Radical departure as bus station becomes New Orleans penitentiary

AS looters filled the streets and shots rang out, the city’s overmatched police knew that whatever other endeavours Hurricane Katrina had brought to a halt, crime wasn’t one of them.

Police are booking suspects at the temporary jail set up in the bus and train station. Up to 700 inmates can be housed there.

After being criticised for letting lawlessness spiral out of control in the immediate aftermath of the storm, police began arresting people but then ran into a new problem - where to put them. With the jails flooded, a temporary holding facility was set up at the city’s train and bus terminal.