New Orleans did not need the national media associated with CQ Publication naming it the most dangerous city in the country.  Obviously, with more than 19,000 incidents, the  negative recognition could dry up tourism, freeze projects in an already frozen economy and chase investors to other locations.

There is plenty blame to go around for the crime of the century which we can collectively call New Orleans.

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The most obvious place is the criminal justice system, the police chief, the Mayor’s office and the city council.

When the District Attorney fails to prosecute cases at an alarming rate, it sends a message to the public that crime pays.

Then, if witnesses won’t testify or if evidence is sloppily obtained and maintained, the DA can’t try a case to successful prosecution.

Which, in part is why I wrote the column I did yesterday blaming US Senator David Vitter for his past willingness to take the Fifth Amendment in the Washington DC Madam case.

If our own US Senator will not testify on the grounds that the facts might incriminate him, imagine how Joe and Josephine Citizen would feel if they knew their kids or they

might not see daylight should they spill the beans on the crime scene.

Our own US Senator sent a message to the New Orleans citizens that if you feel the heat, run for the shady

Hiding is not the way to handle law and order in the Big Easy or on the Potomac, but what is good for the US Senator is good for the citizens on Treme or Bywater or Central City.  If you shut up, you and your family will not be bothered—so much for “law and order”

But, in fairness, the issue of crime in New Orleans is much larger and more complicated than failing to testify.  It does include many factors such as President Bush and the US Congress failing to send money to the city for basic infrastructure, a terrible local economy, a horrible evidence room, a dysfunctional city government, and very poor and uneducated people whom the city cannot afford at this time and whom it might not be able to afford in the foreseeable future.

Since Katrina, I have written that New Orleans must live within its means and while we should do everything in our power to improve the living conditions of New Orleans and its citizens, we cannot maintain a municipality in a post-Katrina environment when we lack the basic infrastructure.

The problem is not just endemic to New Orleans.  Throughout the Southern part of Louisiana, government and state leaders are blaming FEMA and the US Army Corps of Engineers for delays since Katrina.  The tax base will not return in those cities or in New Orleans unless people feel safe their homes will not wash away.  Others will not live in New Orleans until the crime situation improves.  In essence, what we have is a vicious cycle.

Our local tax base is insufficient for the services being offered and our national economy and government has been and appears to be too sluggish in helping to soften the blow since Katrina.

For me, the bottom line is there is too much blame to go around for the crime label.

To his credit, Bobby Jindal has tried to address the problem by extending the state guard service in New Orleans and for dealing with the substantial mental health problem in the city.  But, as the economy sours, there will be just so much help New Orleans will be able to receive from the state as North Louisiana is experiencing major layoffs at manufacturing plants.

If someone were to ask me how to improve the crime situation in New Orleans, I would say that the best advice would be that people should not return to New Orleans unless they have a job, can obtain quality education, and can live with limited services.

Right now, with the federal government bailing out Wall Street, Main Street USA, Auto Alley, and downtown Iraq, there are few precious resources to go into New Orleans.  There is no guarantee that the federal government which has been pathetic post-Katrina can ever find the resources to build this city properly and the inhabitants are struggling to survive with the very little they possess.

This does not mean New Orleans and South Louisiana should give up.  It does mean, however, that we cannot afford the services that we once provided and that those who live on the fringes must either become educated very quickly or move to a more productive location.

New Orleans must take advantage of a new federal administration and US Congress.  Our governor must focus on his job and not on Iowa.  Our US Senator must realize that he owes much more to the public than to his own family or to his rich cronies.  Our Congressman who has been under federal indictment should have resigned a long time ago allowing him to get his act together while allowing others to move up with Congressional seniority.  And people who have been voting for an indicted Congressman should realize that the world is looking with amusement and disdain

Cleaning up an evidence rooms or merely changing District Attorneys or putting up workable crime cameras won’t reduce the high level of violence or danger.  The problem is international, national, statewide and local in scope and so are the solutions. 

We have the will to make a dramatic change in this city.  However, we need responsible leaders setting appropriate priorities in every area of government before New Orleans will experience a new safe and productive future.

Our crime situation is linked to our coastal protection and hurricane protection so we can improve our tax base.  It is tied to new workable ideas which are compatible with the present and the future.  Not one person deserves all the blame—not Ray Nagin, Warren Riley, David Vitter or Joe The Burgler.  But, they do, and we do all share in the responsibility to make this city work better, cleaner, safer and more productive than ever before. 

There is an “Old” New Orleans that has failed and a “New” New Orleans with hope.   With some luck on the international and federal levels which could open up investments and with new leadership for the city, we just might be able to make a difference.  In reality, we must expand the gap between the past and the future rather than bridging it.  Otherwise, we can forget the city that Care forgot.

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