Monday, January 26, 2015

The Party is Over

Even after the kids are asleep?

"Crime spike stuns New Orleans residents" Associated Press  January 26, 2015

NEW ORLEANS — Since November, a series of more than 60 robberies in and around the French Quarter of New Orleans has shocked residents. Public outrage has been directed not so much at the Police Department but at Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who is pushing back against complaints that he paints a too-flattering picture of his crime-fighting efforts.

The police force has lost about 500 officers since Katrina struck in 2005 and is down to about 1,150, far fewer than the 1,600 that Landrieu would like. As few as 250 officers were found to be on patrol duty and responding to calls for help in May 2013, a report found last May.

Throughout the quieter parts of the Quarter, residents and businesses have posted signs that read ‘‘Caution: Walk in Large Groups. We (heart) N.O.P.D. We Just Need More.’’

It is an unsettling message for the 1 million revelers about to descend for Mardi Gras. Shootings have occurred in clubs, on Bourbon Street, or along Carnival parade routes in eight of the past 11 years.

Fears about the recent crime wave have been stoked by images of the attacks from a network of private surveillance cameras. The attackers have used knives, guns, fists, and even purses on pedestrians.

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All right, who called in the bomb threat?