New Orleans Police say a vehicle burglary investigation led to five arrests this morning. Superintendent Shaun Ferguson says there is a concerted effort to fight the auto-burglary problem.
"We are trying to make sure that everyone realizes that we are committed to do our due diligence in arresting individuals that are responsible for committing these auto burglaries across this city," said Ferguson.
Four suspects are all adults, and the chief notes that means it's not just teenagers committing these crimes, although that is a large part of the problem. And he said recent changes into how some youthful offenders are being handled in the justice system are helping.
"We commend the juvenile court judges on their recent implementation of a policy to hold repeat offenders in jail until they face a judge," said Ferguson. Police say since that policy change, there has been a drop in reported auto burglaries.
The chief says there isn't one single strategy for fighting this particular crime, noting that each district is handling it in their own way.
"There is no centralized plan of action for us as a police department to address this issue," said Ferguson. "Every district commanding office has taken it upon themselves and developed a plan for their various districts because each district has its own need."