It’s usually a very good feeling when the City of New Orleans comes together. Sometimes it’s the Saints and Mardi Gras that unifies us. Unfortunately a once in a lifetime disaster can also make us one. In this case, however, we all fall into the same group due to one thing: crime.
The murder rate is down and shootings have gone up. Those are crimes that New Orleanians, rightly or wrongly, believe to be limited to certain individuals who are engaged in nefarious activities. But vehicle break ins are an equal opportunity misfortune…they’ve been happening all over the city to all types of people, and the statistics bear that out. Vehicle burglaries are up FORTY SEVEN PERCENT from last year.
We’re not taking it well nor should we. Council member Cyndi Nguyen put it bluntly. “My constituents”, she said, “are PI$%@D OF”!
Fellow council member Joe Giarusso said he was hearing the same from the people in his district. That’s not the only thing they have in common. They also agree on the best way to fix it so that people won’t have to leave their vehicle unlocked or the windows open so there’s no damage. They know its GOING to happen; they just don’t know when.