City Councilwoman Susan Guidry told The Lens recently that a major new jailhouse under discussion between the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Landrieu Administration was news – unwelcome news – to her. The “Phase III Concept” jail plan would add yet another FEMA-funded lockup to the Orleans Parish Prison campus, with between 600 and […]
Category: Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Traffic court judge: Efficiency would cost too many city jobs
The city should ignore the advice of its inspector general and not merge Municipal Court and Traffic Court because too many city employees would lose their jobs in the interest of government efficiency, the head of Traffic Court said today. The candid remarks from Chief Judge Robert Jones came as New Orleans City Councilwoman Susan […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics, Investigations
IG's report slams Sheriff Gusman and Judge Sens for hiring wives
New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux issued a report today blasting a cozy wife-hire arrangement between Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman and family friend Administrative Judge Paul Sens. The hires, first reported earlier this year by The Lens and our reporting partners at WVUE-Fox 8, reeked of “impropriety” but were not criminal, the report concluded. I.G. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Budgetary shell game: Case of the missing $200G for juvy monitors
How much money did the City of New Orleans appropriate for Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s Electronic Monitoring Program this year? a) $200,000 b) $504,000 c) $600,000 d) $704,000 e) $904,000 f) all of the above g) none of the above (Warning: It’s a trick question.) If your guiding document is the adopted New Orleans […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Criminal-justice advocates frustrated by talks of new jail
New Orleans criminal-justice reform advocates are lambasting a plan that would add up to 650 beds to the upgraded Orleans Parish Prison complex under construction along Perdido Street. The new jail would represent a departure from city officials’ pledges to keep the total number of inmates to 1,438. That pledge was made April 24 by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Council's Criminal Justice leaders mum on possible new jail
The co-chairwomen of the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee on Monday declined to comment on a new jail under consideration by the Landrieu administration and Sheriff Marlin Gusman that would add up to 650 beds to the Orleans Parish Prison complex. The Lens asked councilwomen Susan Guidry and Jackie Clarkson about their stance on the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Sheriff, city discussing new jail building that would add capacity for 600 additional inmates
This image showing a proposed new jail facility was available through the portion of the city’s website that chronicles the operations of a mayoral panel created to study operations of the Orleans Parish Prison complex. More specific drawings show plans for a more modest three-story building, as opposed to the scale represented here. Sheriff Marlin […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
City still awaiting expert report on criminal-justice financing
Update: Gusman takes responsibility for at least some of the delay. Additions to the original story marked below. A financial expert hired by the city to report on the controversial method the city uses to pay the sheriff’s office appears to have missed its early June deadline. Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin wrote a May […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sheriff's Office wants to hire outside manager for paid details
Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman confirmed Friday that he is working to outsource the management of the lucrative off-duty private security details available to his deputies. In a written statement, Gusman said that “the Sheriff’s Office is reviewing a plan that involves a third party to assist with the handling of detail assignments,” but nothing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gusman slashes deputies' hours under new OPP work schedule
In an effort to trim costs, Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman instituted a new scheduling plan for deputies and staff at Orleans Parish Prison earlier this month. The schedule, which was reflected in prison employees’ paychecks for this first time last week, means fewer overtime hours for deputies, whose starting pay for working in the […]