NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Carjackers and car burglars will be targeted in a joint effort planned by police and prosecutors in New Orleans.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams announced at a recent forum that an agreement between his office and the police department is in the works, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.
The effort will include a focus on finding possible connections among groups of people who are breaking into cars or stealing them at gunpoint.
“It’s not gangs and it’s not organized crime, but it’s more organized than one-off cases, and we’re going to begin to prosecute those cases the same way you can see them prosecuted in the federal system,” Williams said.
Overall crime is down in New Orleans, but some types of crime have spiked, including carjackings.
A police spokesman said the department’s effort will involve the Violent Crime Abatement Investigation Team. It won’t require personnel changes.
Williams hasn’t detailed any related staffing shifts planned at the district attorney’s office.
“We are very close to finalizing the details and specific tenets of the initiative and we will be sharing much of this plan with the public in the coming weeks once it is ready for complete implementation,” he said last week.
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