Baton Rouge, LA — Katrina's floodwaters have damaged or destroyed crucial evidence needed to prosecute an estimated 4,000 to 4,500 criminal cases in New Orleans District Court alone, meaning that thousands of violent offenders eventually will, in all likelihood, simply be set free for lack of evidence.

A senior official at Louisiana's Office of the Attorney General told Witness Justice on Sept. 20 that lost evidence and the absence of witnesses to crimes in the areas affected by Katrina will "absolutely" make it much more difficult to bring criminals to justice. "Even if it's not gone [i.e. washed away or disintegrated], the integrity of a lot of evidence will be compromised."

Two (2) major evidence storage facilities in New Orleans have been under water since the storm and remain under about four feet of water, and the condition of the 1-story New Orleans Police Dept. Crime Lab is still not known. "Nobody knows what the situation [at the New Orleans Police Dept. Crime Lab] will be," she said, adding that authorities will have to assess evidence "piece by piece to see what's salvageable." Many pieces of evidence obtained by New Orleans authorities were protected only by the brown paper bags in which they were stored.

New Orleans District Court, which has jurisdiction over the bulk of the pending criminal cases impacted by Katrina, and oversees most of the area's violent crime cases, is operating from the facilities of the Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office, and only on a very limited basis with a skeletal staff. "I am very, very concerned about a lot of cases pending [prior to Katrina] in New Orleans," she said. There have been many cell phone and other communication problems, she added. "I can't even reach judges [in many cases]. Every day brings a new set of challenges."

"At some point judges just will not be able to hold defendants without evidence," she stated.

For displaced victims of crimes that took place prior to Katrina and who need access to victim services, the horizon looks no less bleak. "We don't even know where [victims] are or if they're even coming back [to Louisiana]," she said. "Unfortunately, I have more questions than answers right now."

The official indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been involved with investigating some of the crimes committed in Katrina's wake, but that the FBI's roles, responsibilities, areas of operations, and long-term role remain unclear. The affected states need a "concerted national effort" to address these problems, she said. "An individual District Attorney's or Attorney General's office just can't handle" these problems by themselves, she explained, while also expressing concerns that federal victim assistance efforts might get "buried under FEMA red tape."

"It is distressing to know that so many violent criminals will never be brought to justice," said Randy West, Chief Operating Officer of Witness Justice. "As with the many victims who experienced violent crime in the aftermath of Katrina and who, weeks later, still have no viable way to even report the crimes against them, we may have to face the fact that justice through the courts will never be an option. However, all of these victims deserve help and an opportunity to heal from their trauma, and we must work together to ensure that they have that."

Witness Justice is a national, grassroots nonprofit organization created by survivors for survivors. Our mission is to empower and assist victims of violent crime and their loved ones through both the trauma healing and criminal justice processes. Witness Justice provides direct services for victims throughout the country, offering support regardless of where a victim lives, when or where the crime occurred or whether the crime was ever reported. For more information, please visit us at www.WitnessJustice.org.