So What's Wrong With This Picture?

Befuddled Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blank-o has ordered National Guard troops into New Orleans after a weekend of murder. Several hundred guardsmen and several dozen State Police officers are coming to the city "to patrol the streets" after six killings -- including five teenagers in an apparent drug-releated massacre. Mayor Ray Nagin is all in favor.

"Today is a day when New Orleanians are stepping up. We've had enough," Nagin said. "This is our line in the sand. We're saying we're not going any further."

Nagin said he would not allow criminals to take over when the city is still trying to recover from the hurricane. The mayor said troops should be posted in heavily flooded neighborhoods to free police to concentrate on hot spots elsewhere.

But the real questions aren't being asked. First, New Orleanians aren't stepping up. Guardsmen from other parts of the state are. And then read this part of the article quoting New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley:

Riley assured residents that the Guard was "not coming in and taking over the city."

"You will have to look for them to find them," Riley said. "They will not be uptown, downtown or in the French Quarter. Our people will be there. This will allow us to have more of our people there."

The police force has been operating with depleted ranks. It has about 1,375 officers, compared with about 1,750 before Katrina. The city's pre-Katrina population of 465,000 has rebounded to about half its size.

The governor urged the mayor to put a juvenile curfew in place. New Orleans has a curfew for juveniles, but Riley said it is not being enforced because there is no place to put young offenders.

Point 1: They are going to stick the guardsmen in the abandoned areas of the city. The cops, who have so far been unable to meet the city's needs, are going to be where the people are.

Point 2: The city's population is half its pre-Katrina size. The police force, however, is up to almost 80 percent of its pre-K size. Shouldn't we then expect better police coverage?

This move by the governor and the mayor has nothing to do with actual crime suppression. In fact, you can't suppress crime in New Orleans. This is simply a public relations ploy to keep the tourists from being scared off -- and to make Blank-o and Nagin look decisive while in the spotlight.

It's too late for that, Madam Governor and Mr. Mayor. You were exposed almost a year ago.

P.S. I will be traveling part of this week and part of next, so blogging may be affected.