Despite pleas from groups, City Council president ends Safer Together committee
A day after 15 community organizations or individuals signed an open letter to City Council President Sam Newby, imploring him to continue the work being done by Jacksonvilleโs Safer Together Committee, Newby responded with a memo thanking them for their service -- which he says is complete.
State representative, community organizations encourage Safer Together work to continue
Fifteen community organizations or individuals -- including State Rep. Angie Nixon -- have signed an open letter to City Council President Sam Newby, imploring him to continue the work being done by Jacksonvilleโs Safer Together Committee.
โSafer Togetherโ explores how mentally ill are treated by police
Members of the โSafer Togetherโ panel meeting Friday heard from experts and took questions from people to further examine whatโs working and whatโs not. Of the 2,466 inmates at the Duval County jail, 119 of them have a known mental illness, according to the Jacksonville Sheriffโs Office. How people with mental illness are treated during their arrest, and the programs that exist to help them -- were just a few of the many topics discussed during the virtual session between council members and the general public. The city launched a Mental Health Offender Program one month ago to help repeat offenders with a mental illness. Mental health advocates also talked about the expansion of a co-responder program, which teams up mental health care experts with officers responding to calls for service.