NOPD renews effort to fight violent crime

3rd August 2015   ·   0 Comments

A day after authorities apprehended a man who online payday loans on ei fired an AK-47 assaut rifle at a busy downtown intersection, the NOPD’s top brass was joined by representatives from a number of state and federal law enforcement agencies in announcing renewed efforts to get a handle on violent crime in New Orleans.

Ironically, the July 21 press conference wrapped up just minutes before a brazen drive-by in eastern New Orleans that claimed the life of a 17-year-old male and injured a four-year-old relative.

Although NOPD Supt. Michael Harrison didn’t provide details on the new initiative aimed at curbing gun violence, he did say that the renewed effort would be bolstered by increased overtime hours for NOPD officers and “significant” short-term and long-term collaborations with state and federal authorities.

“We’re working closely with all our partners,” Harrison said at the July 21 press conference at NOPD headquarters. “They’ve dedicated resources to the NOPD, for both short-term and long-term collaboration. They’ve gotten permission all the way from Washington, D.C. to to collaborate with us and they are just as committed as we are.

“We are one team, it’s one fight and we are going to reclaim our streets and make this a safe city,” Harrison added.

Among the groups represented at the press conference were the NOPD’s street gang unit, the Louisiana State Police, the state’s Probation and Parole Board, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

With many residents weary of the scourge of gun violence and an increasing number of people afraid to leave their homes during the day and night, Supt. Harrison had a message for violent criminals in the Crescent City:

“If violence is the life you choose, then prison will be the price you pay.”

Harrison reassured the community that the NOPD will continue to do whatever is necessary to improve public safety in New Orleans.

“Together, we’ve seen strong results. Overall crime is down four percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter of last what is the period of short term loan year,” Harrison said. “We’re still compiling numbers, but it appears the numbers are holding steady and we’re going to see an overall eight percent decrease from the second quarter of this year compared to last year.”

WWL reported that those numbers did little to inspire confidence in the community.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I haven’t seen it yet, so,” Sandra Mann, a woman who works at a law office downtown, told WWL.

Fueling the growing sense of hopelessness, frustration and fear many residents are feeling are recent shootings like the July 20 incident involving an AK-47, the deadly drive-by shooting in eastern New Orleans, along with the shooting of an eight-year-old whose foot was injured by a bullet meant for someone else, the recent murder of NOPD Officer Darryle Holloway and the fatal shooting of a policewoman’s 20-year-old daughter in the 7th Ward.

The recent upsurge in homicides have prompted some to predict that the city will see 200-plus murders by the end of the year, far above 2014’s 30-year total of150.

“Drug dealing breeds violence. The people who live in these neighborhoods like New Orleans East see it every day. They know who are the people in their neighborhoods that get robbed, who fail to pay a drug debt. They know those people. We’re coming after those people,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown told WWL.

Police said July 21 that the press conference announcing a re-commitment to the federal partnerships was in the works before the recent high-profile crimes.

“If it’s actually gonna take effect, if it’s actually gonna do something, then that’s cool. But if it’s just for show, then it really don’t make a difference,” said Geno Watkins, a 25-year-old New Orleanian.

In addition to the DEA, the ATF, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Attor­ney’s Office, Louisiana State Police, and U.S. Probation and Parole Board all pledged to ramp up joint efforts to take on New Orleans’ gangs. All of the agencies, and more, have been part of a multi-agency gang unit since 2012.

Separate and apart from reputable cash loans the internal seven-member street gang unit within the NOPD, the multi-agency gang unit is credited with arresting 106 gang members from 11 different gangs. Police wouldn’t say specifically what additional resources the federal partners were sending down, but that they are renewing their efforts to target violent criminals.

After a series of violent incidents in recent weeks affecting the members of the NOPD and their families, Harrison briefly addressed the morale of the department, reassuring the existing officers that he supports them.

“I think one of the first things is to let the police officers in this department know that I’m behind them. And that I’m a cop too and that I don’t stand for it because they don’t stand for it and we’re in this together,” he told WWL.

Over the past few years, the NOPD has been losing officers faster than it can replace them. It lost 120 officers in 2014 and added about 74. At last count, the NOPD had about 1,100 officers in a city the Landrieu administration says needs about 1,600 officers to keep it safe.

The City and NOPD recently stepped up efforts to bolster the department’s ranks by getting the City Council to relax the residency rule that required police, firefighters and EMS workers to live in Orleans Parish and convincing the city’s Civil Service Commis­sion to do away with the requirement that NOPD applicants have completed 60 hours of college credit.

The NOPD also visited area churches and universities earlier this year, urging members of the community to heed the call to reclaim the city by joining the police department.

WWL reported that 27 NOPD recruits were expected to finish their field training by July 25, hitting the streets, starting their work as full-fledged members of the force. Two other recruit classes have been initiated this year, and Harrison said July 21 that hiring for a third was underway.

This article originally published in the August 3, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.