The New Orleans City Council today holds a special meeting on crime, and will unveil their own crime fighting strategy.
New Orleans City Council President J. P. Morrell says the council and the residents it represents are tired of waiting, and someone needs to assume some leadership in dealing with the Crescent City's crime problem.
"Everyone in this city has been waiting for a plan from the mayor to do that, and we haven't gotten one," Morrell told WWL's Tommy Tucker on Monday. "We can't just continue to wait in the vacuum.
Leadership has to step into that vacuum."
The council has a number of items to discuss, from directing the health department to develop a violence intervention plan to educating the public on the risk of leaving guns in areas where they can be easily stolen or picked up by children.
"The firearms that are used in the murders and shootings and killings across this city are not firearms bought at Walmart, they're firearms that are found in a truck somewhere because someone didn't lock their door," Morrell said.
They're also taking a close look at juvenile crime:
"We're looking at things like the curfew," said Morell, "and we're looking at things like truancy."
And Morrell says they will demand transparency from the mayor's office about the police chief search.
The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the city council meeting room at New Orleans City Hall.