Shootings on Bourbon Street: Sidney Torres Calls for Drastic Action
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of overnight shootings on Bourbon Street, Sidney Torres, creator of the French Quarter Task Force, strongly urges political leaders to take drastic measures quickly to stem the tide of violence on Bourbon Street. Reacting to the news of the latest shootings, Torres said, "I was shocked and saddened to see the news this morning, and I want to offer to be helpful. Something needs to be done immediately."
Torres has a track record of assisting in the French Quarter, where he invested over $600,000 of his own money to create the French Quarter Task Force which, according to news sources, dropped crime by 45% in its first three months of operation. Torres continued, "Technology helped us make the rest of the French Quarter safer than it's ever been, and it can help us on Bourbon Street. For special events and times, we need to treat Bourbon Street like the Superdome with 70,000 people in it. People know that when they go to the Dome, they will be safe because everyone is scanned by a wand for guns. We need that assurance on Bourbon Street, and it can be done. Lives are being lost, and one of our most critically important cultural gems is being threatened."
Torres, referencing Beale Street in Memphis where they do something similar and even charge a special fee to visitors, called on the city to close off the side-street access to Bourbon and set up metal detectors. Torres, whose French Quarter Task Force can patrol Bourbon Street only during the day before the mall is closed off to vehicle traffic, likened it to other special event procedures. "When we have special events in New Orleans, like Mardi Gras or Jazzfest, we have extra cleanup crews. Now we need extra security crews to check for guns. Ours is not the only city to face the problem of violence, and right now is a moment to be aggressive, to show the violent forces that we won't put up with it."
He continued, "We have seen technology help before. When we created the French Quarter Task Force, crime was out of control. But things are now safer than ever throughout the rest of the Quarter. Since the Task Force was created, it has responded to 30,000 calls. Over 21,000 people have downloaded the app and their use, along with 15,000 officer-initiated calls, has resulted in over 800 arrests and over 90,000 miles logged patrolling. Bourbon Street is special and calls for additional measures. But technology has helped us; it can help us again. People's lives and our community's safety depend on it. The time is now."
For more information about the French Quarter Task Force and its creative approach to tackling crime in the rest of the French Quarter:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/magazine/who-runs-the-streets-of-new-orleans.html?_r=0
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SOURCE Sidney Torres
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