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Crime Coalition Goes to D.C. Page 2Page 3Page 3 of 3The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) —
Citizen activists met with U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey on
Tuesday seeking to put a face to grassroots efforts to reform local
government and the criminal justice system in New Orleans and to keep
the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina on the national
radar. The
New Orleans Crime Coalition, which includes members of business and
good-government communities, has been vocal about not only building back
up a police force whose ranks were thinned by Katrina but also
rebuilding a criminal justice system that was broken long before the
August 2005 storm. The group held a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, in addition to the meeting with Mukasey. A coalition member and chairman of the New Orleans Business
Council, said a main purpose of the trip was to "demonstrate the level,
the amount and the sophistication of the citizen activism that was going
on" and to show "why this was so fundamental to the rebuilding of the
area." Lapeyre
said the group also sought continued support from the Justice
Department, not just financially but also with resources for such things
as witness protection. Getting witnesses to come forward has been a
persistent problem for police and prosecutors. The coalition also urged
Mukasey to visit the city as former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
had. He
said Mukasey listened and commented on such post-Katrina reform efforts
as the creation of an inspector general to look into the workings of
city government. The City Council created an office of inspector general
in 2006 to send a message to the rest of the country that New Orleans,
with its reputation for political corruption, could be trusted with
federal recovery dollars. The IG, who started work late last summer, is
still getting the office up and running. A
Justice Department spokesman, in an e-mailed statement, said Mukasey
"reiterated the Department's commitment to improving law enforcement in
New Orleans and listened to the coalition's views on how best the
Department can help going forward." He did not respond to a question
about Mukasey's impression about the progress that's been made so far
with the funds allocated. Justice
over the past two years has provided $43 million to the city for things
like police equipment and to help re-establish the operation of courts,
according to the federal Gulf Coast Rebuilding Office. The department
also has sent in agents to help police and prosecutors to help handle
federal cases. The feds have been particularly aggressive in pursuing
public corruption cases. The
office says FEMA has also set aside more than $200 million for law
enforcement infrastructure, equipment and facilities in the state. Paul
Conway, the acting federal coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, said
his office's key principles have been to provide critical key services
to areas affected by the 2005 hurricanes and to ensure accountability in
how federal recovery aid is spent. Tuesday's
events went to the core of those, he said, both elevating the needs
that remain and highlighting the watchdog and reform efforts under way.
It will be up to decision makers in the executive branch and in Congress
as to when the flow of aid will stop, he said. "These
grassroots citizen-leaders are in the arena and working aggressively to
fight crime and wipe out public corruption in the city they call home,
and we will continue to ensure their voice is actively represented in
the policy process," he said. 2008 Associated Press. .
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