Crime
On November 24, 2009 I gave a speech outside of the Youth Study Center where I outline a complete departure from the failed criminal justice policies of today. Policies that have been creating crime rather than preventing it.
You can real the full text of that speech here.
I also outlined my 12 point plan entitled “A Road to a Safer New Orleans” which the Times Picayune said “James Perry wasn’t stretching it when…he said he had a plan to cut the murder rate by 40% — or he won’t run for re-election.”
Perry for Mayor Road Map to a Safer New Orleans
Strategic Planning
- Improve the capacity of all criminal justice agencies, including the NOPD. As suggested by the recent Vera Report we must refocus the NOPD. Their sense of mission must be to reduce violent crime not just indiscriminately arrest law violators, major and minor. This is done through focusing our limited resources on violent crime, not non-violent and municipal crime.
- Develop a focused crime control strategy, targeting the most dangerous youth and adult offenders in the city. Identify and focus on the top at-risk individuals in the City using innovative approaches such as “Cease Fire”. Many law enforcement experts believe this number could be as low as just 100 individuals who, if removed from the streets, would diminish the crime problem significantly. Use research-based public health prevention strategies to decrease the number of potential violent offenders.>
Prevention
- Build citizens willingness to cooperate with the public safety system by requiring targeted beat walks and positive contacts between citizens and police.
- Focus efforts on education, proven public health strategies and the prevention of crime by youths. Focus upon education and character development with high-risk youth in Charter and RSD schools using proven evidence based research methods.
- Creation of a Youth Master Plan to define a focused and organized prevention approach to the delivery of vital programs and services to youth and teens building upon known social determinants to crime.
Coordination & Coalition Building
- Build a strong coalition of criminal justice, social service, mental health, and educational organizations and support coordinated partnerships to control crime. Critical to this effort will be developing sustainable coordination mechanism based upon adoption of common strategies and goals.
- Establish a citywide, rather than agency-centered approach to crime fighting. Make all agencies responsible for results in controlling and reducing crime.
Transparency & Accountability
- Enhance integrity, accountability and transparency from all parts of Criminal Justice system by instituting enhanced professional development initiatives and work on capacity building. Improve Public Integrity Division and coordinate with NOPD and coordination with LA FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office to assure high integrity standards among officers.
- Define citywide performance measures to monitor effectiveness and results of all entities responsible for crime control and reduction in the city. Assess effectiveness and implement changes based upon achievement of goals. Report this to citizens on a monthly basis as the New Orleans Criminal Justice “Crime Report Card”.
Efficiency & Maximizing Resources
- Secure increased Federal funding from the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services to support restructuring and capacity-building efforts to reduce crime in the city.
- Make the NOPD a more efficiency and performance driven organization by informed use of data regarding crime and social trends.
- Eliminate structural dynamics that prevent effective criminal justice efforts to control crime in the city. This will be achieved through analysis of processes that block effective efforts to control crime, for example fee based court system.
Why are you supporting James?
Write about why you are supporting James Perry for Mayor of New Orleans.
Let your voice be heard.
Crime is crucial to the mayor’s race. New Orleans can’t be the crime capital of America if it will truly recover from Katrina.
The mayor should support and fund vocational training programs and other mechanisms to create a market for green jobs and the skilled labor force to fill those positions. Ideally, this system will target a younger demographic, and it can even take the form of after-school and summer programs for high school and middle school students.
Everyone knows that crime is a major issue in this city and will remain one as the Mayoral campaign develops. We know that every Mayoral candidate is going to have something to say about crime. The question is who is actually going to be knowledgeable about the issues facing our criminal justice system and the possible solutions at our city’s disposal. It will be up to us citizens to reward candidates that can speak with authority on matters of policy and reject candidates who merely speak in platitudes.
Here is what I’m looking for:
1. Someone well-versed on the criminal justice system’s current challenges and willing to admit the depth and width of the issues facing the NOPD and the way we prosecute and punish crime.
2. Someone capable of proposing both realistic Day 1 changes for basic stabilization and feasible longer-term solutions for real excellence.
Let’s use this space not to cajole Mr. Perry to simply “deal with” the crime issue on our behalf but to suggest precisely the types of things that need to be done.
I think the best place to start is with the 2007 BGI 188 page audit of NOPD practices and policies. Though initiated by the city, the results were suppressed, perhaps as a result of BGI’s scathing assessment of NOPD leadership and morale.
See:
http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-136/1195367522110410.xml&coll=1
Clearly there is a disconnect between what the NOPD believes it is doing to enact ‘community policing practices’ and what ‘community policing practices’ actually are.
The next Mayor is going to have to explain exactly what they would do on Day 1 to reverse catch and release policy in favor of a system that prioritizes fighting violent crime.
I believe the rampant crime New Orleans suffers from today stems from a gross negligence of authority decades ago.
Addressing the issues of violence and crime in New Orleans must be a two part approach: Effectively and absolutely overhauling the current justice system to serve its ultimate purpose of keeping those who threaten our society off the streets, and protecting our children from the sociological factors that produce criminals with no hope for the future.
Punishment and Prevention. Criminals cannot roam free, threatening our fragile recovery. Parents, teachers, role models must be held accountable to instill in our youth the morals and ethics we expect from members of our society. With the force of law, these basic standards must be formalized to ensure New Orleans’ sustainability.
I second the comments made by Eli Ackerman. Acknowledging the true extent of the problem with empathy, coupled with a concrete, achievable proposal is an absolute must. While a long term strategy to address issues such as crime are critical, Mr. Perry must be able to taut short term tactics to improve conditions right off the bat. Following from that need, Mr. Perry must show us that he understands the details of policy and implementation to be competitive.
We need more things for the youth to do.
They are given too many opportunities to get in trouble and go the wrong route. Many could be saved from this route if our city takes more time to invest in the future of our youth. We need parks and we need parks with recreational activities around the city, not just a few parts. We need more programs connected with school, to start the inspiration programs.
I even think we need a return of the Teen Camp, the kids went to camp and got a stipend of 66 dollars (I think it was every other week) to learn different skills. It was a great program.
We need more city wide internships.
Our kids need more inspiration and that alone would be a big part of the decrease of our crime issue.
I think our city needs more serious sentencing. People take going to jail in Orleans Parish as a joke, because they know it will not be as much time as anywhere else.
I have not lived in New Orleans since graduation night back in 1993 when I graduated Mc Main. However, I have two nephews who live in New Orleans. I truly believe that it is time for students to take life skills classes in the Public School System. I hope that I am not making an ignorant statement,being that I don’t live in New Orleans, but is informed about the violence that takes place in the city. I think that the younger generation lives on false hope and do not know nor do they understand the value of Life. For years, I have heard educators say it is not my job to raise these kids. Well if the parents don’t raise their children to know right from wrong and respect, then who is going to teach them? I think that there is too much focus on Standardized test scores and not enough focus on educating our younger generation to learn ethics. Children need to be educated to think outside of the box. Police have to show the Community respect and the community must be compelled to respect Law Enforcement. I can go on and on,
I think our next mayor needs to take a look at what was done in some other cities to address violent crime. I was recently informed by a co-worker that NY in the height of its crime problem took an approach that stopping the small crimes helps prevent the big crimes. It worked. It was found that if you stop the kid from spray painting a building or breaking into a car, you can likely find things like illegal weapons which would have been used at a later date to kill someone.
The NOPD/DA “catch and release” program isn’t working. Whatever we do it needs to be absolutely different from our current failing efforts. Our DA is not/can not prosecute the criminals the NOPD catches (when it catches them) – due to whatever, so those criminals are released w/ a new boldness and belief [backed by experience] that they will get away with whatever crimes they commit. We need that fixed.
We also need a leader who is passionate enough about crime to stand on the corner of every murder and say “Stop the Killing”. Whether its a drug dealer or a 2 year old a life is a life and “Joe on the corner” has no right to take it. This city’s laissez faire attitude to the crime that effects us all is pitiful. We need someone to embolden our citizens to stand against it.
Be that someone if you are going to be the mayor.
Refocus law enforcement on serious crime rather than minor drug violation (see this week’s article in Gambit on the Public Defender’s office). Hire a chief of police who is serious about reform, about neighborhood policing and a tough code of honor.
What’s you opinion about gun control? What’s your opinion about our right to keep and bear arms?
May want to check out the work of these men who are part of the Peace Keepers Hour of Power in New Orleans.