Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

Jacksonville, Florida has ranked #71 on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States. CQ Press puts together this list by analyzing FBI statistics. They pulled statistics on each city's murder, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, and grand theft auto rates.

Other Florida cities made the list. They are:

Orlando - #17
Miami Gardens - #35
Miami Beach - #42
Miami - #45
St. Petersburg - #53
Pompano Beach - #63
Tallahassee - #73
Ft. Lauderdale - #77
Melbourne - 84

The Duval County Jail now is now over capacity by 673 inmates. Officials point to high bonds on certain cases and less negotiated sentences with the state attorney's office.

When someone is arrested in Duval County, they are entitled to go to court within 24 hours of arrest for a judge to determine if there was probable cause for arrest and to establish a bond or release them on their own recognizance. (also called ROR) Officials point to very high bonds that are set in Jacksonville. Jacksonville has some of the highest bonds in Florida.

Officials also cite less plea negotiations taking place with the state attorney's office. The state attorney's office does not have to make offers in any criminal case, but if they did not, the system would be hopelessly overloaded.

Right now, if you are arrested for a third degree felony, you cannot enter a plea in first appearance court. (also called J-1) Officials have suggested that allowing people arrested for these felonies in Jacksonville to have the ability to enter a plea in J-1 if they wish.

Jacksonville Jaguar, Quentin Groves, has received a "warning" for leaving the scene of an accident while on the way to the airport for a game. He is accused of an improper lane change that caused an accident with $28,000 worth of damage to the cars. Groves then drove his car away and a witness chased him while calling police.

Groves was lucky because he was not arrested in Jacksonville. If the driver of any car is involved in any crash that results in damage to the property of another and the property (car) is being driven at the time, he is required to stop at the scene. If he does not, he could be arrested for leaving the scene of an accident in Jacksonville, which is a second degree misdemeanor punishable for up to 60 days in jail.

If the driver is involved in a crash that results in the death of any person, they must immediately stop at the scene. If the driver does not, he could be arrested for a first degree felony punishable for up to 30 years in prison. If the driver is also DUI in Jacksonville, he faces a 2 year minimum mandatory punishment.

More and more women are being sentenced to prison time in Florida. According the the Department of Corrections, the amount of women sentenced to prison time has doubled in 10 years. This year, there are 882 women under 25 years-old currently in prison. The breakdown of the ages of these women is:

24 - 207 inmates

23 - 170

22 - 143

21 - 125

20 - 125

19 - 50

18 - 26

17 - 6

16 - 3

One of the reasons the number has gone up is juvenile "direct file" cases. This is when someone under 18 gets arrested for a felony and the government treats them as an adult. In Jacksonville, if a juvenile is arrested for a felony, especially one involving a gun or violence, there is a good chance they will be treated as an adult. The goal of any Jacksonville Juvenile Attorney is to keep their client in juvenile court.

There has been much debate about legalizing gambling in Florida. There is actually Florida law about gambling and bookmaking. To be convicted of Bookmaking, you have to:

1. Engage in Gambling

2. While engaged in Gambling, you took a bet.

3. The bet was on contest of skill, power, speed, or endurance. (sports)

If you need a criminal defense lawyer in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

The FBI keeps statistics every year on crime in America. Their analysis is called the Annual Uniform Crime Report. Part of the report is the number of crimes reported by region. For the "South", here are the statistics on specific crimes reported to the police:

Arson - down 1.1%
Grand Theft Auto - down 9%
Theft - up .1%
Burglary - up 2.8%
Robbery - down 1.4%
Rape - down 3.4
Homicide - down 6.7%

If you have been arrested in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm is here for you.

Duval County ranks #2 in Florida for the number of drivers who have caused 3 or more crashes between 2006 and 2008. Here are the top 5 number of drivers cited out of every 100,000:

Miami - 20.9 drivers

Duval County - 55.4 drivers

Pinnellas County - 37.9 drivers

Hillsborough County - 27.6 drivers

Broward County - 12.4 drivers

If you have been arrested on driving charges in Duval County, call our Duval County Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

Crime rates in Tampa, Florida are down thanks to a new program instituted by the police there. According to the Tampa Police Department, crime is down 46% from 2002. These crimes were reduced:

Aggravated Assault
Thefts
Burglary
Robbery
Homicide
Rape

Tampa police made an effort to target people committing burglaries, robberies, grand theft autos, and car burglaries. In targeting these crimes, overall crime went down.

In Jacksonville, a large percentage of daily arrests are for driving on suspended license. People are arrested for driving a car. It keeps the arrest numbers high, but does little for reducing overall violent crime.

If you have been arrested in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

The Ft. Meyers police department has dismissed 2 clerks who were charged with entering information for the department. Helen Lehman and Carol Bass have been fired for using the information database, DAVID. DAVID stands for the "Florida Driver and Vehicle Identification Database". In addition to a driver's history, the system also stores driver's license pictures. The women were looking up potential suitors before dates.

When Jacksonville police pull you over, they often run a DAVID check. The system also allows police to see your title information and any potential liens. This helps JSO when they make an arrest for a felony in Jacksonville. If you used your car in the commission of a felony, they can seize it. JSO checks to see if your car is paid off and if it is, there is a greater chance they will choose to seize it.

If you were arrested in Jacksonville for a felony, contact our Jacksonville Felony Attorneys for a free consultation at (904) 634-0900.

Police in Minnisotta are looking for Colleen Hauser, the mother of a boy who has cancer and refuses to get the boy treatment for religious reasons. She failed to appear at a court hearing that was scheduled. A judge determined that Hauser was neglecting her son because she refused to allow him to get chemo.

If you miss a scheduled court date in criminal court in Jacksonville, a judge can issue a "capias". A capias is a bench warrant, which means the judge is ordering the police to bring you to appear in front of him or her. A capias usually has a bond attached to it, which means if you are arrested on a capias in Jacksonville, you can bond out of jail before your upcoming court date.

If you have an outstanding capias, contact our Jacksonville Capias Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Every year, the Department of Justice tracks statistics on U.S. prisons. Prisons are institutions that holds sentenced inmates over 1 year. In 2008:

Women in prison (federal or state) rose 1.2% from 2007.

The number of men in prison increased .7% from 2007.

2.3 million inmates were in prisons across the country.

4777 black males out of every 100,000 were in prison.

727 out of every 100,000 white men were in prison.

Contact our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900 if you have any questions about criminal charges in Jacksonville, Florida.

The U.S. Department of Justice has many duties, one of which is keeping track of jail statistics in the United States. Jails hold inmates awaiting trial and sentenced inmates for up to one year. Some interesting jail stats:

In 2008, there were 258 our of every 100,000 people in jail.

Almost 90% of inmates in jail is male.

During the past 18 years, the number of black inmates has grown by 3.3%. White inmates grew by 3.8% and Hispanic inmates grew by 4.5%.

If you are facing criminal charges in Northeast Florida, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Orlando DJ, Shannon Burke, has been arrested on several charges. He is accused of shooting his wife's dog and in the process, hitting his wife as well. He was arrested for Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon and Felony Animal Cruelty.

Even though Burke posted the bond, he could not get out of jail because the new charges violated his probation for DUI. When you are on probation in Jacksonville or all of Florida and you are arrested on new charges, your probation will be violated as long as the new arrest is supported by probable cause.

If you have been arrested for violation of probation in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Probation Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A new law was passed during this legislative session that will make everyone arrested for a felony in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida give a DNA sample to put in a database. The law has to be signed by the governor to go into effect.

As it stands now, you only have to give your DNA if you are enter a plea to a felony or are found guilty of a felony. If the law is signed, even people who are wrongly arrested in Jacksonville or people who have their felony charges dropped in Jacksonville will still have to give their DNA.

If you have been arrested for a felony in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Felony Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

The anti-crime program, the Jacksonville Journey, has unveiled its new budget and its members say $20 million is needed for the year. Some of the money would fund:

40 JSO officers ($3.9 million)

44 Jacksonville Corrections Officers ($1.5 million)

Jacksonville Juvenile Crime Prevention ($214,200)

Florida Ex-Offender Programs ($600,000)

If you have any questions about criminal charges in Jacksonville, criminal charges in Clay County, criminal charges in Nassau County, or criminal charges in St. Johns County, call our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released crime statistics for all Florida counties, including arrest statistics for Clay County. The department found Clay County's 2008 crime numbers were:

Murder - 5
Rape - 68
Robbery - 110
Aggravated Assault - 744
Burglary - 1234
Theft - 3642
Grand Theft Auto - 262

If you have been arrested in Clay County, contact our Clay County Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

According to the 2008 Annual Crime Report published by FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), Jacksonville's statistics are as follows:

116 arrests in Jacksonville for homicide

276 arrests for rape in Jacksonville

3061 arrests for robbery in Jacksonville

4935 arrested for aggravated assault in Jacksonville

12682 arrested in Jacksonville for burglary

32922 arrested in Jacksonville for thefts

4229 arrests in Jacksonville for grand theft auto

If you are facing criminal charges in Jacksonville, Florida, call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyzes crime statistics for all of Florida and according to their 2008 Annual Report:

Florida Homicide Arrests Total - 801 (722 men and 79 women)

Florida Sex Crimes Arrests Total - 2439 (2394 men and 45 women)

Florida Robbery Arrests Total - 8910 (7941 men and 969 women)

Florida Burglary Arrests Total - 21715 (19469 men and 2246 women)

Florida Theft Arrests Total - 84364 (51637 men and 32727 women)

Florida Aggravated Assault Arrests Total - 31391 (24446 men and 6945 women)

Florida Drug Crime Arrests Total - 146905 (118521 men and 28384 women)

Florida DUI Arrests Total - 61354 (47019 men and 14335 women)

If you have criminal charges in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement just released the 2008 Annual Crime Report for the state of Florida. The report contains a large amount of crime information, including arrest statistics for the state. According to the report:

1,031,627 people were arrested in Florida in 2008

889,465 were males and 260,468 were females

118,306 were arrested juveniles in Florida

If you have been arrested in Northeast Florida, contact our Northeast Florida Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Crime has dropped 46% in Tampa, according to a study analyzing crimes committed during the past 6 years in this Florida city. The article points out that the major categories of crimes followed by the study were:

1. Sex Crimes
2. Thefts
3. Grand Theft Auto
4. Aggravated Assaults
5. Robberies
6. Burglaries
7. Homicides

Call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900 if you have any questions about arrests in Jacksonville, Florida.