Protesters with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee rally in front of Jacksonville City Hall on Feb. 25, 2025. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on February 26, 2025 at 2:38 pm
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A grassroots group in Jacksonville is protesting the possibility of building a new Duval County detention facility outside Downtown Jacksonville.
The Jacksonville Community Action Committee demonstrated before Tuesday’s City Council meeting saying the city’s plans to potentially move the jail from East Bay Street to a different location is being considered without direct input, or a vote, from the people.
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Protestors chanted “No new jail” and held up signs saying “Invest in the community.”
Organizer Monica Gold worries about what she calls a backroom deal because the city hasn’t explained where a billion-dollar jail would be built or where the money would come from.
Last year, a special City Council committee was commissioned to review Sheriff’s Office facilities. The committee was charged with exploring locations, cost, health care, mental health care and other issues involved in moving the jail, but no action has been taken yet.
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City officials say a new facility would allow for a more modern approach to incarceration, focusing on medical services and rehabilitation in a campus-style setting.
Jacksonville City Council member Ken Amaro said the idea of a new jail is top of mind for him.
Speaking Wednesday on WJCT’s First Coast Connect program, Amaro pointed to studies that show the building is woefully inadequate and people in this community want to feel safe but a new jail is still only in the talking stages at the council level.
“It’s unfortunate that the narrative yesterday made it seem there was a decision pending, that legislation had been introduced, a vote was coming. I’m pretty sure that as we go through the deliberations all of this will be taken into context.”
Meanwhile, Community Action Committee organizers say a new jail isn’t needed.
“They need to fix the current one that exists,” said Monica Gold. “If they care so much about the humanity of the inmates, then they should address that here and now with the current jail.”
Organizers say public funds would be better spent on affordable housing, health care and infrastructure, especially on Jacksonville’s northside.
