In the wake of six violent deaths over the holiday weekend, New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley said Monday he will ask Gov. Kathleen Blanco to extend the National Guard’s stay in the city past its expected withdrawl date of Dec. 31. It is unfortunate that a city with so many problems caused by Hurricane Katrina has to resort to military occupation to control violent crime, but Riley’s admission that more law enforcement is necessary is a positive step. It shows he is willing to ask for help in bringing the city’s apparent crime problem under control. Blanco should heed his call and order the troops to remain in the city until crime can be brought under control. It has been widely reported that much of New Orleans remains in ruins more than a year after the hurricane devastated the city. What the city needs more than anything else is to increase tourism levels to pre-hurricane levels and in turn increase the amount of business the city brings in. But with widespread reports of violent crime in New Orleans, the effort to bring in tourists has been made far more difficult than it needs to be. Since National Guard troops were deployed in New Orleans in July after five teenagers were killed in a shooting, the NOPD has redirected its focus to high-crime areas, leaving Guard troops to quell looting and burglaries in areas of the city with few inhabitants. And the Guard has been effective. According to Associated Press reports, the 300 Guard troops stationed in the city have assisted in more than 1,400 arrests. The Guard’s assistance has been a great boon to the NOPD, which is operating with about 245 fewer officers than the department had before the hurricane. As stated before, it only furthers the tragedy of Katrina to have an American city occupied by U.S. soldiers, but right now this is what must be done to ensure the safety of the people struggling to remain in a city that faces so many other problems. Blanco should take heed of what the city’s police officers need to do their job.
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