Feb. 22
February 5, 2007
Bernice Hughes
February 7, 2007
Congressman Bobby Jindal visited the Houma-Terrebonne Rotary Club last week to unveil his recent crime bill.
“As a father of three young children, the increase in crime rate is troubling to me. I think it is troubling to many of you when you realized even before the storms our major metropolitan areas were way above the national average in crime. This stems back to 2003 when the greater New Orleans area had the second highest capital murder rate in the entire country,” Jindal said.
Jindal said he sat down with the state and local sheriffs, district attorneys and others involved in enforcing the laws in Louisiana and asked a simple question: “What can we do to work together? What can we do to help support you efforts.”
Jindal said the law enforcement agencies responses was something that Louisiana has been fighting for, for nearly 30 years n a criminal tracking system.
The congressman’s Violent Crime Reduction Act seeks to coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement agencies’ effort in fighting violent crimes, as well as gang and drug activity. Jindal said the legislation will also help Louisiana funding to establish a comprehensive system to track offenders from the time of arrest through disposition.
E. Pete Adams, executive director of the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association, said in a release from the White House, “Congressman Jindal’s legislation is an important component in helping law enforcement fight crime. With the possible federal funding, Louisiana can become a model state when it comes to being fully integrated and sharing information among law enforcement agencies. When fully implemented, Louisiana’s Integrated Criminal Justice Information System will provide full interaction between Law Enforcement and their Federal counterparts, including Home Land Security.”
Initially, Jindal introduced the legislation because Louisiana has experienced a large number of crimes, placing the state’s crime rate about 24 percent higher than the national average, he said.
In 2005, Louisiana endured 26,889 violent crimes, 450 murders and 19,681 aggravated assaults. In 2006, 116 killings still occurred in the Crescent City despite the decrease in the population. In 2007, the death rate in New Orleans is in the double-digits according to the Louisiana representative.
Jindal bill’s will do three things for the residents in Terrebonne-Lafourche area as well as other parts of Louisiana:
• Establish joint task force of Federal, State, local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors so they can share resources and intelligence to help target most serious gangs and drug activity in a community.
• Create guidelines to designate High Intensity Gang areas in these communities and authorize Federal funding to help combat gang and drug activity, as well as help states hire prosecutors and purchase technology, equipment and training for gang enforcement.
• Authorize the U.S. Department of Justice to award grants to state and local programs for the specific purpose of designing and establishing a statewide database to track criminals, arrests, prosecutions and convictions.
Hal Turner, executive director of the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association, said in a release from Capital Hill, “Sheriffs and other law enforcement officers need every tool available when their life is on the line apprehending suspected criminals. This federal funding will help us work together as a state to develop a comprehensive system that will benefit the public by giving law enforcement officers a long overdue tool in fighting crime.”
Houma-Terrebonne Rotary Club President Ron Brooks said he thought Jindal was very positive.
“It was an opportunity to gain a clearer insight to the upcoming congressional session. I feel that the meeting was very beneficial because it would help you gain information that is prudent to your surviving. When you don’t have time to pick up and article to read about it,” Brooks said.
Staff photo by SOPHIA?RUFFIN • Tri-Parish Times * Congressman Bobby Jindal meets with members of the Houma-Terrebonne Rotary Club to discuss his crime bill.
