JSO History

The momentum to merge Duval County and the City of Jacksonville began to accelerate in the early to mid-1960s. Efficient government was the primary goal of reform-minded citizens seeking consolidation. Consolidation was viewed as the means to direct all of the county's and city's resources to solve problems impacting both jurisdictions. Improvements in all local services were the objectives with law enforcement being a major beneficiary.

Consolidation Day, on October 1, 1968, was a historic day when the duplication of two governmental bodies was replaced with 'a single unified, efficient and cost-effective system for local governance and self-determination.' 

The Duval County Road Patrol and the Jacksonville Police Department united under a new name, “the Office of the Sheriff – Jacksonville Police”. 

Dale Carson remained Sheriff over the newly formed law enforcement agency commonly known as the “Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office”. The Chief of Police for the Jacksonville Police Department, D.K. Brown served as his Undersheriff.

Following Sheriff Carson’s retirement, James McMillan was appointed Sheriff by Florida Governor Bob Graham. McMillan went on to be elected for two terms following the appointment.

Nathaniel “Nat” Glover was elected Sheriff in 1995 and was reelected for a second term in 1999.

Glover embraced “community policing” and the agency was awarded federal grants to help implement his concept. Glover, also, conducted Sheriff’s Walks to talk to citizens in neighborhoods throughout the city.  

Glover also created the Sheriff’s Advisory Council, also known as ShAdCo, to partner with citizens in all areas of the city. 

After serving two terms as Sheriff, Glover went on to serve as the President of Edward Waters College of seven years.

During Rutherford’s administration he stressed training, Intelligence Led Policing, Community Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement through Lean concepts.

After serving three terms as Sheriff, Rutherford was elected into office in 2017 as the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 4^th Congressional District.

Williams took the oath of office and pledged to focus on three things: Reducing Violent Crime; Engaging the Community; and Using Resources Efficiently.

During Williams' administration, he demonstrated his commitment to driving down violent crime by leveraging newer technology, including body worn cameras and gunfire detection systems to solve crimes. Additionally, to help further the public's trust in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the Open Data & Transparency portal was established under Williams' direction during his first term in office.

A reorganization of the agency occurred.

In June 2022, Pat Ivey was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to serve as the Sheriff of Duval County. Sheriff Ivey took office on Saturday, June 11, 2022.

In July 2023, Sheriff T.K. Waters held a town hall meeting to introduce the citizens of Jacksonville to new public safety initiatives and unveil new boundaries for patrol response. Through data driven research the boundaries for patrol response were reconstructed to effectively and efficiently serve today's Jacksonville. The new boundaries, now referred to as districts, went live on Saturday, July 29, 2023.