Lor', chile. I never lost anything in Monroe, LA, that I couldn't do without.

In fact, since I-49 was finished, I don't even have to drive past the place.

Monroe News-Star: 30% in Monroe shelters have criminal histories

Choice quotes:

[...] The background checks were conducted because of Sheriff Richard Fewell's concerns about the safety of evacuees living at the shelter and Red Cross volunteers working there.[...]

[...] "We've run approximately 900 of the names we were provided by the Red Cross and of that 900, approximately 30 percent have some sort of criminal history," said Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Deputy Bobby Baker. "We had a feeling that was what we were dealing with. We also found people this morning that's not on the list."[...]

[...] The background checks, based on information from the National Crime Information Center database, found evacuees who had been charged with various offenses from drunk and disorderly to first-degree murder, Baker said. But in most cases, NCIC doesn't tell local law enforcement officials whether those people in the database have been convicted of a crime.[...]

From an article by Lynn Peterson, June 2001:

[...] If the subject has a common name many records will be found for that name that have nothing to do with the subject. Therefore, all case files found on the index with the same name must be examined for a match to date of birth, and sometimes Social Security number or driver's license number. It will also be necessary to examine the case files to determine the charges and the dispositions. The large online public records vendors provide online access to county criminal court records in some jurisdictions in California, Arizona and Texas. However, in many locations the only information available is name of defendant, case number, and date. Penal code violations may or may not be listed, and disposition is rarely included.[...]

I think that is this Lynn Peterson. And this one.

This is solid evidence of the old North-South Louisiana split.

It's evident in the black community in Monroe, too: Monroe Free Press.

UPDATE: Here is the Red Cross entry form to enter their database.

As far as applying for benefits or shelter, there seems only a requirement to prove that individuals and families lived in a disaster area. Identification numbers are the Red Cross' own.

You're welcome to correct me.