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Thread: N'Orleans needs moar kops for fat Tuesday

  1. #1

    N'Orleans needs moar kops for fat Tuesday

    You'd think they'd learn......

    From Drudge;





    Police shortage is a security risk for Mardi Gras

    http://www.wwl.com/Associated-Press-...y-ris/20784500

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Throughout the quieter parts of the French 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's an unsettling message about violent crime in the Big Easy for the 1 million revelers about to descend for Carnival season, which this year ends on Feb. 17, Fat Tuesday.

    The signs are an embarrassment for a city that likes to say how safe it makes Mardi Gras year in and year out, despite the debauchery. During Carnival, the streets crawl not only with partiers but with cops, state troopers, federal agents and private security officers.

    Despite their presence, shootings have occurred in nightclubs, on Bourbon Street, or along Carnival parade routes — many of which end at or near the Quarter — in at least eight of the past 11 years. At least 27 people were injured and one killed in those attacks.

    Since November, a series of more than 60 robberies in and around the Quarter has shocked residents and sparked outrage directed not so much at the New Orleans 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.

    Fears have been stoked by images of the attacks caught by a growing network of private surveillance cameras. The attackers have used knives, guns, fists, sharp objects, pepper spray and even purses on pedestrians.

    "These are crimes of opportunity, these people are lying in wait," said Harry Widmann, a lawyer whose California colleague was beaten unconscious in December after he was attacked on his way back to his hotel. "You need to have a police presence."

    NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison said the number of robberies is up somewhat from last year and that the attacks "are becoming more brazen."

    Applying pressure on Landrieu has been Sidney Torres IV, a wealthy 39-year-old French Quarter entrepreneur, who paid for a series of TV ads blaming the mayor. He said he couldn't sit idle after his mansion on an oak-lined avenue along one edge of the Quarter was burglarized in December, and then Buffa's Bar & Restaurant next door to his home was robbed by two armed men.

    "Enough is enough," Torres said.

    Landrieu has sent more officers into the Quarter, and police say they're cracking down.

    Harrison said he welcomed the new signs advising visitors to walk in large groups. "That's good advice wherever you go in the world, and so, we're not offended by that," the superintendent said.

    The French Quarter's narrow, 300-year-old streets contribute to its charm, but also make it a haven for muggings, especially between October and March, the height of the tourism and convention season. A Loyola University study of robberies in tourist areas during those months in 2007 and 2008 found visitors were the targets in 34 out of 155 robberies. The study put some of the blame on outsiders themselves, many of whom apparently were inebriated and lured to unsafe places in search of drugs and sex.

    "As we move into the Carnival season, you are going to see a robust force on the streets," Landrieu said. "I've authorized as much overtime as is necessary."

    The trouble with this pledge is that the NOPD is understaffed.

    The force has lost about 500 officers since Katrina struck in 2005 and it is now 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 city inspector general report found last May.

    "I have been to some roll calls where there is one cop, two cops," said Michael Glasser, president of the Police Association of New Orleans, a police union.

    Some officers have been forced to leave, many have simply retired and others are seeking better paying jobs. Low morale, hiring freezes and a lack of large pay increases, plus higher standards required as part of a deal to resolve a U.S. Justice Department probe, are contributing to the depleted force.

    Department leaders say they are recruiting more aggressively and broadening their candidate pool to bolster the ranks.

    For now, though, residents will keep posting the signs warning visitors to walk in large groups.

    "We want them to know that, especially at night, it's not safe to walk by yourself because you are a target," French Quarter resident Crystal Hinds said as she put up signs recently. "It's such a historic area, and it's priceless. So, we definitely hope that something will be done about it."



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  3. #2
    How much does Mardis Gras bring in for local merchants that <heart> the police? How about they hire their own damn security.

  4. #3
    People do not have a clue what Mardi Gras is all about, therefore they don't know the best part of it is the pancakes.
    #NashvilleStrong

    “I’m a doctor. That’s a baby.”~~~Dr. Manny Sethi

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by tobismom View Post
    People do not have a clue what Mardi Gras is all about, therefore they don't know the best part of it is the pancakes.

    Perhaps you are thinking of beignets?



    http://www.cafedumonde.com/

    NOLA will be fine without law enforcement. The number of robberies and murders will happen as it usual does with the police protection. But there will be more doobies than usual without law enforcement, so things may even out.
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    Perhaps you are thinking of beignets?



    http://www.cafedumonde.com/

    NOLA will be fine without law enforcement. The number of robberies and murders will happen as it usual does with the police protection. But there will be more doobies than usual without law enforcement, so things may even out.
    Yup, something that is self-evident is self-evident....

    During Carnival, the streets crawl not only with partiers but with cops, state troopers, federal agents and private security officers.

    Despite their presence, shootings have occurred in nightclubs, on Bourbon Street, or along Carnival parade routes — many of which end at or near the Quarter — in at least eight of the past 11 years. At least 27 people were injured and one killed in those attacks.

  7. #6
    If you've ever been to NOLA for Mardi Gras, you know that the LEOs only really care about violence... as long as you aren't being violent they seem to let anything else slide.


    On Bourbon Street it is LITERALLY wall-to-wall people... LEOs can't get a car through there, so they use horses instead if there is a problem. People won't move out of the way for a car, but they will move out of the way of a horse:






    __________________________________________________ ________________
    "A politician will do almost anything to keep their job, even become a patriot" - Hearst

  8. #7
    /\ Explains all those public urinators I see getting busted in NOLA during Mardi Gras on Cops.

  9. #8
    The feds came in a few years ago and put limits on the outside security details NOPD would work after hours. The job is a lot less attractive now.

    The people arresting public urinators are probably Louisiana State Police. They also bust college drinkers when they come down to "help" on Mardi Gras.



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  11. #9
    I will go to NOLA on any other day beside Mardi Gras and its associate parade days, and for new years.
    You do not move through the crowd, the crowd moves you. You will lose the people you are traveling with... the more people, the more likely.
    Where will you park? Better bring plenty of cash.
    rewritten history with armies of their crooks - invented memories, did burn all the books... Mark Knopfler

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by torchbearer View Post
    I will go to NOLA on any other day beside Mardi Gras and its associate parade days, and for new years.
    You do not move through the crowd, the crowd moves you. You will lose the people you are traveling with... the more people, the more likely.
    Where will you park? Better bring plenty of cash.
    I've done it in younger days. These days I'm just as happy to stay in the suburbs and watch the parades there.

  13. #11
    I do have NOLA on the "bucket list." But not during Mardis Gras. Jazz Fest sounds like a blast.



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