President Trump is suggesting that the national guard could be used in additional American cities besides the nation’s capital, and has included New Orleans on his list. I have no problem with this, but we need to do a lot more on our own here in Louisiana.
There is a wave of irrational violence in cities all over the state. Baton Rouge and New Orleans have become war zones. Shreveport and Monroe have some of the highest murder rates in the nation. There were 923 violent crimes reported for every 100,000 people in Shreveport last year, compared to 399 incidents per 100,000 nationwide.
What can be done to stop the surge of violence in the Bayou State? “Why not form a government-community agency of professionals whose job it will be to build a comprehensive road map to safety,” suggest columns in the state’s two largest newspapers. But we have formed committees and studied the crime problem for years with nothing concrete to show for it. The criminal violence continues.
