Unpolished thoughts on New Orleans and crime - Jana
Drummer Dinerral Shavers of the Hot 8 Brass Band was shot and killed just after Christmas while driving with his wife and child in New Orleans. Jealina Brown was killed in her Uptown home on Friday. One day earlier Helen Hill was killed in her Rampart Street home (which is just a few blocks from where we used to live). All in all 161 people were murdered in New Orleans in 2006 and 7 have been killed so far this year.
NPR did a piece about Shavers on All Things Considered this evening. It interspersed music from the Hot 8 Brass Band with the story. It brought me right back to New Orleans. The feelings and sounds of the city haunt me. The incompetence of the city officials and their inability to bring order and safety to New Orleans appalls me.
"We've had upticks in the past, so this is unfortunately not that unusual for New Orleans and for most urban cities in America." [New Orleans Mayor C. Ray] Nagin said. "But let's make something clear: One murder is too many in this city."
[New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren G.] Riley said last week that fewer murders - 161 in all - occurred in New Orleans in 2006 than anytime over the past three decades. On a per-capita basis, however, even the most optimistic projection of the post-Katrina population makes the murder rate an increase from previous years.
(Both of these quotes are from the New Orleans Times-Picayune and be found here and are reprinted .)
N.O. mayor, police chief weigh crime threat
At the end of a bloody week that saw the 2007 murder count in New Orleans rise to seven, Mayor Ray Nagin said Saturday that city leaders are focused on stemming the violent tide, though he offered few details of what new strategies may be used to enhance public safety.
Police Superintendent Warren Riley said he is considering use of a curfew to stem criminal activity.
Speaking with Riley at a hastily-called morning news conference, Nagin admitted that recent days also have seen a broadening chasm between the city's two main crime-fighting agencies: the New Orleans Police Department and District Attorney's Office.
Police officers' morale has plummeted, Nagin said, since District Attorney Eddie Jordan indicted seven current and former officers last week on murder and attempted-murder charges stemming from a Danziger Bridge shooting episode a week after Hurricane Katrina. In announcing the indictments, Jordan said officers cannot be allowed to "shoot and kill our citizens without justification, like rabid dogs."
"The comments that the D.A. made were unfortunate," Nagin said, "and did some damage to the relationship" between the city's police force and its prosecutor's office, which long has been criticized for winning convictions on only a fraction of arrests made by police.
Riley said he has instructed his officers to remain focused on their jobs, rather than getting wrapped up in the emotional politics of the case.
"The citizens of New Orleans have absolutely nothing to do with that indictment," he said.
Nagin, meanwhile, said city leaders are working hard to thwart the recent surge in homicides, describing the pattern as an "uptick" similar to the intermittent spikes in crime that have ravaged New Orleans for the past 40 years.
"We've had upticks in the past, so this is unfortunately not that unusual for New Orleans and for most urban cities in American" Nagin said. "But let's make something clear: One murder is too many in this city."
Nagin said he has talked with Jordan, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judges and local ministers in recent days in an effort to come up with "creative, aggressive solutions" to the crime problem. He said he expects to have "specifics" this week on new tactics for quashing crime at its neighborhood roots.
Riley said of the curfew idea, "It's something we're just sort of talking about, to see if that will make a difference." He said a curfew used in the early part of 2006, combined with a hurricane-reduced population, seemed to make a big difference in preventing crime.
On the streets, Riley said the police force continues to operate with reduced manpower. Compared with a pre-Katrina roster of 1,668 officers, the force now includes just 1,401 officers, including 41 recruits and 114 officers on sick leave, he said.
Though he did not blame the murderous surge on a shrunken staff, Riley lamented the spate of violence as a glitch in what seemed to have been a positive trend in public safety.
"In the early part of December, we thought we had turned a corner," Riley said. "So obviously the last week of December and the first week of January is disappointing to us."
Riley said last week that fewer murders - 161 in all - occurred in New Orleans in 2006 than anytime over the past three decades. On a per-capita basis, however, even the most optimistic projection of the post-Katrina population makes the murder rate an increase from previous years.
Nagin and Riley spoke to reporters Saturday for about 15 minutes at City Hall. The mayor's spokeswoman, Ceeon Quiett, said before the news conference that with media inquiries pouring into City Hall for several days, Nagin wanted to address questions about the murders directly.
However, the 9:15 a.m. event was announced less than three hours before it started. News agencies throughout the city were advised by e-mail at 6:30 a.m. that the mayor and police chief would be available for questions.
Asked by one reporter about criticism that he has seemed disengaged from the violence gripping his city, Nagin said he has stayed apprised of the situation. The mayor added that he and his staff also have been busy working on the myriad aspects of rebuilding, from seeking FEMA reimbursements to expediting the payment of federal grants to homeowners.
"We have a tremendous amount of challenges," Nagin said. "If people don't think that I'm working, I would love for them to follow me around for a day."
Times-Picayune, Saturday, January 06, 2007
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
Misleading statements are the hallmark of the current administration. The crime rate generally, and the murder rate specifically, are out of proportion. I say this even after living through the year when the number of murders in the city reached more than 1 per day. Perhaps I was more forgiving before Katrina. Perhaps I was more naive. No matter the reason, the crime in New Orleans still tears at my heart. At the risk of sounding maudlin, it makes the city more broken, more irreparable then any storm ever could.
We have a friend living in our house while we are trying to get it repaired. Someone broke in through the back window in broad daylight. He stood calmly in the kitchen looking for things to take when the friend's houseguest came in and demanded to know what he was doing. The invader jumped out through the window and ran off. I will not say that this would never have happened before the storm, but I will say that it would have caused outrage among my friends and neighbors. Now the reaction most people have is simply to ask, "Have you nailed the windows shut?"
I wish I knew where I was going with this entry. I think the feelings might be too raw to lend themselves to a coherent entry. I always tell people that I would move back in a heartbeat. I always follow that statement with a list of reasons why it is not possible. I never included crime as a reason. Now I do, and that makes me rather sad.
-Jana
NPR did a piece about Shavers on All Things Considered this evening. It interspersed music from the Hot 8 Brass Band with the story. It brought me right back to New Orleans. The feelings and sounds of the city haunt me. The incompetence of the city officials and their inability to bring order and safety to New Orleans appalls me.
"We've had upticks in the past, so this is unfortunately not that unusual for New Orleans and for most urban cities in America." [New Orleans Mayor C. Ray] Nagin said. "But let's make something clear: One murder is too many in this city."
[New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren G.] Riley said last week that fewer murders - 161 in all - occurred in New Orleans in 2006 than anytime over the past three decades. On a per-capita basis, however, even the most optimistic projection of the post-Katrina population makes the murder rate an increase from previous years.
(Both of these quotes are from the New Orleans Times-Picayune and be found here and are reprinted .)
N.O. mayor, police chief weigh crime threat
At the end of a bloody week that saw the 2007 murder count in New Orleans rise to seven, Mayor Ray Nagin said Saturday that city leaders are focused on stemming the violent tide, though he offered few details of what new strategies may be used to enhance public safety.
Police Superintendent Warren Riley said he is considering use of a curfew to stem criminal activity.
Speaking with Riley at a hastily-called morning news conference, Nagin admitted that recent days also have seen a broadening chasm between the city's two main crime-fighting agencies: the New Orleans Police Department and District Attorney's Office.
Police officers' morale has plummeted, Nagin said, since District Attorney Eddie Jordan indicted seven current and former officers last week on murder and attempted-murder charges stemming from a Danziger Bridge shooting episode a week after Hurricane Katrina. In announcing the indictments, Jordan said officers cannot be allowed to "shoot and kill our citizens without justification, like rabid dogs."
"The comments that the D.A. made were unfortunate," Nagin said, "and did some damage to the relationship" between the city's police force and its prosecutor's office, which long has been criticized for winning convictions on only a fraction of arrests made by police.
Riley said he has instructed his officers to remain focused on their jobs, rather than getting wrapped up in the emotional politics of the case.
"The citizens of New Orleans have absolutely nothing to do with that indictment," he said.
Nagin, meanwhile, said city leaders are working hard to thwart the recent surge in homicides, describing the pattern as an "uptick" similar to the intermittent spikes in crime that have ravaged New Orleans for the past 40 years.
"We've had upticks in the past, so this is unfortunately not that unusual for New Orleans and for most urban cities in American" Nagin said. "But let's make something clear: One murder is too many in this city."
Nagin said he has talked with Jordan, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judges and local ministers in recent days in an effort to come up with "creative, aggressive solutions" to the crime problem. He said he expects to have "specifics" this week on new tactics for quashing crime at its neighborhood roots.
Riley said of the curfew idea, "It's something we're just sort of talking about, to see if that will make a difference." He said a curfew used in the early part of 2006, combined with a hurricane-reduced population, seemed to make a big difference in preventing crime.
On the streets, Riley said the police force continues to operate with reduced manpower. Compared with a pre-Katrina roster of 1,668 officers, the force now includes just 1,401 officers, including 41 recruits and 114 officers on sick leave, he said.
Though he did not blame the murderous surge on a shrunken staff, Riley lamented the spate of violence as a glitch in what seemed to have been a positive trend in public safety.
"In the early part of December, we thought we had turned a corner," Riley said. "So obviously the last week of December and the first week of January is disappointing to us."
Riley said last week that fewer murders - 161 in all - occurred in New Orleans in 2006 than anytime over the past three decades. On a per-capita basis, however, even the most optimistic projection of the post-Katrina population makes the murder rate an increase from previous years.
Nagin and Riley spoke to reporters Saturday for about 15 minutes at City Hall. The mayor's spokeswoman, Ceeon Quiett, said before the news conference that with media inquiries pouring into City Hall for several days, Nagin wanted to address questions about the murders directly.
However, the 9:15 a.m. event was announced less than three hours before it started. News agencies throughout the city were advised by e-mail at 6:30 a.m. that the mayor and police chief would be available for questions.
Asked by one reporter about criticism that he has seemed disengaged from the violence gripping his city, Nagin said he has stayed apprised of the situation. The mayor added that he and his staff also have been busy working on the myriad aspects of rebuilding, from seeking FEMA reimbursements to expediting the payment of federal grants to homeowners.
"We have a tremendous amount of challenges," Nagin said. "If people don't think that I'm working, I would love for them to follow me around for a day."
Times-Picayune, Saturday, January 06, 2007
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
Misleading statements are the hallmark of the current administration. The crime rate generally, and the murder rate specifically, are out of proportion. I say this even after living through the year when the number of murders in the city reached more than 1 per day. Perhaps I was more forgiving before Katrina. Perhaps I was more naive. No matter the reason, the crime in New Orleans still tears at my heart. At the risk of sounding maudlin, it makes the city more broken, more irreparable then any storm ever could.
We have a friend living in our house while we are trying to get it repaired. Someone broke in through the back window in broad daylight. He stood calmly in the kitchen looking for things to take when the friend's houseguest came in and demanded to know what he was doing. The invader jumped out through the window and ran off. I will not say that this would never have happened before the storm, but I will say that it would have caused outrage among my friends and neighbors. Now the reaction most people have is simply to ask, "Have you nailed the windows shut?"
I wish I knew where I was going with this entry. I think the feelings might be too raw to lend themselves to a coherent entry. I always tell people that I would move back in a heartbeat. I always follow that statement with a list of reasons why it is not possible. I never included crime as a reason. Now I do, and that makes me rather sad.
-Jana