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The shooting deaths of three employees of a French
Quarter restaurant sparked a protest march on City Hall. Race politics and finger pointing
emerged during what should have been a time for unity and healing. Our enemy was the
criminal, not each other. It was important to unify citizens and remind them that we as a
city were going in the right direction. -Mayor Marc H. Morial Special TV Address on
Crime in New Orleans My fellow New Orleanians, we have been through a devastating time. Most wrenching are the deaths of the victims and the suffering of their families. I again express my personal sympathy to the families and the friends of the victims. There is another element to this tragedy. Let us all say that every life is precious and every neighborhood is important. We are one city, a great city. Those who know me are aware of how much I reject divisiveness in any form. We must be determined that the coalition of the concerned is not broken by appeals to race, neighborhoods, regionalism or parochial politics. We must unite against the common enemy - the criminal, the rapist and the drug pusher. Let me also stress that this is not a time for arguing over which politicians deserve credit for what. Those who have followed the debate over police funding know full well that the franchise fee adjustment was proposed by me many months ago. That was then and this is now! And now all of us are united in pursuit of this method as the best possibility for providing more money for our police department. I urge the council and civil service commission to move quickly to provide the department with what it needs for the 200 new police officers to begin working with the chief at the new higher salary without delay. However, the question is where do we go from here? Tonight, I call upon each of us to ask not what your city can do for you, but what can you do for your city. And I begin with myself. As your mayor, I am tonight recommitting myself as I did on May 2, 1994 when I assumed this office. I promise to you that I will give this job all I've got, all my enthusiasm, all my energy, all my determination and all my love for New Orleans. So please know that I am committed to utilizing every fiber of my personal being, along with pursuing every possible resource to help our community and eliminate crime in our city whether it is in Uptown or Lower Nine, Algiers, the East or the Quarter. I also petition the criminal court judges. Judges, no more probation for violent offenders, never! Tough sentences for repeat offenders, always! Gov. Foster, please help us by using the one million dollars in state funds to hire more probation officers to oversee the thousands of probates and parolees in metro New Orleans who are a state responsibility. These violators are out there victimizing our mothers, daughters, sons and nephews. Please take them off the street. Civil service, the process of testing and evaluating candidates for the police department is too slow! This is a 30-year-old problem, and we must solve it now. There are more than 1,200 applicants literally waiting in line to become police officers. The chief is doing his job recruiting, but we must break the bottleneck. Parents, you have a fundamental and moral responsibility to give love, guidance and discipline to your children. They must observe the curfew. They have to stay in school until graduation day. When parents fail, children go astray. Families, this holiday season gather all your children together. Give them love and direction. Let them know they are valued. And I want you to know, the police department, no matter how large or well trained, cannot rear our children for us. We have to do it, all of us. Fellow citizens, we cannot allow the need for police coverage to become a competition among neighborhoods. We have to make every neighborhood, every street and every house a safe place. Our common enemy is the criminal. Let's unite to take back our streets from them once and for all. Let's make New Orleans the safest city in America. God Bless You. Thank you. |
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