As New Orleans continues to experience a crime wave that is widely expected to get worse before it gets better, the dramatic example of seven teens driving a stolen vehicle and injured in a police chase has once again put a spotlight on the “revolving door” phenomenon where police are having to arrest the same individual more than once in a short period of time. Newell invited Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche on to the program Tuesday morning to discuss.
“Friday afternoon, Chief Ferguson expressed what everyone has characterized as frustration, to say the least,” Newell began. “He said they're tired of arresting the same people over and over again!”
“You know, words really don't do it justice,” Goyeneche said. “You need to watch that video and see the expressions on his face, the pained looked on it. His officers are doing their job. They're responding to and prioritizing violent calls for service under trying circumstances with manpower shortages. And when they apprehend this carload of carjackers, they discover that there are several warrants, some of them have been recently arrested and released for automobile thefts and automobile burglaries. And now there's a carload of guns and an armed robbery victim in their wake. All of them are injured, some of them critically, and it could have been even worse. So yes, I think frustration is the proper word, because the police department is doing the best that they can under trying circumstances and they're scratching their head, wondering what about the rest of the criminal justice system? Why are these individuals that are repeat offenders being released so quickly? What's the status of them being held accountable and prosecuted for these felony offenses? Yes, they're juveniles, but these are felony crimes. And what about the rights and the considerations for the victims and the law abiding citizens of New Orleans that are being put in harm's way by the actions of dangerous and violent criminal offenders like this.”
“The chief is a man of very few words, but a lot of times, if you listen very closely, the words that he says matter,” Newell said. “He said at the scene, we need our entire system together working collectively to hold individuals accountable. You and I have talked about this stream of accountability. There's not much transparency in the realm of juvenile crime. The identities of the juveniles are withheld, which I think is a disservice to the parents of other kids. If they knew what was going on, they may or may not allow their children to be hanging out with some of these other kids. But be that as it may, it's not until we get cases like this that we really find out about the criminal history of a number of kids that are out and about running around, having never been held accountable.”
“Exactly. Those that are most likely to commit a crime are people that have previously committed crimes,” Goyeneche said. “You have a certain percentage of criminal offenders that are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in every community. When the police make arrests, particularly for violent offenders, and they discover that those same people had been recently arrested for other crimes, felony offenses, and they're back out on the streets, it is really demoralizing to the police department. The public looks to the police department and they don't realize that it wasn't the police department's fault that these individuals are back out on the streets, victimizing additional people. They wonder why the police department isn't doing their job. Shows like this, and the news, provide badly needed information. And it's particularly hard to get that information if the offenders are juveniles.”
“Were you as surprised as I was that the media immediately focused on the fact that there was a chase?” Newell continued. “It seems to me that as a result of this federal consent decree, that there is laser-like focus on whether or not we actually chase a criminal. Thankfully in this case, they allowed them to do so, because in my mind, the track that this group of kids were going down was not going to end pretty. And fortunately, nobody lost their lives.”
“What you're describing is the new reality of where we are in 2021, where offenders are viewed as victims of an unjust system that has law enforcement officials are the villains,” Goyeneche answered. “And what's invisible are victims and citizens rights. Where we are right now is really out of balance. Yes, defendants and offenders have rights, but so does the public, and there has to be a balancing act. What we're seeing is the scales tipping to an extreme where we are ignoring public safety, ignoring the rights of citizens, and villainizing law enforcement that's trying to do their job. Yeah, there's some bad police officers in this country that do a disservice to the badge, but those are the minority. And you can say the same about every profession, from religious officials to teachers, but to villainize all police officers because of some rogue police officers violating their oath of office is really doing a disservice to the profession and a disservice to public safety.”
Hear the entire interview in the audio player below.
