A new Violent Crime Prevention Task Force is now operating in the city of New Orleans.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell officially introduced Tyrell Morris, the head of the Orleans Parish Communications District/New Orleans 911, as the head of that task force.
Morris said that members of the task force will embed themselves in communities around the city to learn how they can end the trend of violent crime. Morris also said the 16-member body will do what it can to assist the NOPD in removing violent offenders from the streets.
"The task force's priorities will be very simple," Morris said during a press briefing with Mayor Cantrell. "First being: The prevention of acts of violence by embedding ourselves in community and orchestrating a full government response to detect, deter, and intervene before an act of violence happens. Our second priority will be to assist Chief Woodfork, the brave men and women of the New Orleans Police Department, and other law enforcement partners who apprehend violent offenders, Which will include regularly evaluating internal policies, making legislative recommendations to the mayor and the city council, as well as removing any barrier between a need and a resource."
Task force members include NOPD interim superintendent Michelle Woodfork, NOPD consultant Fausto Pichardo, and city health director Dr. Jennifer Avegno. Dr. Avegno's selection to the task force highlights a point made by both Mayor Cantrell and Director Morris that the violent crime problem is a public health emergency.
That, Morris said, ties into the the task force's third priority.
"Our third priority will be to ensure comprehensive wraparound services are brought to bear by those impacted by violent crime," Morris said. "The task force will be active 24 hours a day as New Orleans is a 24-hour city."
Morris later elaborated on the first priority of task force members embedding themselves in the community. He said it's vital that they learn what the root causes of violence in the city are so they can stop incidents before they happen.
"What we're trying to do is grab as many pieces of information together from many organizations to paint a puzzle, figure out what is happening, and what needs to happen to stop the trend," Morris said.
He also provided a caution to criminals.
"A word of warning to those offenders who do harm to our community: this task force will spare no resource or opportunity to bring you to justice," Morris said. "This is a phenomenal city with a bright future, and you will not derail our collected progress and prosperity."
Shortly after the mayor's press conference ended, city council president J. P. Morrell issued a statement saying the council would hold a special meeting next Wednesday to address the city's crime problem.
“It is clear that whatever has been done thus far isn’t working," Morrell said in his statement. "Therefore, the Council will be introducing new initiatives next Wednesday in an effort to promote a public effort to address this crisis in our city."
