Safety Tips

The Police of New Orleans are among the friendliest officers we've ever met, despite what you may have heard in past years. With new leadership and better pay, the city has taken steps to better serve it's citizens and it's tourists. But the police can't be everywhere so keep your wits about you like you would in any big city.

Anytime the sun was up, we found the French Quarter to be pretty safe. The area along the N. Rampart St. side of the Quarter, and some parts near Esplanade are probably not safe any time. Everywhere else, the problems are more likely after dark.

So, the standard rules that most well traveled folk follow should apply here:

-Avoid being conspicuously alone
- the French Quarter crowd is said to still be pretty safe, although the petty crime rate is very real.
-Avoid looking stupidly rich or careless with your money. If someone attempts to rob you, give them what they want.
- Don't chase after muggers - take in information about your situation and give accurate descriptions to police.
-While sight seeing, figure out where your next stop will be before heading out - in fact, plan your day as much as you can before leaving your hotel.
-Walk with some resolve (I carried a wooden cane that I would swing somewhat widely to scare some of the goofier assailants (This made me feel better and comes in handy as I get older!).
-Taxis are cheap, regulated, and safe - take them anytime you think maybe you should.

Here are some iffy-to-dangerous areas for you to watch, especially at dusk and into the evenings:
-Anywhere across Esplanade Avenue into Elysian Fields
-Any place approaching N. Rampart Street, from Canal to Esplanade.
Right around the intersection of Conti and N. Rampart is the historic location of Storyville, the infamous red light district of the late 1800's. Today, these are public housing neighborhoods and they look rough to me. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is on Basin St. between Conti and St. Louis. Don't go by yourself - you need a big group.
-If you are going anyplace at night in the CBD (Central Business District), the Garden District, or the Warehouse District - take a taxi or street car! You might take a look at the area during the day and get your bearings.

Street Scams

Outside of the occasional pushy street person ("bet I can tell you where you got your shoes!"), we have been threatened only once and mildly at that. In fact, the worst thing that's ever happened to us was falling for a couple of street scams. These take the form of a friendly stranger walking up to you and attempting to shake your hand. He or she will look like a typical Bourbon Street character, but he wants something. These scams follow one of an array of strategies:

• "Bet I can tell you where you got your shoes" - Answer: "You got your shoes on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana!
• "Bet I can spell your last name" Answer: "Y-O-U-R L-A-S-T N-A-M-E"
• "Where you from? Ohio! My sister lives in Ohio!" The time-shares come-on will waste your time.
• Someone will try to get you to follow them to enroll in special deals.
• Somebody hands you a "free" New Orleans souvenir - then wants a donation for a worthy sounding cause. 
  Now I'm the softest touch around, and I fell for some of these scams at a cost of $1-$10 or 30 thirty minutes of my time. If you regularly give to charities of your choice, you can probably live with any guilt you might have over passing by a legitimate cause. You could also write a check later to the appropriate organization.

All scam artists prey upon people. Granted they shouldn't, but many people are just that naive and many others are just trying to be polite and get sucked in. Ray suggests that the best policy is to avoid such people. Strangers may speak as they're passing, but they seldom come up, stop you, engage you in conversation and want to shake your hand unless they want something from you. It is just not natural when you think about it.

The easiest way to avoid such people is to never let them stop you in the first place. If they stop you, you're usually hooked unless you don't mind being firm. I have absolutely no trouble saying, "Sorry, I'm not interested..." and move on without giving them a chance to reply. If they persist, then you can say, "Hey. I was being polite. I told you I wasn't interested." and walk off again. If they come back again, you can take the appropriate action (Ray recommends telling the next police officer you see - He also points out that the French Quarter has plenty of police on patrol.). The Golden Rule of the streets is, "Never play another man's game!" no matter what it is. "

Everyone who comes up to you in such a manner is not a scam artist, but they want something nevertheless. There are those selling time shares (though they're scam artists in MY OPINION), those soliciting donations for the Meals on Wheels Program (that's a valid program but I have no idea if all of the solicitors are or not), and lots of other people who may or may not be scam artists but still want something.

Anyway, all this sounds like a typical week in any big city in which we've ever lived or visited. Like every place else New Orleans was feeling the pinch of a sagging economy in the 1990s (i.e., gangs, robberies, muggings, poverty, homelessness, etc.) - the vast majority of murders seem to center around drug activity and have little to do with tourists.

Ed Branley, of Virtually New Orleans on the web, maintains that murder and assault doesn't usually apply to tourists visiting the French Quarter:

Of the 360 or so murders that occurred in 1996, only four apply to tourists - a woman chased a purse snatcher from St. Louis Cemetery #2 into the nearby housing projects where she was shot, a man was robbed and killed around Esplanade & Barracks near Port of Call, a third man was killed when he wandered into a bad area around Basin & Conti near St. Louis Cemetery #1, and a girl was accidentally killed by her father when the handgun in a travel bag discharged. In other words, get the lay of the land, and use your head like you should in any big, unfamiliar city.