The Big Orange Splot

Surely this can't be real.

New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas announced a new initiative to identify houses that have been investigated for narcotics activity based on citizen tips to Crimestoppers Inc. Officers will place a bright orange sticker on the property.

But don't worry, the chief assures us. This doesn't mean that officers will tag their scarlet-orange octagons to your home based merely on the hearsay of random anonymous tipsters. No no, they will only take this action once a judge has granted them a search warrant... based on evidence provided by random anonymous tipsters.

Serpas made the announcement in conjunction with the crime-fighting organization's unveiling of a new smart phone application called Tip Submit that will allow iPhone and Android users to anonymously report tips using their portable telephones.

I'll be very interested in this remarkable technology that allows a person using a smart phone to contact the police anonymously. Although I'm not too keen to be the first to test it out, I might enjoy bringing it with me on a short walking tour of Garden District homes just for kicks. If all goes well, expect Serpas' next move to be the creation of a task force charged with affixing little red thumbs-down stickers to restaurants that receive negative Yelp reviews.

It seems only yesterday New Orleans neighborhoods were fighting the stigma of the dreaded "green dot". These orange stickers seem certain to bring with them a similar effect. New decade, new brightly colored shape to look out for. At least the stickers are easily removed, or so the Chief would have us believe.

The stickers do not have to remain on the home and Serpas points out that they can easily be removed.

“This particular glue does not destroy paint. It will not destroy glass or anything like that. When our officers finish the work that they do on that house, they will put this on the house for a period of time until someone takes it off,’ says Serpas.

That seems fine although it gives me no information on what to do once the sticker becomes sealed to my building by the inevitable thick coat of grey paint.

Regardless, I'm sure more than a few folks who saw this story yesterday just got a great idea for their Mardi Gras costumes for this year... or maybe next. And of course this is not to mention the deluge of new T-shirt designs we're certain to see in the coming weeks. All about keeping the brand out there, right?

Update: And like many dumb ideas, this one has already died a quick dumb death.

New Orleans Police Department- Public Information Office

A Statement from the Superintendent

“The NOPD will not implement the placarding strategy. The intent of this pilot program was specifically to inform anonymous callers that the NOPD had acted on their tips and to encourage more anonymous reporting of illegal drug activity through Crimestoppers. These tips to Crimestoppers have been a very successful tool for many years, but the NOPD is routinely asked if we have acted upon these anonymous tips.



“I recognize that without widespread community support, the placarding strategy will not be successful, so we will not move forward. We believe buy-in from the community on policing strategies is vital, so we will continue to engage the public as we develop new policies and programs through Police Community Advisory Boards. The NOPD will continue to find ways to notify the community of our efforts to rid their neighborhoods of drugs.”

Superintendent Ronal Serpas