Tattoed forearms and hands rest on cell bars.

Analysis: Higher arrest and incarceration rates for Florida girls vs. boys

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Non-felony offenses accounted for two out of three arrests of juvenile girls in Florida, according to “The Justice for Girls Blueprint: The Way Forward for Florida,” recently released by the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center.

Two-thirds of the state's justice-involved girls but roughly one-third of boys — 66% versus 38% — were arrested for felony offenses. Two-thirds of girls and almost one-fifth of boys were incarcerated for non-felonies, according to the center's analysis of data from Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Dashboard, Department of Health Youth Substance Abuse Survey and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey...

Don't Say Gay Florida: Smiling white man in blue suit sits at table holding up 2-page ocument in a display folder syrrounded by smiling white adults and children

‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people. The legislation has pushed Florida and DeSantis, an ascending Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, to the forefront of the country's culture wars.

Jacksonville, Florida's gun-murder capitol: bridge going over water in Jacksonville

In Jacksonville, Florida’s gun-murder capitol, locals assess the merits of crime prevention and punishment

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Adrift after his father was shot and killed during an argument with a man at a Jacksonville, Fla. bar, then 14-year-old Robert LeCount spent several years burnishing his reputation as a drug-dealer and star athlete.

“We had football rivalry, we had basketball rivalry, we had baseball rivalry. That's how we dealt with a lot of things. Our energy was in the sports and in different activities.” said LeCount, now 63, a Disciples of Christ pastor whose son, then 22, was shot in their Florida hometown in 2003.

lead poisoning: Video screen with text and red play arrow

Florida Attorney Believes Lead Poisoning Is Partial Explanation For Low-income Neighborhood Crimes

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VIDEOGRAPHER: JACOB LANGSTON
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Teri Sopp’s former self stares down from a wall in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office. The painting, a gift more than a dozen years ago, bears silent witness as she works to free people also frozen in time, serving lifelong sentences for crimes committed before they turned 18. For one client, she’s arguing reduced culpability because of lead. She expects to argue the same for other clients. Sopp is the director of the resentencing project for juveniles serving life without parole.

resentencing: The father holds the wand and is hitting the son with it, vintage color tone

Abused, Often Homeless, Florida Man Got 2 Life Sentences At 17

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida — In the decades after the civil rights era, Black communities in Jacksonville remained disproportionately impoverished, blighted and policed. Some activists would say this continues to present day. This was the world in which John grew up. Born in the 1970s, John’s childhood was characterized by instability, neglect and abuse. John (a pseudonym) had lived in two dozen homes by the time he moved out.

Florida: Beaming woman in flounced light blue top, jeans, necklace, earrings talks to three young women sitting down; one is turned to her and smiling.

Why Focusing On Women, Girls Could Reduce Gun Violence

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida — Rosie Brooks has experienced both of a mother’s worst nightmares involving gun violence. Her son spent a decade behind bars for an accidental shooting in which a young woman was killed. Then, instead of a joyous reunion when he was released from prison in January 2018, it was a day of mourning. He went from behind bars to standing at his mother’s side at his sister’s funeral. Brooks’ daughter Sahara Barkley had been shot on New Year’s Day at a gas station.

Jacksonville: Woman wearing mask holds a sign with 8 minutes 46 seconds on it

Jacksonville Activist Groups Work Together on Police Reform

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It was drizzling steadily on June 6 when one of the largest civil rights protests in Jacksonville history began amassing in front of the courthouse. The rain stopped by the time protesters took to the streets, flanked by peacekeepers and organizers with bullhorns leading chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, racist cops have got to go,” “No justice, no peace” and the like. Organizers say up to an estimated 10,000 people marched for racial equality and police reform that day. The crowd skewed young, but all ages were represented; demographics ran the gamut.

3 smiling men pose wearing maroon Cities United T-shirts

Studies Show That Violence Prevention Saves Cities Money — Lots of Money

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In the 18 years Paul Tutwiler has led the Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation in Florida, the organization has tried a variety of strategies to reduce the neighborhood’s high levels of violent crime, all of them in collaboration with the local sheriff’s office. None have worked.