Sheriff Hutson says increased jail population, addition of juveniles, could exacerbate staffing issue to “unmanageable levels.”
Author Archives: Nick Chrastil
Nicholas Chrastil covers criminal justice for The Lens. As a freelancer, his work has appeared in Slate, Undark, Mother Jones, and the Atavist, among other outlets. Chrastil has a master's degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University, where his research focused on New Orleans' newspapers during the Reconstruction era. During his time at LSU, he also covered the Louisiana state legislature as part of the Manship Statehouse Bureau. He is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gun-arrest data raises questions about profiling
Last year, on Mardi Gras Day, New Orleans police made more gun arrests than any single day in at least 13 years, maybe more, according to arrest data kept on the City Council website, which only goes back that far. Officers arrested 40 people. Most were on Bourbon Street. More were charged with the same misdemeanor […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
District Attorney Jason Williams will cede some New Orleans cases to state prosecutors. What does that mean for criminal justice in the city?
As state police make arrests in New Orleans, the state AG will prosecute the cases, through a new strange-bedfellows partnership between Williams and Gov. Jeff Landry.
Posted inCriminal Justice
How Phase III came to be
Though they once applauded the jail’s ambitious, federally overseen reforms, community groups and political leaders in New Orleans united in opposition to a key mandate stemming from those efforts: the construction of a $109 million mental health jail.
Posted inCriminal Justice
NOPD: Drones just ‘body-worn cameras in the sky’
At a meeting, community members raise questions about the police department’s newest surveillance technology.
Posted inCriminal Justice
The DA’s office wants to use predictive analytics software to direct city resources to ‘places that drive crime.’ Will it work?
Some advocates worry it could lead to increased police presence in already under-resourced areas. But the DA’s office says that the data is only a first step.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge Reese gives green light to Phase III construction, says city did what it had to do, by bypassing City Council approval to move capital funds
A federal judge overseeing the jail’s consent decree has ordered the facility be built to provide constitutional medical and mental healthcare for people incarcerated.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge temporarily blocks construction of Phase III jail facility
A hearing on Wednesday will look into whether the Cantrell administration violated the city’s charter by allocating capital money to jail without City Council approval
Posted inCriminal Justice
Jackson Parish holding pre-trial youth in unlicensed juvenile jail
Despite lacking a required DCFS license, Jackson’s detention center is housing kids awaiting adjudication — and collecting roughly $200 a day per kid from surrounding parishes
Posted inCriminal Justice
‘Another step backwards’: $9.5 million private security contract for Louisiana youth prisons raises eyebrows
OJJ pays $75 per hour to staffing company for guards. Critics say that contractor seems to be “enriching themselves on the backs of Louisiana’s teenagers and taxpayers’