In 2005, Jacksonville earned the title “Murder Capital of Florida” (Florida Times-Union, 2005; Murphy, 2005). According to the results of "Project 904" in 2011 Jacksonville still holds the title. According to Sheriff Rutherford, around the time the study came out, Jacksonville lost that title (Patterson, 2011). Does Jacksonville hold the title or not? It depends on who you ask. In reflecting on what Project 904 has brought us, it is important to look not only at the study's findings, but also at what we already know about the media and the criminal justice system and what the study may have inadvertently illustrated about Jacksonville's media , is leader and the problem of crime itself. What the research shows is that the media and crime are intertwined and that there is an effect on the criminal justice system and its policies. Surette discusses the two principles regarding criminal justice and the media. The first is the “backward law” which states that everything the media portrays is actually the opposite of what is actually happening (2010, p. 182). He goes on to explain that this distortion is due to the way news is presented in an episodic format, the follow-up of a single incident or case, or in a thematic format, a stream of trends, and how both formats show only a small fraction of reality (p. 183). The other is the “government of immanent justice”. Surette defines immanent justice as “the belief that a higher divine power will intervene, reveal, and punish the guilty while protecting the innocent” (p. 186). He argues that the media continually illustrates that crime is innate and that society seeks immanent justice and supports crime fighters, such as the police, in helping to combat the crime problem (pp. 186-187). While...... half of the document......e&db=edsbl&AN=RN066843348&site=eds-liveSurette, R. (2010). Media, Crime and Criminal Justice: Images, Realities and Policy Cengage Learning.Treen, D. (2006a, Girl's murder sparks calls for an end to violent community and city leaders discuss plans to stem killings. Florida Times- Union, the (Jacksonville, FL), pp. A-1.Treen, D. (2006b, Murder rate on grand jury list, Shorstein says he discussed it with the commission. Florida Times-Union, the (Jacksonville, FL), pp. A -1.Treen, D. (2011, Results are in: Duval No Longer Murder Capital, Miami-Dade Takes Top Violent Crimes Duval County Down 19%. Florida Times- Union, (Jacksonville, FL), pp. A- 1.UNF Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (2011) Retrieved January 2012 from http://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/aa/coas/ccj/904_project /No%20Longer%20number