The New Orleans City Council approved a new set of laws on Thursday that will allow the New Orleans Police Department to deputize some city employees to issue municipal court citations for certain quality-of-life violations.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration, which crafted the ordinances, argued the new powers will facilitate more effective enforcement of certain laws — like illegal dumping, tour guide rules and public obstructions — while freeing up NOPD personnel to deal with higher-priority crimes.
The deputized employees won’t be able to arrest people, won’t have badges, cannot carry firearms and can only use force for self-defense or to protect someone else.
Opponents said they were concerned the city could use the law to crack down on a litany of minor code violations, saddling residents and businesses with fines and fees they can’t afford. Though the employees won’t be able to make arrests, several of the laws carry the possibility of jail time for multiple convictions in court.
Ultimately the effects of the new policing powers will come down to how the city wields them. The laws, in theory, do allow deputized employees to enforce a long list of minor violations, like spitting on the ground, when a garbage bin “does not close to where it is in contact with the rim” or when yard trimmings are placed inside a garbage bin instead of next to it.
But city officials said that won’t happen, and that the goal was not out to maximize fine collections or arbitrarily...
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