Tiffen McAlister
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (NOFHAC)
New Orleans, LA, USA
Good news! I’ve concluded my research, and with my conclusion come numerous surprising observations. I expected to find a very clear causal link between economic status and policing; I have found a complex correlation instead.
After having conducted more than 50 interviews in the Bywater and Midcity, I found that Midcity does indeed have a greater police presence. This is striking for two reasons: the Bywater has had a perceived increase in crime, and Midcity has had a reputation of being safe.
Practically every Midcity resident I spoke to described a ubiquitous presence of cops—Midcity Security District Patrol, specifically. Numerous residents I spoke to noted that the police often seem to loiter around the neighborhood, doing nothing. “Just checking their Facebook,” said one resident.
This is in stark contrast for residents of the Bywater, who noted that the police only ever come around after a crime has been committed. Some residents noted having never seen a proactive patrol before. Given that my research goal was to prove a link between housing and the “broken windows” approach to policing people by policing place, the absence of a proactive police presence in the Bywater was startling.
And why is there such a minimal police presence there? I believe the answer to that question lies in how Midcity became a security district. Security districts, as I’ve previously mentioned, require neighborhood associations to push for the creation of an additional property tax, meaning that a community must have the know-how to lobby and maneuver through City Hall. In other words, creating a security district requires both political and economic capital. Midcity was predisposed for security district success, given that it is both a wealthier neighborhood and home to more locals (i.e., people who are more familiar with city government) than is a neighborhood like Bywater.
The resource discrepancy, in conjunction with the city’s drastic reduction in police force, have left neighborhoods needing to provide policing for themselves, and has left the Bywater struggling to make up the difference.