It was another tough weekend in and around the city. More and more citizens are speaking up about crime here, and at the same time Mayor LaToya Cantrell says that this spike in crime is a national trend. We’ve seen a more concerted effort to curb crime in ordinances by the New Orleans City Council, and even more prosecutions from the office of District Attorney Jason Williams. City Councilman Joe Giarrusso told me that council is doing the best it can, but their efforts fall short due to lack of execution by other parties.
What are your thoughts on the continued violent crime that unfolds weekend after weekend?
We all need to recognize there is a crime problem, then figure out what we are doing to try and work on that problem and solve it immediately. Right now, the city has a bunch of money that we're sitting on. That money needs to be turned loose and spent on public safety…. NOPD is running a $7.5 million surplus, the city is running on close to a $27 million surplus, and we have funds that have money in them. We need to focus on things we can do immediately to address this problem, then look at long term solutions.
Are the council and the mayor on the same page? Have communications improved? Her last comments on this issue were that crime is a national trend - I don't know what that is supposed to mean.
The City Council and Mayor’s office align on about 80 to 90% on broad stroke issues, but we get in a fighting posture over execution. Sometimes, I don't understand why there is this perception, or why there is an actual fight over things for which there seems to be a lot of agreement.
Do you feel the Cantrell administration understands the urgency of this? There seems to be a disconnect between what your constituents are telling you and what they're hearing back from the administration. When we start running violative of these basic constitutional protections and provisions, we have a big problem.
I don't think there's anything wrong with admitting when you have a problem. As council members we can legislate, pass laws, and dedicate money toward projects, but I can't force execution. Only the executive branch can do that.
I just got back from a vacation in Boston, and we felt very safe walking all over that town. I don't think I could do the same thing here in New Orleans.
NOPD is still struggling on recruiting and retention. The City Council gave $900,000 to the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation for professional recruiters that needs to be implemented. Also, if you know there are certain places where you are weak and you're not gonna hire the 300 cops, then there needs to be a focus on getting a few more homicide detectives. Fill in the gaps in places where you know there’s a problem. Put funds into capital resources, and maintenance resources like vehicles and get them out on the streets.
