Then & Now

You hear it all the time.

“You live in Springfield?! How is it?  Do you feel safe there?” as the surprised look turns into genuine curiosity…or maybe concern for your personal safety.

Most of us have had that conversation with a coworker or friend, probably more than once.  Some of us look forward to it, as chance to squash stereotypes and rumor, while others dread it; justifying where you live can become tiresome.

It’s a common experience amongst Springfielders, and one that’s understandable. Years ago, but not that long ago really, Springfield was a neighborhood all too familiar with extreme poverty and serious crime. Shootings, robbery, drug dealing, prostitution. Not in the dark cover of night, but blatantly, confidently, in the bright sunshine of day. 

“It was not a place you’d want to be,” describes Michael Adams, a life-long Jacksonville resident. “Just walking down the street was dangerous back in the day, sometimes deadly if you made the wrong turn”.

Michael’s point of view was certainly not unique, or unjustified. Undoubtedly, Springfield was a hotbed of crime, violent crime, and poverty in Duval County for decades, peaking in the mid to late 80’s.  The stigma was well earned.

“That’s why long timers don’t trust it. Because we remember how it was.  New people, they don’t know anything about the history.  Fresh eyes and ears.  So they don’t have that baggage, I guess.”

Fast forward 20 years.  The neighborhood has changed drastically, almost unrecognizable to some.  Crime is still present, but not unusually high.  What were once open-air drug markets, attracting criminals and vagrants of all sorts, are now charming middle-class family homes.

Lex Dominguez, Zone 1 Narcotics Officer, reflects:

“I’ve been familiar with Zone 1 (which includes the Springfield Historic District) for about 10 years.  This is where I started”, Dominguez recalls. “The intersection of 3rd and Market Street and 6th and Market were dope holes ten years ago. Now, I don’t even bother them with anymore.  They’ve moved out.  It’s a lot different than 10 years ago”.

Doug Vanderlaan, an 8 year Springfield resident and current chairman of both the Urban Core CPAC (Citizens Planning Advisory Committee) and the Springfield chapter of Shadco, (Sheriffs Advisory Council) agrees.  And he would know; he lives at 5th & Market, in what was once a drug corridor between the two former “dope holes.”

“I tell people now and they don’t believe me”, Doug says with a smile on his face.

“It was a daily battle, and I enjoyed being on the frontlines, as strange as that sounds. It went beyond just calling the police for me.  I was known to shine my headlights on drug dealers, follow John’s around in my car until they left the neighborhood, and even set up my own confidential informant ring”, Doug explains.

“I used to talk to the drug dealers, the prostitutes, the users.  I got to know them and they got to know me a little bit.  It was useful.  In fact, I started to pay some of the users to supply me with inside information.  I would give them $5 and they would tell me where the new drug hotspot was, or where so-and-so hid his stash.  Then, I’d call the police and let them know.  One time, I called and reported that so-and-so a few blocks away had a silver tray full of cocaine on top of his old refrigerator.  It was that detailed.”

Eventually, pioneering such as that paid off.  It paid off big.  But just how big?

Share this!

Read more: Springfield’s Perception vs. Reality: Part 1 of 3 Crime