Jacksonville clergy and communities ask sheriff to institute an adult citation program

Dan Scanlan, Florida Times-Union
·6 min read
Jacksonville's ICARE program tried to schedule a sit-down meeting and deliver a written statement to Sheriff Mike Williams. When told the sheriff was not in and failing to get his aide by phone, the Rev. Tan Moss (right), co-president of ICARE, presented Sgt. Mark Mason with letters of support for an adult civil citation program.
Jacksonville's ICARE program tried to schedule a sit-down meeting and deliver a written statement to Sheriff Mike Williams. When told the sheriff was not in and failing to get his aide by phone, the Rev. Tan Moss (right), co-president of ICARE, presented Sgt. Mark Mason with letters of support for an adult civil citation program.

A local group of ministers and faith leaders who have tried since August to meet with Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams to discuss an adult civil citation program for lesser, non-violent offenses tried the personal touch this week.

But ICARE — the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment made up of hundreds of members of the city's faith community, got no further than the Sheriff's Office's front door at 501 E. Bay St.

Twenty-seven leaders and members of ICARE, a nonprofit group working to address citywide concerns on issues of justice and fairness, took their request to the Sheriff's Office public entrance at 3 p.m. Monday. The Rev Tan Moss, ICARE co-president, asked security officers at the entrance if he could give 200 letters of support for adult civil citations to the sheriff and was told he was not in.

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He was told to call the sheriff's aide to schedule an appointment, but repeated calls went to voicemail.

"I have called this number probably 10 times in the past five to six months and I have not received any return calls," Moss said in one message to the aide. "If you get this message, if you can come down so we can converse with you, then hopefully call the sheriff and put a date on the calendar."

Moss and ICARE officials waited 10 minutes in the hope that someone would come down to take the letters, then asked if he could be taken to the aide to present them.

"If you have anything for the sheriff, I will be glad to take it for you and make sure she [his aide] gets it," Sgt. Mark Mason responded. "I will take it to his office."

The Rev. Tan Moss (right), co-president of Jacksonville's ICARE, tries to get Sheriff Mike Williams' aide on the phone after being told he is not available. ICARE sought a meeting with Williams to discuss an adult civil citation program for minor offenses and had letters of support.
The Rev. Tan Moss (right), co-president of Jacksonville's ICARE, tries to get Sheriff Mike Williams' aide on the phone after being told he is not available. ICARE sought a meeting with Williams to discuss an adult civil citation program for minor offenses and had letters of support.

ICARE is pressing police to stop arresting people for minor offenses, which can leave them with a lifetime criminal record for minor, non-violent offenses. Moss, also pastor at Greater Grant Memorial AME Church, said all those arrests are undermining public trust in law enforcement and not making the city safer.

Members said the Sheriff's Office knew they were coming Monday, adding that State Attorney Melissa Nelson had already indicated support of an adult civil citation program 10 months ago. So Moss expressed discouragement to their public appeal being rebuffed after previous attempts in recent months were never answered.

"Disappointment for the fact that we were unable to meet and disappointment for the thousands of people who continue to be arrested for minor offenses ... and have a criminal record that follows them for the rest of their lives," Moss said. "It complicates their lives so unnecessarily, without making our community safer. Most of these are people who have no criminal record and are not a threat to society."

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Clergy and staff at 38 Jacksonville churches, synagogues and other congregations in Duval County make up ICARE. They use what they call their "collective people power" to push the city's elected officials to find county-wide solutions to problems like crime, low graduation rates and homelessness.

With the number of shootings and homicides decreasing last year over previous highs, ICARE officials said they were pleased that Williams had fulfilled his commitment to pursue a contract with the National Network for Safe Communities. That allows local police to work with experts on violence reduction in Jacksonville.

But ICARE leaders say the number of homicides is still too high, and the Sheriff's Office's efforts to build trust in the community and reduce violence are being "undermined by over-policing."

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That includes arresting 32,000 people last year for minor issues such as driving with a suspended license, a cost for taxpayers as officers could be using that time to solve serious crimes, Moss said. And many of those arrests leave the community untrusting of police because those arrested end up with criminal records that cause problems with future employment, ICARE said.

In April ICARE conducted a 90-minute virtual meeting with members, pushing for adult civil citations for nonviolent crimes. That meeting was joined by hundreds of residents, clergy and the heads of many statewide denominations. The idea of adult civil citations received endorsements from men and women of the cloth, as well as support from Nelson and the State Attorney's Office.

Bill Hoff, a retired Presbyterian clergy member, speaks Monday at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office before he and members of the local community-based ICARE program tried to get a sit-down meeting with Sheriff Mike Williams about starting an adult civil citation program.
Bill Hoff, a retired Presbyterian clergy member, speaks Monday at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office before he and members of the local community-based ICARE program tried to get a sit-down meeting with Sheriff Mike Williams about starting an adult civil citation program.

Asked if she would work with ICARE and Williams to develop the program, Nelson said in that April conference that her office is committed to working on alternatives to arrests. The State Attorney's Office has already started one for driver's license suspensions and another for juvenile civil citations.

"We have already had meetings with JSO about creating an adult civil citation program and I absolutely support the notion of a pre-arrest diversion program," Nelson said at the time. But an adult citation program "has to be led by law enforcement" since the Sheriff's Office handles all cases before her office reviews them, Nelson added.

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Williams did not attend April's ICARE online conference, the Sheriff's Office saying then that he had an unexpected scheduling conflict come up and was forced to cancel. As far as the possibility of an adult civil citation program, the sheriff "would be open to conversations about the idea," a spokesman said. But that hasn't happened, Moss said.

"We will continue to press for a meeting on this very critical issue with our sheriff," he said.

The Sheriff's Office did not respond to an initial request for comment on Monday's developments.

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In 2017 Nelson implemented a program to allow first-time youths committing nonviolent misdemeanors to enter a diversion program instead of the criminal legal system. If they successfully complete the program, processed through Teen Court, they have no arrest record.

"They are given training and counseling if necessary, with community service when they complete the program," Moss said. "About 98 percent-plus of those kids never offend again. They go on to b productive citizens, so I know this civil citation program works."

And in 2018 ICARE worked with other organizations to get a criminal justice reform bill passed in the Florida Legislature. Part of the bill required each judicial circuit to create a civil citation or pre-arrest diversion program for minors and pushes for communities and educational institutions to implement pre-arrest diversion programs for adults.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville's ICARE seeks meeting with the sheriff but gets rebuffed