Edwards Says No to National Guard Fighting New Orleans Crime

Earlier this year, in February, forbes.com released a listing of what was determined to be the most dangerous cities in the United States and there it was; glaring at us.

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New Orleans, Louisiana was listed as the fourth most dangerous city in the entire country. Only St. Louis, Missouri, Jackson, Mississippi, and Detroit, Michigan were declared more dangerous than the Crescent City.

Even scarier is the fact that two other Louisiana cities finished in the top ten. Baton Rouge was number eight and our own Shreveport was number ten.

How Did They Arrive At These Startling Statistics?

Forbes arrived at the sobering fact after MoneyGeek, a personal finance technology company, had analyzed crime statistics in nearly 300 cities with populations over 100,000.

Even scarier is that, according to the Louisiana Radio Network, things aren't getting any better.

New Orleans has seen a 37% increase in fatal shootings and a 28% increase in armed robberies in 2022, compared to this time last year.

Would Bringing the National Guard in to Help Be a Good Idea?

Though Governor Edwards states he's not received any type of formal request to mobilize the Louisiana National Guard in an effort to aid in fighting crime, New Orleans councilmember, Oliver Thomas, did bring up the possibility, but stressed that it would be a last resort option.

Louisiana Governor Edwards has stated that would not be a good idea. According to Edwards, “National Guard are soldiers they are not law enforcement officers, you have rules of engagement issues and that is not an answer.”

Edwards goes on to explain his position on mobilizing the Guard, “We do that when we declare emergencies and we need them to respond to disasters and you see that all the time, but they are not day-to-day law enforcement officers.”