Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu wants the public to participate in selecting the next chief of the New Orleans Police Department. The NOPD Task force hosts a community meeting next Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m., at the Louisiana Superdome’s South West Club Claiborne Room. Xavier University president Norman Francis and Nolan Rollins, president of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, chair the task force, which is made up of various community leaders.

“I understand that often times the best ideas come from people in neighborhoods across the city, who deal with the issue of crime everyday. That’s why I’m encouraging citizens to let their voices be heard, as we work to find the next police chief,” says Landrieu via a press release announcing the meeting.

Citizens can also let their opinions known by filling out an online survey. Hard copies of the survey are available at Urban League of Greater New Orleans (2322 Canal Street).

So what are you looking for in the next police chief? What should be the task force’s priorities?

The New Orleans criminal justice system has cut down from 64 days to 10.5 days the time it takes to process simple drug possession cases in the Orleans criminal court through an initiative by the Criminal Justice Leadership Alliance (CJLA).

“This is a result of much better cooperation particularly between the police department and the district attorney’s office to get these things moving through the system,” says New Orleans Councilman James Carter, who started CJLA in the fall of 2007 along with Luceia LeDoux, a public safety and program director for Baptist Community Ministries.

By expediting the process, Carter says it allows the New Orleans Police Department and the DA to concentrate its resources on building strong cases against repeat felony suspects, and, at the same time, release those indigent defendants that spend time in Orleans Parish Prison waiting for a determination on misdemeanor charges.

Often referred to as “victimless” crimes, simple drug possession can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the amount, the type of drug and whether there was an intent to distribute. Possession charges account for roughly one-third of the state arrests in Orleans Parish.

The “Expedited Screening and Disposition” initiative was started in March of 2009, and combines efforts by CJLA members, which include representatives from the NOPD, the district attorney’s office and other parts of the criminal justice system. By the terms of the initiative, NOPD agreed to email police reports and field test reports to the DA’s office within 48 hours of an arrest (except on weekends). In turn, the DA’s office assented to make a screening decision within 24 hours of receiving the reports, the defendant’s criminal record and after interviewing the arresting officers.

Previously, the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans District Attorney’s Office would wait until near the end of the time provided — 45 days for a misdemeanor and 60 days for a felony — to complete the police paperwork and to decide whether or not to prosecute a case.

For January, the initiative reports a decrease from 61 days to seven days the time required to arrest a suspect and to decide whether or not they will be charged with a crime. What has changed little is the time it takes from the filing of the DA’s screening decision to a defendant’s arraignment in court, which stands at 4.5 days.

Carter has made criminal justice reform one of his main concerns during his time with the council.

“I’m leaving the Council soon, and, hopefully, this work can continue on into the next administration,” says Carter, whose term ends this May.

The Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit concerned with improving justice systems, advises CJLA. Jon Wool, the institute’s New Orleans director, will present the imitative’s report today at the general meeting of the New Orleans City Council.

Be sure to check out all the updates for a complete rundown on the day’s coverage.

-

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

-

-

Chalk this up as one of the absolute worst decisions made by a city government in, well, ever. Per the NOLA Art Houses’ Facebook page:

-

The city of NOLA just took a big bite out of its own culture: They’re shutting us down completely, and trying to move us into homeless shelters. Our electricity is minutes from being pulled. We’re gonna be fighting, we’re homeless and we don’t have much by way of resources, but we’re gonna fight this thing all the goddamn way. We’re gonna make sure the GOOD parts of NOLA keep rising! We Love y’all! Goodbye, for now

-

As for the city’s reasoning? The Art House had this to say (NOTE: We have yet to get an official word from the City Government):

-

they’re citing a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit (like, if we have a shared kitchen, apparently every room has to have a private sink….) and some fire code violations that every house in NOLA is guilty of (stuff under the stairs, outlets without covers, &c). so basically it seems like they’re pulling at any straw they can to shut us down

-

UPDATE: Click here to see the Esplanade Ridge/Treme Civic Association has responded to the situation.

Say what you will about the Art House and their parties and whether or not the city acted fairly in canceling their three-day Mardi Gras festival. But there is a difference between shutting down a party and shutting down a house. Most of the Art House residents don’t have much in the way of money and many depended on the house’s parties for revenue. That’s the reason they all lived together in this co-op and why it was such a creative hot bed for any artist looking for inspiration in the Crescent City.

-

Red Cotton brought up a fair point in the comment to my initial post about the cease and desist letter the city sent to the Art House. Large parties can be a neighborhood problem and, in a richly historic and proud neighborhood like Treme, it is possible that the Art House residents’ ambitions exceeded what their neighbors would deem acceptable. But, in all fairness, of all the houses in the Treme, this shouldn’t be on the top of the city’s list of places to shut down and force its residents into the street. How much urban plight still litters this city? How many empty houses have turned to crack dens? The Art House contributed something to the city and its culture, to destroy it would be to destroy a part of New Orleans in the realest sense. And all in the middle of Mardi Gras, no less.

-

Go to 1614esplanade.com for contact info to help keep these residents from being made homeless.

-

HIT THE JUMP FOR UPDATES: Read the rest of this entry »

From nola.com:

Although two murders took place on Scott Street in the Mid-City area over the weekend, a neighborhood representative says the homicides are not a sign of rising crime, but rather are isolated incidents stemming from domestic disputes. Virginia Blanque, a board member of the advisory council to the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization who lives close to where the two homicides took place, says foot traffic has increased in the neighborhood and homeowners seem to have a more relaxed attitude.

“We have people who walk all over here,” Blanque says. “As a matter of fact, I had a sense things were getting better.”

As a sign of this improvement, Blanque points out the welcoming sight of furniture, plants and people on the porches of houses throughout Mid-City. If neighbors were more anxious and always on the lookout for crime, Blanque reasons, the area would have a more shuttered appearance than it does now.

“I’m seeing more accoutrements of comfort, rather than manifestations of fear,” Blanque says.

The New Orleans Police Department is on the lookout for Daniel T. Marshall, a 23-year-old New Orleans man who is wanted in connection with the Friday night murder of 24-year-old Ronald Hodges that took place in the 400 block of South Scott Street. Leonard Nellum, 32, was arrested yesterday and booked with second-degree murder after allegedly killing his mother with a piece of cement outside of a house on the 100 block of North Scott Street.

Image by Doctor Who. Used under the terms of this Creative Commons license.

If you’re planning to spend part of the weekend in the French Quarter, be aware that traffic restrictions go into place beginning Fri., Sept. 4 at 5 pm and ending Mon., Sept. 7 at 5 am. The details, from Roger Jones Jr., the NOPD’s 8th District Quality of Life officer:

This weekend’s 2009 Decadence Festival French Quarter street closure shall take effect Friday, September 4, 2009 thru Monday, September 7, 2009 from 5pm-5am. The closure itself will be from St. Louis to Dumaine, North Rampart to Royal St. Traffic will not be allowed to cross Bourbon St. from St. Louis to Dumaine. Dumaine may be closed depending upon the pedestrian traffic.

Please note that residents and employees working in the French Quarter will be allowed to enter with proof of residency and employment via name tag, uniform…etc. Also, vehicles for hire will be allowed to enter to the French Quarter (Note… Restrictions regarding Bourbon St. will still apply to these vehicles without exception. Therefore take into account your destination before entering). These closures are done to minimize vehicular traffic in the area during special events.

Have a swell Decadence, and be careful out there.

• Ignore those two things out in the Atlantic.

• Alan Levine, head of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, announces new pediatric day care health facilities. Despite the fact that they’ll be paid for by Medicaid funds (!) and licensed by the state (!!!), people seem to think this is a good idea, not a Communist plot to euthanize Louisiana children. Yet.

• Rick Santorum in 2012? Mmmmmaybe.

• Jeff Crouere on ABC26 News, July 31, 2009:

This week, a source within the New Orleans Police Department confided to me that Police Chief Warren Riley will resign his post within the next few weeks and begin a campaign for Mayor of the city. Qualifying for candidates is in early December and the election is in early February 2010, only six months away.

Riley on WDSU-TV last night:

After weeks of public speculation and, perhaps, some private contemplation, New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley told WDSU Tuesday he will not run for mayor — not now, not ever….

“I do not plan to run for mayor. I’ve never, ever planned to run for mayor,” he said. “I have absolutely no interest in that position.”

Who ya gonna believe?

• NOLAFugees asks: Whatever became of Roger Wilson, architect of “Broadway South”?

• Mad Men starts in four days. Star Jon Hamm was on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien last night, and gave this print interview to The Onion. Meanwhile, today’s gratuitous photograph of the show’s Christina Hendricks:

“Broadway theater is sometimes just like community theater with more money,” sighs Gary Solomon Jr., the managing director at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré. What Solomon is referring to is the backstage drama surrounding White Noise, the Broadway-bound musical that’s getting its out-of-town tryout in the French Quarter theater space that’s been better known for hometown revivals of classic musicals.

Solomon confirmed the report by Michael Riedel in last Friday’s New York Post (“Producer of Flops Flips Out in Hotel”), which claimed White Noise producer Mitchell Maxwell has been banned from the theater after allegedly harassing members of the cast and crew. The final straw, according to Solomon, came after a tirade in the lobby of the Omni Royal Orleans, where many of the principals were staying. “People were afraid to go back to their hotel rooms,” Solomon says.

What happened? Quoting Riedel:

The volatile producer verbally abused his creative team, frightened his actors and threw such a temper tantrum in the lobby of the Omni Hotel that terrified guests called the police, several production sources told The Post.

“I have never experienced anything this crazy in my life,” one member of the creative team says.

“He is not a stable man.”

Solomon confirms that it was he who called the NOPD at the behest of the troupe on July 3. “I wasn’t there,” he said of the fracas, “but across the board their story was consistent. Above any employment relationships, I was concerned for their safety. Dealing with it in a private way would not have been the right thing to do.”

The upshot? Maxwell is no longer in town, according to Solomon, and has been banned from the theater; local producer Holly Way is handling production duties, and financial matters are still being handled on a timely basis. In situations this contentious, it’s not uncommon for stage performers to file grievances with their union, Actors Equity, but Solomon says that hasn’t happened, though he did inform Equity of the situation.

If there’s good news, it’s that “the production has been great,” Solomon says, saying that the cast and crew have bonded together through the hoopla. (See Will Coviello’s review of White Noise in this week’s Gambit.)

Interested in seeing the show? Solomon provided us an Internet code for ticket discounts — go to the show’s Web site, click “tickets,” and enter the code Offer7 on the order page. It runs Tue.-Sun. at Le Petit through July 26.

Last week a New Orleans City Council committee approved an ordinance to pay for longer police shifts during the summer months, but it didn’t seem to consider the accountability standards for violent crime Councilwoman Shelley Midura had written about only a week prior to the meeting. In May, during another City Council meeting, New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley became angry when Midura had floated the idea of withholding police overtime until NOPD brass layout its strategies for battling violent crime.

     Maybe it’s time to look at how other cities are dealing with it. In Cincinnati, cops are using the Ceasefire method, which was developed by anthropologist David Kennedy. In its June 22 issue, The New Yorker contained a well-researched article by John Seabrook about Ceasefire’s success in Cincinnati as well as in many other American cities, and how the program uses a combination of academics, social workers, cops and former criminals to stop the violence. Here’s an abstract of the article. If you want to read the whole story, you’ll have to buy a copy of the magazine, visit your local library, or peruse the Internet for more information.