By Nicholas Reimann, Uptown Messenger
When it comes to stopping the surge of vehicle break-ins plaguing New Orleans, there is little that police can do, NOPD Second District Commander Jeff Walls told a packed crowd at a community meeting Thursday at the NOLA VFW hall on Lyons Street. “Your frustration is our frustration,” he said. “The anger that I have about this — you have no idea,” Walls said. According to a report by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, crime statistics showed vehicle break-ins for 2019 were on pace to exceed 2018 numbers by 57%, with the number of vehicle break-ins increasing in New Orleans by 160% since 2015. The commander largely blamed the city’s problem on Juvenile Court judges, who he says put juvenile vehicle burglars — which make up a large portion of the offenders — back on the streets, in many cases within a day of their arrest.