Jindal extends National Guard’s stay in New Orleans
Governor extends Guard’s N.O. stay
Soldiers to patrol areas through end of the year
Friday, June 20, 2008
By Laura Maggi
The Times-Picayune
National Guard troops will remain in New Orleans until the end of the year to help police officers patrol the less populated areas of the city, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Thursday.
“We know part of encouraging people to come back and rebuild their homes and businesses is having confidence in the security,” Jindal said a news conference with NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley and Mayor Ray Nagin.
Currently 360 Louisiana Guard soldiers patrol New Orleans. Gov. Kathleen Blanco first sent the troops in the summer of 2006 after a spate of murders and an uptick in other crime after Hurricane Katrina. The soldiers have been deployed in the New Orleans Police Department’s 3rd, 5th and 7th Districts, which include most of the flooded areas of the city, from Lakeview to eastern New Orleans to the 9th Ward.
The soldiers were set to leave next month, until Jindal decided to extend their tour at the request of Riley and Nagin. Jindal granted an extension after taking office in January, as Blanco had repeatedly done when she was governor.
The state spends about $1 million each month to keep the complement of Guard soldiers in New Orleans.
Jindal emphasized that the number of soldiers will be reduced in the coming months. About 320 soldiers will be kept through July and August, the hottest summer months when crime typically spikes in New Orleans. Some troops will be pulled out of the city in September, when 260 soldiers will remain, said Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau, the head of the Louisiana Guard. The troop strength will decrease again in November to 216 soldiers, who will continue to patrol until Dec. 31, he said.
The Police Department, meanwhile, has launched a $1 million campaign to recruit more officers. The money for that campaign also came from the state, as well as some private money.
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