Projectnola.com

Yesterday, the criminal justice system took its shot at pleading with the City Council to maintain its levels of funding. A system that is flawed asking for money without providing ways to remove the flaws. The bedrock of the fight against crime whining for its money while not offering ways to improve itself. I would be very selective in providing funding.

A good for instance is the criminal district court. Not only do they want their full 2009 allotment, but they are asking for $150,00 additional for jury expenses and $376,000 to pay for “mental health court”. Judge Julian Parker pointed out that the “criminal element isn’t going to downsize”. No, Judge Parker, they’re not. Hence your job security. How about policing yourselves? There are some dockets that are run very efficiently. There are others on the other hand that serve as drive-bys for justice, or worse yet, logjams. The Mental Health court would be a great idea if New Orleans had the mental health resources to put some bite into the services mandated. But we’re not even keeping our heads above water serving those who voluntarily commit themselves or apply for rehabilitation.

When a defendant doesn’t show in court, judges need to use the full strength of the law to make examples of them. Rescind bond. Don’t renew it when they are hauled into court because they were picked up on a fugitive warrant! They’ve proven they’re unworthy of bond. And WORK with the electronic monitoring system. Demand that as a judge you're notified at the first instance of an infraction, then ACT! Immediately request an arrest warrant, notify law enforcement of your action and then throw the book at the criminal when they are picked up! Stop coddling the criminals!

Cannizzaro isn’t asking for more money, just the same money. It’s true that his department seems to have stepped up the efficiency level several notches, but there’s still room for improvement. The public defenders, while I admit they are overworked, need some good training in time management so that they appear in court when they should. If you read the court dockets, it’s evident that many continuances are caused by public defenders who request them due to not being prepared, or just don’t show on time in the courtroom. And often they have no clue where their client is since they haven't been able to contact them for pre-trial meetings. What about letting someone know about that before the court date?

As for Gusman, clean your house out! Central Lockup is a huge time-waster for police, and the criminal element knows how to play it. A trip to CLU with a prisoner can take up to four hours for a patrol unit. Often there is a long line of prisoners waiting for processing because they are being processed ONE AT A TIME. A criminal who knows the system waits until processing is underway then suddenly feigns an illness, injury, addictive response that allows the ill-trained prison personnel to reject them, causing the patrol unit to then take a trip to University Hospital with the criminal only to be told nothing is wrong with them. And it’s back for another two to four hour wait at CLU. Police your processes, Gusman, then we might give you some money. We won't even discuss recent escapes. They only prove the point that your processes are in dire need of analysis.

Gusman, like Riley and the Brown Report, says he has corrected issues brought up in a U.S. Department of Justice report but offers no specific proof. Again, Gusman needs to provide some proof of accountability and efforts at process improvement to justify budget consideration.

Yesterday’s group was the backbone of the crime issue. We talk about the revolving door and expect it. Let’s stop expecting it. Take the time to comment to your council person as well as the council representatives at large on what you expect from the criminal justice system. Ask them to find a way to fund with accountability checks. Give them some reasons to look closer at where the money goes, reasonable reasons not opinions.

This is the year that the money can talk. We have a shortage of it. Those who get it really need to up their game to justify getting it. We have the right to request accountability before delivering the cash. And let’s hope the council uses its powers to investigate and monitor spending once the money is budgeted. Just as we all have to stretch our bucks, the criminal justice system not only needs to stretch what it gets, but prove there’s a return on the money spent.