Congress funding could cut N.O. crime rate 50 percent

neworleanscitybusiness.com ^ | 04/16/07 | Richard A. Webster

[Ellesu]

NEW ORLEANS—Members of the U.S. House of Representatives convened a congressional panel at Dillard University last Tuesday to investigate the state of the New Orleans criminal justice system. Local officials requested millions in federal assistance to help rebuild damaged infrastructure and install programs to reduce violent crime.

The subcommittee could help back those requests. Its purpose was to pinpoint problem areas in the New Orleans criminal justice system and gather evidence to take back to Washington, D.C., in hopes of securing federal dollars.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin asked for $17 million for police vehicles, equipment and recruiting efforts, $4 million to employ 2,000 at-risk youths during the summer, $3 million to re-establish an ex-offender work force development program to train and employ 500 former offenders and $10 million over three years for drug rehabilitation services.

Ed Carlson, executive director of Odyssey House, a residential substance abuse program in New Orleans, said Nagin’s request for $10 million for drug rehabilitation programs was the best thing the mayor has ever said.

“It’s the whole idea of the multi-tier approach to crime — having a strong public defender’s office, a strong district attorney’s office, a strong court system and strong law enforcement along with substance abuse treatment services,” Carlson said. “If you have all those things in place I believe you could cut crime by 50 percent in a year.”

But Nagin’s request does not ensure Congress will send any money, Carlson said.

“And even if Congress does appropriate this money it may be a couple of years before it gets here,” Carlson said. “We need to do something now. We need to do something yesterday.”

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Warren Riley emphasized the need for more manpower at the subcommittee hearing. Since Hurricane Katrina, the force has lost 29 percent of its officers, dropping from 1,741 in 2005 to 1,227.

It has no headquarters building and three of the eight district stations have not been repaired. It lacks a central evidence and property facility, a special operations and traffic complex and a juvenile holding building.

“The lack of critical police facilities and capabilities is not only having a deleterious effect on the presentation and prosecution of cases, it has eroded the morale of the officers who see their best efforts to combat crime stalled due to our inability to adequately test and evaluate evidence,” Riley said. “(Officers are forced to) watch as the same offenders are repeatedly arrested and released. The NOPD is at a crossroads.”

Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., the ranking Republican member of the committee, said as few as 20 percent of the programs funded by the subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security proved effective.

“We’re trying to make sure we get the most bang for our buck,” he said.

Peter Scharf, executive director of the Center for Society, Law and Justice at Texas State University, likened the hearing to a meeting with venture capitalists, which requires an integrated plan with a focus on return on investment.

“The city’s approach was really confused,” Scharf said. “The agencies were all saying different things and there was no clear definition of what the true problem is. We need to come back with a better researched, better integrated plan. I don’t think it was terrible. I don’t think we turned anybody off, but we need one more step to get really serious.”

Scharf said it was telling when Forbes raised the specter of corruption when questioning City Council President Oliver Thomas.

“We have some legacy baggage. The two Republican congressmen kept asking about corruption, and we need to really address that with a serious plan. We need to convince the money people we’re serious business people. But there will be money. There will be criminal justice funding and New Orleans has to be among the top candidates to get it.”•

[Jeffrey_D.]

Thanks for the post.....I needed a good laugh and the Mayor gave me one.

I read this post after watching this:

Penn & Teller on Gun Control (Entire Video Link Included)
Posted by tcostell
On 04/16/2007 6:10:41 AM CDT ·