The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region is a relentless and passionate champion of criminal justice system reform in the City of New Orleans. Toward that end, Business Council officers, Jay Lapeyre and Gregory Rusovich were key leaders in the creation of the New Orleans Crime Coalition in February 2007. Along with the Business Council, the Crime Coalition is comprised of a diverse group of community organizations.

The mission of the Crime Coalition is to focus the resources of the police, prosecution and judicial systems on arresting, convicting and incarcerating our community’s violent offenders.  Among its most successful initiatives is the creation of Courtwatch NOLA, a program which uses volunteers to monitor, evaluate and report to the public on the courtroom proceedings of the judges in Criminal District Court.  In 2007 the Coalition also secured $4.2 million in federal funding which has resulted in substantially more boots on the ground and community prosecutors.

Last April a group of Crime Coalition representatives, led by Business Council leaders Bob Brown, Jay Lapeyre, Nolan Rollins and Greg Rusovich, made a presentation at the National Press Club in Washington D. C. which highlighted the criminal justice gains in the New Orleans area. They also met with Bush administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey to press for Justice Department support of $17 million in federal financing for law enforcement efforts in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast.  More recently, the Crime Coalition led a successful fight to restore funding in the 2009 city budget for the offices of the District Attorney and the Public Defender.