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French Quarter Civilian Patrols On Hold

The New Orleans City Council is rethinking the idea of using unarmed citizen patrols in the French Quarter.

Some businesses in the city’s premier tourist destination want to know why actual police officers aren’t being hired.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu wanted to use voluntary hotel taxes to fund the patrols. The civilian officers would handle non-emergency matters, in theory — easing the workload for regular officers.

But several businesses are questioning why the city wouldn’t spend $2.3 million in annual revenue to hire fully qualified police officers.

NOLA.com/The Times Picayune reports Councilwoman Nadine Ramsey, who was sponsoring the measure on Landrieu's behalf, moved to delay the matter until the November 6 meeting.

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