New Orleans, La. -
After the City of New Orleans shut down its crime camera program because of a lack of funding in 2010, NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas now wants them back up.
In the past, critics have called the program ineffective, and a bad investment.
The chief says crime cameras will help re-create crimes, and get convictions. He says the reason the program was suspended was because there wasn't proper funding, it wasn't properly equipped and it wasn't properly staffed.
Now the department is planning to put together a funding proposal to reinvigorate the system, and get the cameras back online.
In the ongoing fight against violent crime in New Orleans, more people are now turning not to the NOPD, but to private cameras.
"We wanted to increase communications between the public and what's happening so we can alert them of real time crimes and dangers," said Brian Lagarde, founder of the non-profit group "Project NOLA."
Lagarde, a former NOPD officer who investigated crime cases for former D.A. Harry Connick, launched the organization three years ago, and has helped citizens and business owners get their surveillance cameras at relatively low cost.
"The original Nagin-era crime system was a flop. It really never worked, the cameras were junk, the system was junk. It just didn't work, plain and simple as that," said Lagarde.
"What we want to do is reinvigorate the system, look at maybe 50 more locations, put together a proposal package for the commission, the council and administration, and start down that path," said Chief Serpas.
Serpas told City Council members Thursday, he's making the proposal in the next budget and, if passed, the cameras should be operational in early 2013. But the chief says he wants to make sure the right funding stream is in place before any cameras are turned back on.
"Looking backwards, the mistakes were clear -- a lot of cameras were purchased, and there was no money to support them. That would be like buying a car and not having any money for gas and oil," said Serpas. "So basically, before we had to turn them off, the people of New Orleans thought we had a robust camera system when, in fact, there was no robust system of maintenance, there was no robust system of management."
Project NOLA now has 200 private cameras in high crime spots across the city.
"Not only have the cameras helped us identify perpetrators in major crimes, but it's even helped the victims, where we've had instances where people have been involved in aggravated battery, where the victim wasn't sure if he wanted to come forward and point out the perpetrator," said Lagarde.
Serpas says he welcomes the extra eyes on the streets as his department works to get their own viable camera system, running once again.
The 50 cameras Serpas wants to put back online will cost about $500,000 a year to run and maintain. The chief says the program is also included in Landrieu's "NOLA For Life" crime-fighting initiative.
