Maggie's Farm

You Got To Be More Than Street-wise

Some of the reports of looting and lawlessness in New Orleans have been quite shocking: police officers joining in the looting, an entire Walmart ransacked and all the guns stolen, gangs of armed men roaming the streets, officers getting shot by looters, prison riots, citizens breaking into jewelry shops, pharmacies, clothing retailers and the like directly in front of watching police and national guardsmen. 

This activity is no doubt fueled in part by New Orleans' already very high crime rate, which has risen in the last several years despite rapid decreases in almost all other major U.S. cities (as this article reported just two weeks ago, also here).  Not coincidentally, New Orleans also has only 3.14 officers per 1,000 residents, half of what Washington D.C. has and less than most big cities, and those relatively few officers have had to deal with uncooperative, suspicious citizens and even charges of police brutality when attempting to carry out their highly dangerous jobs.  As the foremost priorities for the city are rescuing stranded residents and plugging the massive breaches in the levees, it looks as though this situation may deteriorate further.