After talk this week of disagreements between the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans District Attorney's Office, D.A. Jason Williams held a news conference today to discuss the matter.
Williams said his office is putting priority on getting violent criminals off the street, and cited how his prosecutors have been dealing with carjackers as an example.
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"We're holding carjackers accountable by prosecuting these offenses not just as carjackings but as armed robberies," said Williams. "And we do this because this increases the maximum sentences and jail terms."
Williams said a carjacking conviction alone could mean as little as a two-year sentence, but an armed robbery sentence carried a minimum of ten.
The D.A. said his office can only prosecute the cases being brought to them, so if the NOPD is only clearing about a third of carjackings, then that's all the his office can do.
Williams also bristled at the notion that the justice system is a revolving door.
"I'm even more fed up when I hear that there is finger pointing or blame suggesting that someone is arrested on a Monday and is out on a Monday," said Williams. "That hasn't happened! It is a false narrative."