Crime Prevention in New Orleans: The Value of Community Input

The Rev. Tom Watson's claims are spot on.  I couldn't come up with better solutions myself and I'm a criminologist who knows about the research on crime and violence prevention.  Goes to show you the importance of community input in dealing with violence. After all, who would know better than those on the ground? I'd like to see a lot more of this type of reporting from the big stations, as this is where the real value of the news lies.

From The Louisiana Weekly:

By Mason Harrison
Contributing Writer

Officials at City Hall are facing tough criticism of their plans to fight crime from one of the city’s most ardent backers of community involvement in turning the tide of violence in New Orleans. The Rev. Tom Watson, who recently pulled together a citywide summit on Black-on-Black violence and issued several recommendations to curb crime, says the city’s crime czar and other officials have dropped the ball on incorporating community input into policing strategies.

Watson’s chief complaint pertains to the positive, community-centered “rhetoric” that he says emanates from the office of Mayor Mitch Landrieu, but that is “not meeting the [city’s] action on the ground.” Specifically, Watson says, Landrieu and New Orleans Criminal Justice Commissioner James Carter are willing to provide access to city officials working on crime interdiction to area stakeholders, but are slow to take up recommendations from local leaders.