[Kreweoftruth] Mayor Landrieu Tackles Murder Problem Head On

[kreweoftruth at kreweoftruth.net]

FULL SPEECH: http://www.wwl.com/Transcript-of-Landrieu-s---State-of-the-City---Add/9723832



>From today's state of the city:

At this moment, there is a battle being waged each and every day on the streets. It is the battle for the heart and soul of New Orleans. Last year, New Orleans had 175 murders. In the first four months of this year, there have been another 72. By the time you wake up tomorrow morning, I will have likely received another message that says exactly the same thing: "Mr. Mayor, we are sorry to inform you that earlier this evening...police officers responded to gunshots...officers found young African American male ...gunshots in the back of his head... announced dead on arrival." There are no witnesses.
The death of young, African American men on the streets of New Orleans and throughout America, at the hands of other young, African American men is a national tragedy and a national shame. We lose over 13,000 Americans every year to violence and it's the hardest thing to talk about. The fact remains – it is the single most important issue facing our city. A whole generation of young people is being lost to the streets. Too many lives taken too early. Too many families bearing too much pain. The relentlessness of the killing has made us numb to the reality.
But, we cannot ignore it. We have to face it head on. We will respond to crime and murder the same way we respond to a catastrophic hurricane or a homeland security threat. We will be relentless and we will be focused. And we will coordinate our efforts. This is the model – prevention, intervention, interdiction, prosecution, rehabilitation, and re-entry – we will initiate a comprehensive and collaborative response to the emergency.
Today, I’m announcing that this effort will be led by our new Criminal Justice Commissioner – Mr. James Carter. A well-respected member of the community, tireless advocate for justice, former councilmember and lawyer, Mr. Carter will have a single directive – coordinate all efforts throughout the criminal justice system and community to reduce murder and crime. We thank him for being with us here today.
I am also announcing the launch of the Mayoral Strategic Command. The Strategic Command will be the City’s War Room to combat murder. The Commissioner will serve as a partner alongside other key leaders as we tackle this issue at the highest level. Our mission is clear – change the culture of death and violence on the streets of New Orleans to a culture of peace and safety and security.


We applaud this focus. 


cheron brylski
the brylski company
3418 coliseum street
new orleans, louisiana 70115
cbrylski at aol.com
504.897.6110
504.460.1468 cell
504.897.0778 fax
www.brylskicompany.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nine.pairlist.net/pipermail/kreweoftruth/attachments/20110428/3a44f3b5/attachment.htm>