‘No Mardi Gras,’ New Orleans Mayor Warns If Police Shortage Persists

Topline

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) is warning the city’s iconic Mardi Gras festivities could be called off next year due to a significant police shortage, marking by far the biggest event being threatened over nationwide problems with police staffing.

Floats in the Rex parade roll along St. Charles Avenue on February 20, 2007 in New Orleans. (Photo … [+] by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The city shortened the routes of its major parades during the 2022 Carnival season—some significantly—due to the policing shortage.

New Orleans budgets for 1,500 police officers, but its force fell below 1,000 earlier this year—the lowest staffing level in decades, according to the Times-Picayune.

Mardi Gras festivities typically attract more than 1 million visitors to the city every year.

Crucial Quote

“If we don’t have adequate police, it could mean that there will be no Mardi Gras. That’s a fact,” Cantrell said at the conclusion of a community meeting Thursday night.

Key Background

Police departments around the country have been hemorrhaging officers during the past few years, prompting concerns about public safety during a time of rising levels of violent crime. The issue has also become a hot-button point of political contention, with Democrats and Republicans disagreeing over the primary causes. Democrats like President Joe Biden tend to cite internal factors as the major problem, with Biden arguing higher pay and better police training will help alleviate shortages. The staffing issues have also worsened during the broader “Great Resignation” labor trend that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which Americans have quit their jobs at historically high rates, especially in lines of work that are physically demanding, have odd hours and low pay. Many Republicans, however, argue there is a broader social issue of police being demoralized after George Floyd was murdered in police custody. The killing led to nationwide protests demanding increased police oversight and sparked the “defund the police” movement endorsed by some progressives.

Surprising Fact

New Orleans had by far the highest murder rate per capita of any U.S. city during the first half of 2022, according to information compiled by data analyst Jeff Asher. New Orleans’ 36.8 murders per 100,000 residents was more than 26% higher than the No. 2 city, Baltimore.

Tangent

New Orleans canceled the Bourbon Street Extravaganza concert that had been scheduled for September 3 due to concerns about the spread of monkeypox. The concert takes place during Southern Decadence, one of the largest LGBTQ+ events in the United States. City health director Dr. Jennifer Avegno has warned Southern Decadence “will be a superspreader event” if the city does not receive significantly more monkeypox vaccines.