I'm wondering...
Mayor Ray Nagin:And then everybody’s gonna start to wonder: if we had responded quicker, did more bodies die, did more people die because of the storm or because of the lack of response? And that’s gonna be the big question."
February 2, 2K4: The first major study of the New Orleans Police Department under Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration promised to be what one source called a “blockbuster.” Requested by the mayor, commissioned by the private New Orleans Police Foundation and conducted by scholars at the University of New Orleans ...released on Jan. 8…
“Morale in the department is very low, and officers are deserting the department at rates that are significantly higher than in other major police departments. The result is that citizens feel less safe and believe that crime is a growing problem. If these trends continue—and there is every reason to believe that they will—the impact on our community can be tremendous. New Orleans will become a less and less attractive place to live, work and visit.”
...Last year, the report continues, the city had a murder rate that was nearly 10 times higher than the national average. “For New Orleans to have a murder rate that is on par with New York City’s, our city would have to record only 36 murders per year. This is 221 fewer murders than the 257 murders recorded in 2002. Also alarming is that murder in New Orleans is on the rise, registering increases every year since 1999.”
..."If you go back and look at the history of the city, we have always ranked in the top five of murders per 1,000 residents,” the mayor said. “So, that hasn’t really changed.
Fewer than one in four murder cases in New Orleans results in a conviction. 42% of violent offenders have their charges dropped by prosecutors because the cases are “not suitable for court.” Many in New Orleans will not now testify against the thugs that they know—more likely than not—are going to be released Scot-free. People don’t even bother calling the police in New Orleans anymore. In 2004, academic Researchers conducted an experiment in which they had police fire 700 blank rounds into the air, in a single afternoon, in one neighborhood. No one—not one person—called to report the gunfire. It was background noise.
...All this is not to say that New Orleans has had no plan to reduce its high crime statistics. For a while, one police district tried lying about the statistics. It meant letting some violent thugs go (and with an edge on their joneses, I’m told), but it was cheaper than fighting real crime; and it kept the tourists coming.
Asked if such lying meant that perhaps the NOPD should have its stats audited by an outside agency, Police Chief Eddie Compass stated, “I don’t need an outside agency coming in. I think we have proven that we are capable of taking care of our own house.”
Is that why those busses weren’t sent?
I think it’s pretty clear. Nagin is a racist and wanted to kill black people.
Posted by Jim on 09/07/05 at 02:02 AM
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