NEW ORLEANS- New Orleans officials have approved a plan to cut 11 percent of the city jail's daily average number of inmates over the next few months.
    
A working group consisting of representatives from the courts, the police department, the sheriff, the district attorney and City Hall on Monday approved the plan to reduce both the number of people booked into the central lockup and the duration of their stay.
    
The plan would keep about 200 people out of jail each day by adopting practices such as expanding the eligibility of inmates who can be released as they await trial.
    
Since adopting several measures to dramatically cut the jail population from more than 7,000 before Hurricane Katrina, the jail has averaged about 1,800 inmates each day.