I was just reading an article about a proposed solution to fears of heightened crime in the disater zone in Louisiana, specifically St. Charles Parish.

They are proposal is this: Hire a private security company and deputize them, give them guns and some "supervision" and places like temporary camps and constuction sites.

Now, I think this sounds like a decent plan, on the surface. It would provide much needed relief to a law enforcement agency being spread to thin by lack of trained personell and lack of money to pay them.

However:

Has anyone considered the following?

(1) it will cost the taxpayers of this country nearly $700 dollars a day, totalling billions, over the next three years. Why not recruit actual officers from other areas of the country, and provide the parish with the funds to pay them what they would normally earn?

(2) What happens the first time one of these "deputies" screws up what would be a legitimate arrest because they get hot headed and do not follow proper procedure? Violation of a suspects civil rights would cause the case to be tossed, and let a criminal go free. And if you think that won't happen...wait, it will.

I think that the government has spent to much time putting people up in hotel rooms and talking about how they are going to fix things. They need to just DO IT!!! Give the people who are homeless and out of work, work rebuilding the city. Give them a place to live...but not cruise ships and hotels.

We need to face the facts, Katrina did serious damage, but sitting around and talking about it isn't fixing anything.