[JURIST] Although the New Orleans Police Department may be fully operational again as early as next month, acting Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Thursday that National Guard troops may be needed in the city through March. Riley wants the Guard to patrol three large areas of the city still uninhabitable after Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] while the police help settle the rest of the city. National Guard troops engaged in law enforcement will remain under the control of the Louisiana state governor in order to avoid infringmenet of the federal Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 [text; NORTHCOM factsheet]. New Orleans police still face such obstacles as determining if their headquarters building can be reclaimed, and investigations into looting by police officers [JURIST report] and desertion of posts [JURIST report] during the storm are continuing. USA Today has more.