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

[mySpringfield]

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?

Full Article

[Julie Anne]

Excellent article Bill! I really appreciated the stats, very impressive. It has been so hard to get actual stats as we are lumped in with the rest of Zone1, which a lot of people do not understand. You hear it on the news all the time "a shooting in Springfield" which actually occurred way up on 54th st. A fantastic side effect of the vigilince of JSO and residents: crime is dropping in the border neighborhoods too. It would be interesting to do a comparison of crime stats in all of Zone 1 over the past five years, I am sure we would see a drop overall!

[Miss Fixit]

Bill, thanks so much for everything you do for the neighborhood. This is great information.

[Gloria]

great article -- full of important information

[jbm32206]

it's indeed a good article and I appreciate your work and efforts. I've been living here for over 10 years and like Doug, (although not to the extent he did) I worked on chasing the unsavory characters (drug dealers, hookers, etc.) from my area. When I first moved onto Walnut, there were hookers and drug dealing up and down the street in broad daylight and of course, into the night. They were bold and conducted their business right there in public view. Couldn't begin to count the times, just walking my dog, how many crimes I witnessed. I'd shine my flashlight in cars parked along the street where the hookers were busy with their johns...how many license plate numbers I reported to the police...or how many times I was threatened. things like that. It took some doing, but they basically moved on.

Now I find the neighborhood, as a whole, has made tremendous strides and has become a much, much safer area. It's the work of JSO and neighbors working together to have reached where we are now. The thing is, our vigilance must not stop, we must continue to work together.

[crissiecudd]

We moved to Jacksonville nearly 4 years ago, in part, because we fell in love with its historic areas, especially Springfield. But friends who had lived in Jacksonville years ago warned us away from Springfield. Obviously, we ignored them and finally moved here 4 months ago. They visited it yesterday and were amazed at the changes and acknowledged that Springfield is, indeed, the wonderful place we had been describing to them!
Great article, Bill!

[aboston]

more new homeowners means less criminals and chance to commit crime. and maybe when the contracts come up on the section 8 housing they wont be renewed. 2nd and market could be wonderful. liberty st apts are bad news.

[bananas]

I have customers ask me all the time about crime in Springfield and I am hard pressed to be able to actually direct them to accurate stats - this is great! Thank you for taking the time to separate us and look closely at the District. We all know that we have felt a decrease but to see the numbers is great!

So glad you bought here and not Riverside Bill - you are such a great asset!

[CityLife]

Agreed Bananas, it was a great piece by Bill.

I was the one quoted in the story as saying that Springfield wasn't really on my radar to move to until recently. It was very difficult to convince my wife to live here. She is from Stuart, Florida which is a fairly well to do suburban community north of West Palm Beach. So naturally when I drove her around Springfield a few years ago, she didn't think it was really a safe place to move. It took quite a few drives to the neighborhood to get her comfortable. People who grow up in the suburbs just aren't used to seeing transients in residential areas and it takes some getting used to.

I personally know of two guys who want to buy and rehab homes in Springfield, but aren't able to convince their wives of it. One of them is a general contractor and would like to rehab a home or two a year, but the wife is just not having it. Pieces like this definitely help to show that their perception isn't quite reality.

[jrtmom]

No offense to you Jax natives out there, but we absolutely hated it here for the first 15 months that we lived here. Loved the job, hated the town. Narrow choices in shopping and dining, didn't like the redneck feeling, etc. Then we found SPR. OMG, what a refreshing change from the rest of Jax. So we moved 4 years ago at the height of the housing market. Yes, I'm upside down in my house, but I would make the same decision again. If I am going to live in Jax, it will be nowhere else. And people who don't get it - stay in the burbs. We will do all of our social stuff and Make it Happen days and everything else that is just part of this community....gladly!! We look at the infrequent mishaps and transient issues as entertainment and not problems...it's all in the perspective.