to quell the killings.

Drugs seized by the FHP during included 493 grams of marijuana, 284 grams of cocaine, 106 grams of crack cocaine and 2,280 pills of various drugs including Xanax, Ecstasy, hydrocodone, methadone and Darvocet.

In addition, two of the people arrested on drug charges also were wanted for questioning in two Jacksonville homicides, Leeper said.

During the four weekends of the operation, troopers also made 2,150 traffic stops and issued 803 traffic citations, 1,032 written warnings and 1,299 faulty equipment notices.

The FHP plans future weekend patrols in Jacksonville, Leeper said, but another source of funding will have to be found.