Safe Streets, Strong Communities, Brochure from 2nd Annual Picnic

SAFE STREETS, STRONG COMMUNITIES

(Excerpts from a brochure handed out at

the Safe Streets/ Strong Communities

Second Annual Picnic, July 29, 2007) 

WHO WE ARE

Safe Streets - Strong Communities is a membership based organization whose mission is to create safe streets and strong communities for everyone, regardless of our race or economic status.

Safe Streets works in coalition with other concerned citizens, advocates and attorneys who came together with a common vision for criminal justice reform and rebuilding.  Our Coalition Partners include: A Fighting Chance, Fairness for Prisoner’s Families, Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), Innocence Project - New Orleans, Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, Louisiana ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Southern Center for Human Rights and Voice of the Ex-Offender (VOTE).

OUR VISION

Our vision is to build a world where all communities are safe and strong.  This means putting resources into our children and families by funding schools, housing, and services instead of jails and prisons.  To do this, we must build power in our communities by standing together and demanding changes.

REFORMING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM

Safe Streets organizes in communities most affected by our broken criminal justice system, particularly those who have been victims of violent crime, victims of police harassment, are current or former prisoners, those who have suffered because of an indigent defender system in crisis, their family members and friends.  Our projects include:

Orleans Parish Prisoners Survivors Council, established to help those who were in OPP when Katrina’s floodwaters began to rise;

Family Advocacy Tools to help family members advocate for their loved ones on the other side of the fence;

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Communities Against Police Brutality to help communities mobilize responses to police injustices and demand accountability of their elected officials;

Police Accountability Advocates, who can help you file a complaint at the Public Integrity Bureau or pursue other avenues to gain justice.

WHAT SAFE STREETS STANDS FOR:

The criminal justice and public safety system in New Orleans was in crisis long before Katrina devastated our city.  The system cost tax payers millions of dollars every year while it failed to keep our citizens safe, leaving us vulnerable to crime and violence, and with one of the highest murder rates in the nation.

Abuse and corruption within the NOPD, inside the Orleans Parish Prison Complex and within our court system has been the source of law suits, protests, and scandal on a national scale.  These broken systems have brought shame to our city and hindered our ability to attract new comers and vital economic development.  Simultaneously, whole portions of our community have been funneled into this broken system, destroying lives and the fabric of our families, while failing to protect our communities.

From the tragic waters of Katrina, we have been given an opportunity for a fresh start.  As we rebuild our homes, schools, parks and levees, let us rebuild a criminal justice system that provides safety from all forms of violence and crime and is democratic, fair and accountable.  Let us reconstruct a public safety system that creates safe streets and strong communities for everyone, regardliess of race or economic status.

DEMANDS FOR NOPD REFORM:

Support and fully fund an Independent Monitor who will investigate police misconduct and make public recommendations for police accountability and policy change.

Conduct a Nationwide Search with citizen input for a Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department who will clean out corruption and reform the NOPD.

Reconvene a Police-Citizen Review Task Force that will create a 5 year plan for Recoverty and Reform.

For More Info:  www.safestreetsnola.org

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