NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Police Superintendent was in the hot seat Thursday.
For about three hours, he answered what he could about the NOPD and the city's recent surge in crime.
"The people of this city need to see a plan from you," said At-Large councilmember Helena Moreno.
New Orleans Superintendent Shawn Ferguson faced tough questions Thursday from council members who are demanding change.
"I speak for myself and many colleagues in that the times for pleasantries has passed. We should all be candid with each other and we should all be 100% with working together but admitting where the failings and shortcomings are so we can work together to solve them," said At-Large councilmember, JP Morrell.
The meeting is the first of several with different members of the criminal justice system addressing New Orleans' recent surge in violent crime. Ferguson, who says he stands by the work his department is doing, feels more needs to be done in holding violent offenders accountable.
"Many instances when some of these individuals are committing crimes and being arrested and then released for whatever reason, they re-offend or they become a victim of violent crime themselves," he said. "I think the environment which we have created as a result of these unexpected and unprecedented challenges is an environment of bolder more brazen criminal because they do not fear any consequences to their actions."
In terms of the NOPD, he says a plan is underway to deal with the uptick in violence. However, when asked about it, he wouldn't get into specifics.
"For safety purposes I won't get into specific details as to what that plan is, but I can assure you, it is a proactive plan which we'll be more engaged," he said.
Ferguson also took questions on a variety of topics: Including bringing in the National Guard, retention and recruitment, resources for victims, and why he disbanded the TIGER unit, a group that focused on arresting serial armed robbery suspects.
"I would really, really appreciate if you would reconsider putting TIGER back on the table because TIGER worked," Morrell said.
After about three hours of questioning, the council didn't get all the answers they were hoping for. Ferguson, though, did say moving forward, he'd work with them and whoever else with the goal of helping make this city safer for all.
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