NEW ORLEANS – The recovery of the criminal justice system in New Orleans is a top priority for both the city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Many recent accomplishments are moving the progress along, including the obligation of all initial funding for both the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office.

After Hurricane Katrina, the NOPD worked long hours of overtime participating in search and rescue missions, providing food and water to evacuees and performing other emergency services. FEMA has provided reimbursement monies for these crucial services, as well as for the replacement of storm-damaged vehicles, computers, furniture and radio equipment, among other needed assets.

In the aftermath of the storm, various NOPD buildings were damaged. The Crime Lab was one of them. To resume the lab’s operations in an expeditious manner, FEMA has worked diligently with the NOPD, the University of New Orleans (UNO) and the Attorney General’s Office to create a temporary NOPD Crime Lab at UNO. Building plans, including equipment and mechanical and electrical work, are almost complete, and construction is expected to finish near the end of September. Once the facility opens, evidence will no longer have to be sent out of state for analysis, eliminating this hold up in the justice process.

Other Katrina casualties were the Youth Study Center and the Juvenile Detention Center. Until the latter is repaired, Orleans Parish is in need of a temporary housing location for juvenile offenders. FEMA is assisting Orleans Parish in negotiating with St. Bernard Parish to utilize space at the St. Bernard Youth Detention Facility. Also, FEMA re-assessed another facility for juveniles, the Youth Study Center, and determined that a replacement is more cost effective than repair. The 50-year-old building will be replaced with a more modern facility that will meet current codes and youth detention facility standards.

 “The full recovery of the NOPD and sheriff’s office is essential to the city’s rebuilding process. I am proud to announce that all initial projects have been obligated for these two organizations, a feat that was accomplished through close coordination and dedicated personnel who expedited these projects,” said Jim Stark, FEMA director of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office.

Basic infrastructure is necessary to ensure that the police department and sheriff’s office can perform their jobs properly. FEMA is working with the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office and the city of New Orleans to help implement the city’s master plan for the Criminal Justice Complex, which includes 12 prison facilities and several administrative buildings. FEMA recently determined that seven facilities within the complex qualify for replacement and expects that ongoing reassessments will identify other eligible replacements. This provides the city with more flexibility as far as design and potential relocation.

The Old Parish Prison, the oldest facility in the complex, is a 700–bed jail that suffered major damages during the storm. This situation will change when the prison resumes normal operations when repairs are completed later this year. Also, FEMA resources have enabled the sheriff’s office to construct a temporary modular jail facility that can house up to 800 minimum-security inmates.

The Intake Processing Center (IPC), where anyone arrested for violations goes through processing, was demolished in a coordinated effort between the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office and the FEMA’s Public Assistance Justice Team. A temporary IPC will be located in the main kitchen area, which was also damaged. Removal of the kitchen equipment, ceiling, ductwork and other parts of the main kitchen interior began in early June, and the temporary IPC is expected to be completed by November.

FEMA is also working with the sheriff’s office to fulfill the critical need for a temporary medical facility, which will allow on-site medical treatment of inmates, eliminate the need to send inmates off-site with guards for treatment and save time and money. Funds have been obligated for a modular facility, and it is expected to be delivered soon.

Other federal funding has reimbursed the sheriff’s office for temporary housing for jail personnel; content replacement for the men’s prisons, the Conchetta Women’s Prison and for various office buildings; and replacement of K-9 dogs, training equipment and warehouse supplies.

In total, FEMA has obligated more than $273 million toward the recovery of the criminal justice system in New Orleans, including nearly $129 million for the NOPD and $84 million for the Criminal Sheriff’s Office. The remaining funding reimburses the Coroner’s Office, Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff’s Office, Clerk of the District Court, the Orleans Parish District Attorney and others for repairs and replacement of facilities and equipment damaged by Katrina.

When projects are obligated by FEMA through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows an applicant, such as the city of New Orleans or the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office, to work with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as quickly as possible to access the reimbursement monies. The state may require additional documentation from the applicant before disbursing the funds. Obligated funds may change over time as the project worksheet is a living grant that is often adjusted as bids come in and scope of work is aligned.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.