Police department ignores residency requirement

Gordon Russell of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reports that while New Orleans has a residency requirement for its police officers, "dozens of Police Department sergeants and lieutenants and at least seven captains — the department's highest civil-service rank — have been promoted in recent years despite claiming homestead exemptions outside the city." The 10-year-old residency rule has suffered from lax enforcement and poor record-keeping make it difficult to tell exactly how many officers live outside the city.