Will President Trump send National Guard troops to patrol in New Orleans? That's the million-dollar question after a leaked Pentagon memo showed that the feds have a plan to deploy soldiers in the Crescent City.
Will guardsmen help reduce crime as President Trump says they will? A local crime watchdog says, "yes."
"A thousand extra bodies? I think it would have a dramatic effect," Metropolitan Crime Commission president Raphael Goyeneche said.
According to Goyeneche, statistics show that the National Guard's presence in New Orleans after the January 1 terrorist attack and before the Super Bowl helped drive down crime.
"The incidents of violent crime were 8.6 per week," Goyeneche said. "After they left, they went up to about 14.5."
With fewer than 800 NOPD officers on the force, Goyeneche says having the extra personnel will allow the NOPD to respond to calls, investigate crimes, and make arrests. Goyeneche says criminals will be less likely to break the law if uniformed guardsmen are actively patrolling the city.
"They take some of the load off those agencies, allowing the police department and the state police to do what they're very good at, and that's responding, investigating, and arresting," Goyeneche said. "The National Guard will be a visual deterrent. Remember the role they played during Mardi Gras? They were walking the parade routes in uniforms. They are a visual deterrent."
Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser says keeping New Orleans safe is important, but he's concerned that sending in National Guardsmen into the city will send the wrong message about the city to potential tourists.
"You worry about the stigma that there must be a real crime problem if they're sending 1,000 National Guardsmen down there," Nungesser said while on a trip to Canada to convince people there to visit the Crescent City.
According to Nungesser, State Police Troop NOLA is already driving down down crime in the city.
"Since the governor put the State Police in the French Quarter, I've seen a world difference," Nungesser said. "The facial recognition (and) catching criminals--wanted criminal--before they can actually commit another crime has been incredible."
Nungesser says if President Trump does send troops into New Orleans to patrol, they should be from the Louisiana National Guard.
"I know during the Super Bowl, those National Guardsmen that were here on the corners on the French Quarter were interacting with the public (and) actually giving them advice on directions and things."
Regardless what happens, Nungesser says local, state, and federal leaders need to keep working towards keeping New Orleans's crime rates low.
"Having a safe city is more important than anything when attracting tourists."
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