Gulfport, Miss. ? Crime has increased dramatically in Gulf Coast counties hard hit by Hurricane Katrina, in part due to outsiders looking to prey on the weak, Gov. Haley Barbour said Tuesday.

Construction scams, assaults, and drug and alcohol crimes are among offenses occurring more frequently, law officers in the region said. Barbour said that arrests for some crimes have more than doubled.

Barbour said much of the crime is occurring in counties along the Louisiana-Mississippi line.

Part of the reason for an increase in the number of arrests in Harrison County is that twice as many officers are on the street since the storm, said Capt. Windy Swetman, a sheriff’s spokesman.

Alcohol- and drug-related crimes in the county increased up to 300 percent.

The sheriff’s office in Hancock County couldn’t give a percentage on the crime increase because Katrina’s storm surge destroyed files and computers. But domestic violence calls have increased, as well as assaults, thefts, property crimes and drug arrests, said Bobby Underwood, patrol division chief.