NOPD Flip-Flops Again

After a weekend marred by bloodshed, New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley said Monday his department is now focusing more on the city's most violent criminals and less on the small-time offenders.

His statements signal a major change in tactics and a marked departure from previous statements that the department would aggressively pursue even the lowest-level offenders.

This is a mistake. The notion of focusing on only one segment of criminals is misplaced. Violent criminals also commit lower level crimes. If you pick up people for the lower level crimes, you end up catching people who are wanted for far more serious offenses. To say nothing of the fact that it's just the right thing to do. Surrendering to small-time criminals in pursuit of the bigger fish is wrong. New York had revolutionary success in reducing crime by targeting all crime, not just the violent crime.

New Orleans area bloggers oppose Chief Riley's flip-flop. See here and here.