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New Orleans, LA 70116

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Stephen Swain

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The anti-crime summit

MEMO:

On Friday, January 30, 2009 Superintendent Riley requested a meeting with the representatives from the M.O.M. Coalition. Superintendent Riley and some of his top officers, including Deputy Chief of Operations Kirk Bouyelas and Major Eddie Hosli, of the 8th District wanted to discuss what is being done by the NOPD to address the concerns presented at the Press Conference the preceding day. This meeting was held at the FQC Office on N. Rampart Street and was a first step in what will become regularly scheduled monthly meetings allowing open dialogue between our representatives and the 8th District Command and Superintendent Riley.

The Superintendent assured us that they know the value of the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle to the City and they expressed their regret that even one death has occurred “on their watch”. At the end of 2008 and in the early days of January, the NOPD was addressing measures that they could take to improve safety in the FQ/Marigny as well as other parts of the City. The untimely death of Wendy Byrne has accelerated their time frame for implementation.
At this time there are 133 officers in the 8th District. The goal is to have 150 officers by June when the budget allows. There are 17 new patrol officers in the Quarter now.

New initiatives and strategies by the NOPD to reduce crime:

  • Segmented the 8th District (The FQ) into 4 segments to gain greater coverage.

  • Trained eight officers to operate the scooters and they will be more visible.

  • Initiated a new policy that no more than 2 officers, plus 1 supervisor can be in a restaurant at the same time. Unfortunately even if the officers frequenting an establishment aren’t from the same District, the perception has been that the entire police force is at lunch!

  • Taking a pro-active approach to “stopping suspicious individuals”.

  • Set up a Vice Unit strictly for the French Quarter.

  • Providing “Hot Sheets” for citizens to fill out identifying areas where illegal activities are taking place or where potential problems may occur.

  • Purchased 2 new “Paddy Wagons” to use as “holding cells” instead of having to go to Central Lock-up on each arrest.

  • Established “Undercover Officers” to work with the FBI agents for drug trafficking.

  • Assigned a patrol car to solely monitor the Marigny Triangle.

  • Instituted “Walking Beats” for every patrol car officer. Each officer must be parked for 1 hour of his shift and patrol his area on foot.

  • Suggested that each officer make “positive contact” with the citizens.

  • Provided AVL in each police car to monitor their location.

  • Added an additional 10-12 reserve officers to help in the FQ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

  • In addition each police officer has to sign a “Supervision & Accountability” document to patrol the area. Also, no more than 2 police officers are permitted to congregate at any one corner.

In an effort to be more accessible they provided us with their emails for easy communication. Eddie Hosli - ehosli@cityofno.com.

They all use Blackberrys so they will instantly receive your email.

Officer Roger Jones, Quality of Life Officer, nopolice29@yahoo.com or 504.201.1520. Please only call in an emergency. Email anything else.

Office Colin Munster, Quality of Life Officer, cmunster@cityofno.com is back on the job in the Quarter. No phone available at this time. Again, use email.

What we should do:

  • If you can light the outside of your house, DO IT! A VCC permit must be applied for if it’s a new light, but Lary Hesdorffer has assured us that such permits will be fast-tracked and hassle free. Simply bring a tear-sheet or photo of several styles of simple “down lights” or historically appropriate wall sconces for them to review.

  • Fix existing lighting. If you are in need of assistance with this, email Chuck Ransdell at m.o.m.fqmt@gmail.com and he will arrange free assistance. Do so by next Friday and on Saturday he will provide help.

  • Be observant and report suspicious activity. Give NOPD cause to stop and question suspicious people. Without a complaint, NOPD could be considered profiling.

  • Report curfew violations. Monday – Thursday, the curfew for children under 17 is 9PM, if not accompanied by an adult and 11PM on weekends. The police have the right to stop anyone expected to be underage and ask for an ID.

  • If you can install a security camera, DO IT! There are very reasonable ones available. Go to www.QuarterSafe.com for suggestions.

  • Discuss concerns with your District Councilman. In our case, it is Councilman James Carter jcarter@cityofno.com or 504.658.1030.

  • Continue to keep this in the forefront of the news media. Gambit is doing an article next week.

  • Document any activity that is unacceptable by police officers or civilians. We want a safe, friendly neighborhood, not an adversarial one and if we each do our part, it will happen.

  • Solicit more neighborhood participation in the monthly NONPAC Meetings.

One of the promises we made to the police was that we were here to stay and we would continue to be the squeaky wheel until we all feel safe in our neighborhood.