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In this first quarterly report on the 2007 performance of the New Orleans criminal justice system, the Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC) finds a high number of arrests resulting in fewer felony prosecutions compared to before Hurricane Katrina. (click to view the full report) Key first quarter findings include:
- The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) arrested almost 5,000 people
each month during the first quarter of 2007, a 12% per capita
increase. Many arrests were for minor offenses such as traffic and
municipal violations.
- A 58% majority of individuals arrested for state offenses were ultimately prosecuted by the DA’s Office.
- The DA’s Office is accepting a smaller percentage of felony cases –
felonies made up 54% of accepted criminal cases in 2003-2004, which has
shrunk to 41% in the first quarter of 2007.
- Only half (48%) of felony arrests result in suspects being prosecuted for felony offenses.
Warren Riley complained that the MCC had not talked to his department and replied that the police had to make the minor arrests and that they did issues citations and summonses for minor offenses which were often ignored leading to more arrests. Nobody seems to have bothered asking Eddie Jordan about the report, nor has he voiced a public opinion.
A significant point of public criticism in the report focused on the failure of the police to prevent crime. Is that their job or is that primarily the job of the community?
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