JSO Community Survey
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Community Survey 2016
Every two years, JSO commissions an independent survey of Duval County residents to gauge public perception of the department - how safe people feel, how well they think JSO is doing its job, and how they interact with and consume information from JSO. The figures below are drawn directly from JSO Report 2016 Final VersionreportAccessed Sep 24, 2026.
About this survey
Adults age 18+ in Jacksonville, excluding the Beaches communities Random-digit-dial live telephone interviews; English and Spanish; 81% cellular, 18% landline, less than 1% unknown
- Completed Interviews
- 1,711
- Margin of Error
- ±2.37%
- Confidence Level
- N/A
- Field Dates
- November 14, 2016 to December 11, 2016
- Weighted Results
- Yes
A note on methodology: UNF PORL; six patrol-zone strata with quotas. Weighting within zones by age, gender and race to 2015 ACS; additional overall population weighting. AAPOR RR4 response rate 16.5%, including partial interviews. No design-effect adjustments. Zone margins: 1 ±6.85, 2 ±5.67, 3 ±5.61, 4 ±5.61, 5 ±5.71, 6 ±5.58 percentage points. Source-page fields use printed report pagination; PDF page is printed page plus one. Field end date follows methodology p.3 (December 11); summary p.2 says December 12. Voting table p.47 reports 81%, narrative 80%. Conditional bases preserved per estimate: discourtesy n=196, neighborhood requests n=1406, race n=1646. Small subgroup cells require caution. Published <1% and dash cells have NULL percentages and literal values in notes; not_reported status means no exact numeric percentage, not necessarily an unasked question. Some dont-know subgroup columns on pp.13,39,47 total only 1% plus dashes; preserved, flagged for caution. Reported rounded components sometimes differ by one point from narrative totals. Race/ethnicity categories follow the report; Hispanic respondents skip the race question, and Asian is not separately reported. No personal police-brutality-worry question was asked. Perceptions do not establish actual agency performance.
Job Approval & Public Safety Perception
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is handling its job?
78% of respondents say the JSO is handling its job well.
- Strongly Approve
- 35%
- Somewhat Approve
- 43%
- Somewhat Disapprove
- 7%
- Strongly Disapprove
- 7%
- Don’t Know
- 7%
- Refusal
- 1%
You feel safe in your neighborhood.
88% of respondents feel safe in their own neighborhood.
- Strongly Agree
- 60%
- Somewhat Agree
- 28%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 6%
- Strongly Disagree
- 5%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —
You feel safe in the areas of Jacksonville that you go to most often, for example for work or leisure?
86% feel safe in the areas of Jacksonville they visit most often.
- Strongly Agree
- 52%
- Somewhat Agree
- 34%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 7%
- Strongly Disagree
- 6%
- Don’t Know
- 1%
- Refusal
- —
You think Jacksonville is, overall, a safe place to live.
70% think Jacksonville is, overall, a safe place to live.
- Strongly Agree
- 26%
- Somewhat Agree
- 44%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 15%
- Strongly Disagree
- 13%
- Don’t Know
- 2%
- Refusal
- —
Your concerns about crime or public safety in Jacksonville are:
About the same you’d have no matter where you lived was the most common way respondents described their public-safety concerns relative to elsewhere, at 56%.
- Less so than if you lived elsewhere
- 13%
- About the same you’d have no matter where you lived
- 56%
- More so than if you lived elsewhere
- 25%
- Don’t Know
- 6%
- Refusal
- —
Investigations, Records & Accountability
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
JSO does a good job in the handling of public records requests.
45% agree the JSO does a good job handling public records requests.
- Strongly Agree
- 25%
- Somewhat Agree
- 20%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 4%
- Strongly Disagree
- 4%
- Don’t Know
- 47%
- Refusal
- —
JSO does a good job of keeping confidential investigative records that are NOT public record in accordance with the law.
49% agree the JSO does a good job keeping confidential investigative records confidential.
- Strongly Agree
- 29%
- Somewhat Agree
- 20%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 3%
- Strongly Disagree
- 4%
- Don’t Know
- 44%
- Refusal
- —
Overall, JSO does a good job handling complex investigations.
68% agree the JSO does a good job handling complex investigations.
- Strongly Agree
- 35%
- Somewhat Agree
- 33%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 6%
- Strongly Disagree
- 7%
- Don’t Know
- 19%
- Refusal
- —
JSO does a good job investigating officer-involved shootings.
61% agree the JSO does a good job investigating officer-involved shootings.
- Strongly Agree
- 32%
- Somewhat Agree
- 29%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 8%
- Strongly Disagree
- 10%
- Don’t Know
- 21%
- Refusal
- —
JSO does a good job of following up on all allegations of police misconduct with competent administrative and/or criminal investigations.
57% agree the JSO does a good job following up on allegations of police misconduct.
- Strongly Agree
- 28%
- Somewhat Agree
- 29%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 9%
- Strongly Disagree
- 10%
- Don’t Know
- 24%
- Refusal
- —
JSO does a good job of reporting back to the community about its findings on investigations of possible police misconduct.
Only 64% believe the JSO does a good job reporting back to the community about its misconduct investigations.
- Strongly Agree
- 30%
- Somewhat Agree
- 34%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 11%
- Strongly Disagree
- 12%
- Don’t Know
- 13%
- Refusal
- —
Staffing, Funding & Personal Encounters
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
JSO has enough officers to meet the city’s needs.
36% agree the JSO has enough officers to meet the city's needs.
- Strongly Agree
- 13%
- Somewhat Agree
- 23%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 20%
- Strongly Disagree
- 35%
- Don’t Know
- 8%
- Refusal
- —
JSO is responsible with taxpayer money and allocates its resources well.
60% agree the JSO is responsible with taxpayer money.
- Strongly Agree
- 24%
- Somewhat Agree
- 36%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 8%
- Strongly Disagree
- 10%
- Don’t Know
- 21%
- Refusal
- 1%
JSO needs more funding.
73% agree the JSO needs more funding.
- Strongly Agree
- 52%
- Somewhat Agree
- 21%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 8%
- Strongly Disagree
- 9%
- Don’t Know
- 9%
- Refusal
- —
In your encounters with JSO personnel, you find them to be courteous and competent.
79% who personally interacted with JSO personnel found them courteous and competent.
- Strongly Agree
- 52%
- Somewhat Agree
- 27%
- Somewhat Disagree
- 7%
- Strongly Disagree
- 6%
- I have had no interactions with the police
- 7%
- Don’t know
- 1%
- Refusal
- —
Why have you found their behaviors to be discourteous or incompetent?
Rude, Arrogant, Unfriendly, or Mean was the most cited reason among respondents who found JSO personnel discourteous or incompetent, at 46%.
- Rude, Arrogant, Unfriendly, or Mean
- 46%
- Judge/Assume people guilty, Harassment
- 8%
- General Unprofessionalism
- 5%
- Inflated Sense of Power
- 5%
- Use of Force against the public
- 4%
- Racial profiling or Stereotyping
- 6%
- Lack of action
- 5%
- Bad arrest/Pulled over experience
- 11%
- Nonsensical response
- 2%
- Other
- 8%
Body Cameras
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
Do you support or oppose the use of body cameras for police officers?
93% support the use of body cameras for police officers.
- Strongly Support
- 78%
- Somewhat Support
- 15%
- Somewhat Oppose
- 3%
- Strongly Oppose
- 2%
- Don’t Know
- 2%
- Refusal
- —
If adopted by JSO, the body camera program is projected to cost upwards of $25 million over the next 10 years. Would you…
Do Both was the most common answer for how to prioritize the body-camera program's cost, at 56%.
- Like to implement the body camera program
- 18%
- Rather spend that money to put more police officers on the streets
- 18%
- Do Both
- 56%
- Do Neither
- 5%
- Don’t Know
- 3%
- Refusal
- 1%
Contact With JSO
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
Have you called the police in the past year?
32% called the police at least once in the past year.
- Yes
- 32%
- No
- 67%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —
Was it an emergency 9-1-1 call or was it a non-emergency call to the police department?
Non- Emergency call was the most common type of call to police, at 60%.
- Emergency 9-1-1
- 31%
- Non- Emergency call
- 60%
- Both
- 8%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —
How many times did you call Emergency 9-1-1 in the past year?
1 was the most common answer for how many times respondents called 9-1-1 in the past year, at 52%.
- 1
- 52%
- 2
- 28%
- 3
- 12%
- 4
- 5%
- 5
- 2%
- More than 5
- 1%
- Don’t Know
- 1%
- Refusal
- —
How many times did you call the non-emergency police number in the past year?
1 was the most common answer for how many times respondents called the non-emergency line in the past year, at 43%.
- 0
- 19%
- 1
- 43%
- 2
- 20%
- 3
- 7%
- 4
- 4%
- 5
- 1%
- More than 5
- 5%
- Don’t Know
- 1%
- Refusal
- —
Have you had NON EMERGENCY contact with JSO (police, civilian employees or corrections officers and employees) in the past year? (Non-emergency includes: non-injury crash, crime from the past, reporting tips to the police, noise complaints, etc.)
46% had non-emergency contact with JSO in the past year.
- Yes
- 46%
- No
- 54%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —
Public Safety Priorities
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
If JSO could do one thing for you in your neighborhood, what would it be?
Increase Patrols/Visibility/Presence was the most common thing respondents asked JSO to do for their neighborhood, at 48%.
- Increase Patrols/Visibility/Presence
- 48%
- Strong Speeding Enforcement
- 5%
- Quicker Response Times
- 3%
- More Community Outreach/Integration
- 9%
- Reduce Drug Dealing
- 3%
- Tougher on or Reduce Crime
- 3%
- More Surveillance
- 1%
- Increase Officers in High Crime Areas
- 1%
- Increase Bike Patrol
- 1%
- Increase Foot Patrol
- 1%
- Nothing, Doing a Great Job
- 10%
- Show more Respect and Equal Treatment
- 1%
- Increased Traffic Control
- 2%
- Stop Violence Against Citizens
- 1%
- More Youth Programs/Children Focused Policing
- 1%
- Focus on More Serious Crimes
- —
- Generally Improve Safety
- 2%
- Leave Respondent/Neighborhood Alone
- 1%
- Completely Unrelated to JSO
- —
- Increase Street Lights
- 1%
- Address Homelessness
- —
- Do Their Job Better
- 1%
- Narrow Specific Issues
- 1%
- Other
- 2%
News Habits
Out of 1711 completed interviews.
During a typical week, how many days do you watch local news on TV, not including sports?
Respondents watch local TV news an average of 4.1 out of 7 days a week.
- 0
- 16%
- 1
- 9%
- 2
- 9%
- 3
- 9%
- 4
- 6%
- 5
- 9%
- 6
- 3%
- 7
- 39%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —
During a typical week, how many days do you read the news in a printed newspaper, not including sports?
Respondents read local news in a printed newspaper an average of 1.3 out of 7 days a week.
- 0
- 68%
- 1
- 7%
- 2
- 4%
- 3
- 4%
- 4
- 2%
- 5
- 1%
- 6
- 1%
- 7
- 12%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —
During a typical week, how many days do you watch, read or listen to news on the Internet, not including sports?
Respondents watch, read, or listen to local news online an average of 4.2 out of 7 days a week.
- 0
- 21%
- 1
- 5%
- 2
- 8%
- 3
- 9%
- 4
- 5%
- 5
- 7%
- 6
- 2%
- 7
- 43%
- Don’t Know
- —
- Refusal
- —