NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— With murders surging in New Orleans, there’s talk about reviving a gang fighting strategy that was once very successful.

Ten years ago when former NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas was in charge, he and his officers cracked down on street violence and the 3NG gang.

Now ten years later with murders surging in New Orleans, Interim NOPD Superintendent Michelle Woodfork aims to take strategies from Serpas’ playbook.

“We definitely need to find a way to box in the criminals and to outsmart the criminals because at this moment it is us versus them,” Anthony Jackson Jr., President of the Police Community Advisory Board said.

The initiative would identify the violent gangs and the hierarchies within them and get them and their guns off the streets.

“Typically when you have a hot gun on the streets of New Orleans that may be linked to 50 murders at least because the criminals are recycling their resources,” Jackson said.

Jackson supports the strategy not only because it worked in the past, but because he feels we need this now more than ever.

“It won’t be hard to enforce because if you look at the statistics, look at the maps geographically, the high crime areas and shootings tend to happen in a 3-4 mile radius, therefore it can work, we just have to be strategic,” he said.

This effort would involve working with ATF and other Federal partners to help identify the gangs and prosecute the criminals.

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