Former New Orleans police chief Michael Harrison is back in city government, working as the deputy mayor of public service. So what exactly is he doing?
"(Mayor Helena Moreno) has hired me and charged me with coordinating criminal justice efforts, criminal justice initiatives, (and) all things public safety," Harrison told WWL's Newell Normand. "My job is to make sure there's coordination, collaboration, and communication at all levels and to make sure we're not working in silos."
Harrison says he's observed a lack of coordination between the city's public service agencies, including the New Orleans Police Department, the New Orleans Fire Department, the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and the city's criminal justice departments. Now, Harrison is charged with overseeing those agencies. He says his goal is to hold the leaders of those agencies accountable for their actions.
"So that anything that we do that regards public safety, we can do in the most effective and efficient way and so that people are informed," Harrison said. "We can actually make people safe and make people feel safe because it's a coordinated effort and people know what we're doing. I'm happy to take on that role."
Harrison says the leaders of those public safety agencies are buying into his mission.
"A lot of progress has been made," Harrison said. "We are getting the help of all city agencies in a unified way to accomplish the public safety goal. As they accomplish their goals, they need our help as well. We're having the conversations with everyone at the table. Everybody's participating, and everybody's expected to know the answers to how we are going to get there, how much is it going to cost, how many people (will we need), (and) how long will it take."