By Natasha Robin | Fox 8 New Orleans | July 23, 2019 Members of the Criminal Justice Committee heard a proposed plan Tuesday (July 23), that would eliminate money bails at Orleans Criminal District Court, along with court fines and fees for anyone arrested. John Wool of the Vera Institute said money bail does not make people…
By Nicholas Chrastil | The Lens | July 23, 2019 The Vera Institute of Justice — along with the ACLU Louisiana, the Foundation for Louisiana and Stand With Dignity — on Tuesday made their case for eliminating cash bail and conviction fees to the New Orleans City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee. The presentation was based on a report…
By Chad Calder | Nola.com | July 20, 2019 A Gretna police officer posted a comment on his Facebook page this past week calling U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “vile idiot” who “needs a round, and I don’t mean the kind she used to serve.” The comment, which alludes to the freshman Democrat’s past work…
By Thanh Truong | WWL | July 19, 2019 In New Orleans, we’ve heard quite a bit this week about the body-worn cameras police wear when they respond to calls. When turned on, body-worn cameras can back up police accounts, as they did in a shoot-out between New Orleans Police and two suspects at CVS last month.…
By Dan Fagan | The Advocate | July 6, 2019 Eighteen-year-old Theron Glover has been a busy young man as of late. Police have already arrested him several times this year, and he currently faces 160 pending charges in New Orleans Criminal District Court. Last week, police arrested Glover again for opening fire on a…
By Mike Perlstein | WWL | July 1, 2019 NEW ORLEANS — About one-third of suspects booked with violent felony crimes in New Orleans are deemed low-risk to re-offend or miss court in a risk assessment survey used by the court to determine bail, but those assessments are often ignored by the magistrates setting bail,…
By Rob Masson | Fox 8 New Orleans | July 1, 2019 at 1:09 PM CDT – Updated July 1 at 5:43 PM NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) – The Metropolitan Crime Commission released a report calling the local inmate risk assessment program a waste of money Monday afternoon (July 1). “The Public Safety Assessment is…
By Grace Toohey and Lea Skene Rogers Johnson Jr. spent six days behind bars for misdemeanor public intoxication because he couldn’t afford to post bail. He was released from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Saturday afternoon — just in time to spend Father’s Day with his three children. “I just want to hug them…
By David Blake | WWL | June 3, 2019 Juvenile crime has been talked about for months and it frequently makes headlines in New Orleans. Tonight, the new juvenile curfew takes effect and there are both skeptics and others optimistic it will work. Rafael Goyeneche, Director of the Metro Crime Commission, is hopeful this kind…
By Natasha Robin | Fox 8 New Orleans | May 23, 2019 at 5:25 PM CDT – Updated May 23 at 5:51 PM NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) – With a juvenile crime problem escalating across New Orleans, Mayor Latoya Cantrell said one way to effectively stop it would be to create Evening Reporting Centers. “It’s a cooperative agreement…