National Guard still in New Orleans

Speaking of the National Guard, I wasn't aware that the Louisiana National Guard is still on patrol in New Orleans.

It's been nearly three years since Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters devastated parts of New Orleans.

And to this day, the National Guard continues to patrol some of the hardest-hit areas.

The guard's mission is to prevent looting and provide a law and order.

The Guard will stay in the city at least until the end of the year following Gov. Bobby Jindal's decision to extend its tour of duty.

Given the conditions three years ago it was completely understandable, even required, that armed troops were required.

I was surprised that the Guard was still present, but apparently at least some of the citizens of New Orleans want the Guard to remain:

However, Jeffery is one of many residents with an ever-growing concern... that National Guard troops will leave by the end of September. "They actually look after us and they answer our calls. They are the ones we kind of expect when we make a call," says Jeffery.

The Ninth Ward is slowly rebuilding. But Chambliss says that rebuilding and growth may stop if the National Guard troops are taken out. Crime may come back. He says, "Theft, burglary, some assaults and a number of murders have happened."

That's why Jeffery and others with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, and Silence is Vviolence are petitioning Ggovernor Bobby Jindal to keep the troops here. "Since they're working, why take them away? Why not just add to what they have and then take them away?"

Perhaps New Orleans still isn't capable of dealing with the situation. Or the population doesn't consent to be governed.

New Orleans, State to Pay $3.4M Judgment

As a follow up to an earlier entry I saw this story just before turkey day.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The city and the state of Louisiana will pay the bulk of a $3.4 million racial discrimination judgment against the New Orleans District Attorney's Office, officials announced Tuesday.

The judgment was awarded to 36 employees, 35 white and one Hispanic, who were fired and replaced by black employees shortly after Eddie Jordan took over as the city's first black district attorney in 2003.

From what I can tell, this didn't make any of the major media outlets. Hardly surprising I suppose. The sad thing is if the races of the parties involved had been reversed, there'd be a never ending parade of finely coiffed pundits calling for the District Attorney's head on a stick.

As it was, the judgement will be paid and Jordan resigned. Maybe things will improve down in NOLA now, but I don't think anyone is waiting with baited breath.

New Orleans more violent than ever

New Orleans murder rate for year will set record

The New Orleans police department's top brass tends to place the blame for all of the city's criminal justice woes on Katrina, but it's well known that New Orleans was an extraordinarily dangerous place well before the hurricane made landfall. The crack cocaine wars of the late 1980s and early 1990s that made Washington, DC and New York City such hotbeds of street violence hit a particularly bloody crescendo in New Orleans.

and...

In recent years, the Orleans Parish district attorney's office has released hundreds of suspects under Article 701 of the Louisiana code of criminal procedure, which states that suspects cannot be held for longer than 60 days on felony arrest without an indictment. Reasons given for the lack of charges filed in 701 cases range from incomplete police reports to overburdened assistant district attorney's who were simply not able to file an indictment before the 60-day period expired. Unsurprisingly, the city's drug business began getting the message that felony crimes-even murder-would most likely end in a 701 release.

Pre-Katrina, there were a few hundred 701 releases per year. But after the storm, the trickle of 701 releases became a flood. In 2006 alone, there were nearly 3,000 such releases, a five- or six-fold increase over pre-flood levels.

Gee, really? The NOLA district attorney isn't effective? Wow. Who'da thunk a racist bigot would be incompetent?