NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police expect crime to increase over the summer months.
This after a spring that saw more a dozen people shot on Bourbon Street and an overall uptick in violence in the French Quarter.
Tuesday, City Communications Director Beau Tidwell announced help may be on the way.
“Every summer we see NOPD use collaborative partnerships with the state police, and I think this year you can look ahead to announcements regarding that and other collaborations with partner law enforcement agencies,” Tidwell said.
Louisiana state troopers ended their regular deployment in the Quarter at the end of last year.
It is unclear how many troopers will be available this summer and what their role may be.
A large fight near Canal and Bourbon Streets in the middle of an illegal car show and burnout contest this past weekend, raised questions about police presence in and around the quarter.
A short cellphone video of the brawl between two groups of women did not show the NOPD responding to the disturbance.
That worries former New Orleans City Councilman Jay Batt, who sent WWL-TV the video.
“People are very concerned and have been for a while and you see that video, I’m thinking where are the police?” Batt said.
The city now confirms police did respond, but the disturbance had broken up by the time officers arrived.
“The 8th District did respond. Could that response have been more timely? That’s something we need to look into,” Tidwell said.
According to a state police spokesperson, LSP is in the process of finalizing a deal to assist NOPD this summer and there could be an announcement as early as next week.
For now, NOPD is using overtime shifts to beef up patrols in the Quarter.
The City is now funding an additional seven shifts of overtime, plus another three from the French Quarter Patrol funded by a dedicated quarter-cent sales tax in the Quarter.
That’s an additional ten officers on the streets during peak hours.