The State Attorney's Office, 4th Judicial Circuit Court is requesting technical assistance from Prosecutor’s Center for Excellence (PCE) to assist with the implementation of its BWC policy from April 2018. The SAO seeks to build on this work with additional TTA and consulting from PCE in the following areas: its internal BWC policy; its BWC policy related to officer-involved shootings; violence in the community. BJA NTTAC referred this request to CNA.
The State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 4th Judicial (SAO) serves Clay, Duval, and Nassau counties and is responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases for the entire circuit. Jacksonville is the largest city in the continental United States by land area, and the city of Jacksonville is synonymous with Duval County due to city-county consolidation.
Although overall crime rates have been decreasing, homicides, aggravated assaults, and other instances of violence persist in Jacksonville. This high level of violence is often attributable to a small group of young adults and gang affiliates. The majority of violent crimes are committed with guns, and many of the trigger-pullers are prohibited persons. Drive-by shootings and shootings aimed at rival gang members are an obstinate and ongoing problem. Targeting, prosecuting, and incapacitating these violent offenders is a top priority of the SAO. As part of the strategy to target these violent offenders, the SAO also seeks to engage our community to build trust and transparency and further community partnerships.
The SAO issued its initial officer involved shooting policy in 2017. At that time, very few body-worn cameras (BWC) were in use within the circuit, and they were not addressed in the policy. Since then, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office — the largest law enforcement agency in the circuit — outfitted its patrol officers with BWC. As the implementation of BWC becomes more prevalent, so does the video capture of incidents where law enforcement officers have used deadly force. It is clear there is a need for a uniform approach to the public disclosure of BWC footage in officer involved shootings (OIS).
These policies and initiatives will be used internally for prosecutors and staff and will also be used externally for the office’s engagement with community members, law enforcement partners, service providers, and faith-based leadership. All written policies will be published on the office’s website for external use.
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The Prosecutor’s Center for Excellence (PCE) provided training and technical assistance (TTA) to the State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s 4th Judicial (SAO) to prepare for the Body Worn Camera (BWC) program being implemented by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). At the time of the TTA, JSO had not decided on a BWC system. PCE spent a day with lawyers and staff proving training on basic issues related to BWC and strategizing about how best to move forward. Many of the recommendations were explored with JSO to determine which system and what capabilities were needed to preserve evidence and create an orderly and efficient flow of BWC recordings to the SAO. The recommendations included short-term and long-term considerations aimed at enhancing the BWC program and its integration into existing SAO systems.
The SAO seeks to build on this work with additional TTA and consulting from PCE in the following areas: its internal BWC policy; its BWC policy related to officer involved shootings; violence in the community; the creation of a community advisory board; and issues related to prosecutorial wellness resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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- General information regarding the request for TTA services, i.e., the who, what, where, when, and why.
- The organizational and/or community needs specific to the request for TTA services.
- The benefits or anticipated outcomes from the receipt of TTA services.
By submitting this application to BJA NTTAC, I understand that upon approval of this application for TTA, the requestor agrees to keep BJA NTTAC informed of any circumstances that may impact the delivery of the TTA, including changes in the date of the event, event cancellation, or difficulties communicating with the assigned TTA provider.
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