The DA’s Office Announces Community-Driven Programs: District Screener Initiative & Risk Terrain Modeling

NEW ORLEANS – This month, Orleans Parish District Attorney (OPDA) Jason Williams announced his Office’s creation of two new community crime prevention programs: OPDA District Screener Unit and the implementation of the Risk Terrain Modeling Pilot.

District Attorney Jason Williams said, “Simply put, these are the tools and force multipliers we need to increase safety and deliver justice in the criminal legal system of New Orleans. My office acknowledges the changing criminal patterns in our city and fully supports the use of technology to combat violent crime in our community. We have to take the next steps and be ahead of the game with the help of motivated leadership and community partners to put game-changing ideas into action that will help our office in identifying the root causes of crime, being specific about the individuals that are arrested and making sure we can secure guilty verdicts in court without reasonable doubt. The fact of the matter is that the criminal element and perpetrators of violent crime have embraced technology at a clip faster clip than anticipated, but our solution is having more players in this fight and being strategic about it. I believe that using the District Screener Unit and implementing Risk Terrain Modeling is like having better-equipped players on the field, helping us reduce crime by identifying problem areas with the community’s help.”