NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — According to the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), as of Wednesday, vehicle burglaries were down 23% over 2022. Even with that drop, over 2,700 people were victims of burglaries in 2023.
“Literally, it’s cringeworthy,” Brother Nu said.
Nu owned multiple pickup trucks. In the last two years, his trucks were broken into at least a dozen times.
Nu said parking lot attendants are good at cleaning up shattered glass but are not always great at preventing thefts.
“Rather than beef up the security, they send their attendants out immediately to sweep up the glass so that doesn’t deter any future business,” Nu said.
In his experience, he believed thieves were only looking for one thing.
“I’ve had situations where I accidentally forget one of my phones in the car. I come back, the phone is still there, and the windows are broken. I’ve left money in the armrest by mistake. The money’s just thrown on the ground. I guess it wasn’t what they were looking for,” Nu said.
“They seem to be targeting firearms. They always seem to break the right rear window and go in and have the glove compartment hinged open.”
Justin Brown of Empower You NOLA has been advocating for solutions for years. The City Council discussed several ordinances over the past few months to stop the problem. At the beginning of 2023, the NOPD also added extra patrols to certain lots. However, Nu and Brown agreed it doesn’t seem like much has changed.
“Private parking lots need to get some kind of security. They need something, a guard, something, something out of that could deter some of this crime that’s going on,” Brown said.
“If we’re paying our money for these parking lots, I want my car to be safe.”
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