New Orleans Council Says NOPD Can Close Businesses If They Harbor Criminal Activity

NEW ORLEANS, La. (KPEL News) - It seems like everyday media outlets are reporting the ever-increasing number of crimes reported in New Orleans.

If you didn't know this, let this sink in; in September 2022 New Orleans was designated as the "murder capital". You can click here to read our colleague Joe Cunningham's story about the designation.

In addition, this September designation is not the first time the Metropolitan Crime Commission named New Orleans the murder capital.

Many state officials across the state of Louisiana have been keeping an eye on the things going on in New Orleans. Tourism officials will tell you the first destination for people visiting Louisiana is New Orleans, followed by Lafayette.

If you are a community dependent on tourism then what happens in New Orleans will have an impact on your area.

If you did not know, the New Orleans City Council voted in favor last week of something called the "padlock" ordinance. A discussion of the new ordinance was featured on FoxBiz.

It's basically a law that allows the New Orleans Police Department to shut down "businesses that knowingly and repeatedly harbor crime. The ordinance allows the police chief to suspect licenses of these establishments.

A Fox8 report says that the penalties for this will have serious repercussions for the business that is shut down. This measure has teeth. The business could be shut down for up to two years.

New Orleans Councilwoman Helena Morena said during Thursday's council meeting what would define a nuisance business,

A chronic nuisance would be defined as a business that fails to address drug, theft, and violent crime committed on its property in a timely manner.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says the Metropolitan Crime Commission is reporting crime is down a bit from January 2022 to January 2023.

There were 280 homicides in New Orleans in 2022 according to WDSU.