N.O. Amtrak Stration now a Prison

[Anonymous]

New Orleans' newest jail open for business at Amtrak station
(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Jim Litke on September 6.)

NEW ORLEANS -- As looters filled the streets and shots rang out, the city's overmatched police knew that whatever other endeavors Hurricane Katrina brought to a halt, crime wasn't one of them.

After being criticized for allowing lawlessness to spiral out of control in the days immediately following the storm, police began arresting people but then ran into a new problem - where to put them. With New Orleans' jails flooded, a temporary holding facility was set up at the city's train and bus terminal.

It held only 30 prisoners by Monday, but that number was likely to swell if police from neighboring Jefferson Parish deliver inmates they had held the past few days.

Nearly 8,000 prisoners were transported out of New Orleans jails last week and moved to state prisons and jails in neighboring towns.

"The first guy we housed drove up in a stolen car and wanted to buy a bus ticket," said Col. Terry Norris of the Louisiana Department of Corrections. "We gave him a bus ticket, just not to the place he wanted to go."

Behind him, train schedules were still posted on a board. Above the Amtrak counter, the hands of a giant stainless steel clock were frozen at 4:30. Nearby, state prison inmates mopped the floors, stocked medical supplies alongside the Greyhound counter and pushed baggage carts loaded with other goods into storage.

"They dropped three of us off and said, 'Make us a prison,'" Norris recalled with a rueful shake of his head. He and two other former troopers arrived Saturday morning and had the place open for business at 2 a.m. Monday.

The temporary jail has a capacity of about 700. The cells behind the terminal are actually open-air cages with chain-link fencing, topped by razor wire, extending from the concrete train platform to an overhang about 15 feet high.

Each cell is identified by a hand-lettered sign - "Cell 1, misdemeanors," for example - and contains a portable toilet with the door removed.

The prisoners are separated according to crimes. Inside "Cell 3, felony," some two dozen men milled around. Nearly all had been brought in for looting. Any stolen property valued above $300 was being treated as a felony.

"Believe me, we reviewed every case carefully," said one corrections department official who asked that she not be identified because of safety concerns. "These are not people who stole food. They stole drugs from pharmacies or TVs from stores."

The cells set aside for women, as well as those for prisoners facing federal and misdemeanor charges, were empty. Norris said only one prisoner had come through on federal charges, stemming from a shootout with police Sunday.

A dozen others were for misdemeanors - addicts possessing small amounts of drugs or for disturbing the peace. One man had mooned a state police car on patrol.

"We hold 'em a while, and turn 'em loose with a summons," Norris said.

Asked how many he expected to come back for a court date, he replied, "About half. Maybe." Then Norris paused and said: "I wonder how many we'll see in the coming days."


Tuesday, September 06, 2005

[Anonymous]

At least while Amtrak isn't running trains to it, the train station is being used for some good. [;)]

[AntonioFP45]

One possible benefit from this.

I've seen pictures of the station before and if it's the same one, it looked rather worn. Perhaps after the jail is removed, Amtrak or whoever owns the station may be able to obtain funds to do some "fixing up" to make it look spiffier since it was used as a jail and was likely damaged in the process. Fast, construction conversions often yield those types of results.

Anyone familiar with this station?

[Big_Boy_4005]

Sheriff Joe Arpaio would be proud. Doors off the port-a-pottys.[tup][swg]

A summons, to appear where?

There is still something missing in all of this. The official position within the city seems to be to starve everyone out of hiding, then evacuate them, regardless of the condition of their homes. Whether they believe it or not, this policy is intended to be for their own safety, while utilities are being restored. This process is expected to take a long time.

Especially in the case of those who are taken to this make shift jail, they should be removed from the area, probably straight to Baton Rouge, so they can appear in front of a judge. The misdemeanors could then be released to the regular shelters, with their summons in hand.

By the way, how stupid are people who steal TVs when they have no electricity? DUH!!!! Nobody ever said criminals were smart. This is just more proof.

[Junctionfan]

If the prisoners moon the police from using the open doored portable toilets, does that mean they get released with a summons? [:D][:D]

[dldance]

The Yahoo news release called in a bus station - are these the same place?:

"The temporary holding pen was set up in the city's main bus station on Saturday when the first prisoner was detained since Hurricane Katrina on August 29.

First client was a man who drove up to the bus station in a stolen car and was surprised to find a police encampment instead of a bus ticket out of town, said Richard Stalder.

Police have also detained and charged one of seven men involved in a shootout when they attacked contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs in New Orleans. Police said they shot dead two gunmen.

Stalder said the jail has brought a new confidence to law enforcement personnel who had struggled for a week to maintain order. All of the existing jails were flooded and could not be used so no arrests were made."