The Orleans Justice Center formerly known as OPP is busting at the seams as more people are going into the jail then leaving out.
Many wishes were granted when it was announced that NOPD would get help from State police in the form of TROOP NOLA.
But as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for...with more arrests being made, and more people landing in jail, Orleans Parish Prison is running out of room!
President of the New Orleans Metro Crime Commission Rafael Goyenche says, “We ran an analysis of the inmate population and there were about thirteen hundred inmates in the jail.”
That, he says is about fifty-plus people over the capacity of twelve fifty; the number determined to be safest for the facility. Goyeneche says there needs to be room to separate individuals who come in with beefs are develop them during their stay.
However, he says this does not mean the police department would have to slow down or stop their progress and that there are options for the city.
“City appropriation could pay another sheriff in another jurisdiction to take problem inmates.”
This presents its own challenges. Number one, defendants would have limited access to their defense council while preparing for trial.
Goyeneche says this is a multi-pronged problem and everyone will need to come to the table for the best outcome.
“It really is a trickle-down effect from some of the backlog in court to the City Council’s cap of twelve fifty.”
