The midnight ceremony in the State Attorney's conference room served to send a message to the community and bad guys.

"Should the police need us tonight, for a homicide or a traffic homicide or anyother matter, we're sworn-in and official and ready to respond," she said to WOKV's Jared Halpern minutes after taking hte oath of office.

Plenty of challenges await Corey and her team of assistant state attorneys and investigators. Jacksonville's first homicide occured just an hour into the new year; a chilling reminder that the murder rate in the city is showing little signs of slowing down.

"If [criminals] use a gun to commit a crime, we're going to take advantage of '10, 20 life' laws," Corey said, referring to a Florida statutue establishing prison terms for gun crime convictions. "We're going to devote our time and effort to prosecution and allow the experts to focus on the intervention and prevention."

Corey also enters office at a time of financial uncertainty for state prosecutors. Budgets continue to shrink in the wake of a growing state budget deficit; a move that has, in part, prompted Corey to eliminate several staff positions at the State Attorney's office.

Corey defeated her predecessor's chief assistant Jay Plotkin in a Republican primary in August. Corey's two-to-one margin victory was fueled in large part by her support of local police and firefighters.

"We're going to work hard and we're going to work well with law enforcement," she said. "And we'll be letting the criminals know that we're scrutinizing their behavior."