June 30, 2011 District “C” Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer hosted a Crime and Blight Forum with the Algiers Neighborhood Presidents Council, Algiers Economic Development Foundation, and Delgado Community College. The panel of speakers included NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas, Criminal Justice Commissioner James Carter, Council President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, Deputy Police Monitor Simone Levine, NOPD 4th District Commander Heather Kouts, State Senator David Heitmeier, Speaker of the State House of Representatives Jim Tucker, and State Representative Jeff Arnold.
Commander Heather Kouts gave a presentation on changes within her department and district, as well as crime statistics compared to other districts and previous months. Her presentation and comments from the various panelists were followed by questions from the audience about specific crime issues within the Algiers community.
The NOPD says one new initiative coming soon is a volunteer program for citizens to get the community more involved with police.
Details will be announced next week.
