Most of the murders are over turf issues. The organized crime networks before the storm in many cases had no place to go after the storm. Additionally, outside gangs, especially hispanic, saw an opportunity make a move on the city. So the city is the battleground for a multi-sided gang war in which alliances rise and fall daily. The police force was absent during Katrina and is not much better organized now. So they concentrate on the tourist areas, CBD, etc. This leaves some areas poorly patrolled by a force that has low cohesion.

You don't just hire folks and put a badge on them and expect miracles. The officers have to learn to trust and depend on each other. That was swept away by Katrina through the monumental ineptitude of the then police chief. He was so bad that Nagin fired him during the recovery. Now I'm no great fan of Nagin's, but I have not heard him accused of being a crook. He was a successful businessman before running for office and when he came in he swept a bunch of insider crap out of the door. The new police chief that Nagin hired seems competent, so in the long term I believe they'll get the city under better control.

So if you have a hankering to make money off of drugs and don't mind a risk, NOLA is the land of opportunity. Better be well-armed because this town ain't big enough for all the gangs. I'm betting it will get worse in the short term, at least until NOPD can fully reconstitute. The tourist areas are safe. It's yourass if you start messing around in the city if you don't know it. Like many big cities, huh?

B