Saturday, April 1, 2023, marked Superintendent Michelle Woodfork’s 100th day as Interim Superintendent of New Orleans Police Department. Today, she provided an update on her Strategic Plan which she introduced after being sworn in and the progress being made in the three areas of focus - reducing violent crime, retention and recruitment and becoming substantially compliant with the consent decree.
“Since the day I was sworn in as Superintendent, I’ve been working to transform the department into one that embraces fairness, accountability and professionalism,” said Superintendent Woodfork, “And, on behalf of the men and women of the NOPD, I am proud to say that we are seeing progress and are motivated and determined to continue on that path.”
Overall, violent crime has decreased by 20% for 2023 year to date compared to the same period for 2022. (*See charts below for more crime stats)
As outlined in the crime plan, NOPD is strategically deploying officers based on intelligence data and analytics and this is yielding results. Officers are working closely with federal and state partners sharing intelligence data and working together to solve crimes, targeting violent offenders and getting firearms off the streets. For example, the Violent Offender Warrant Squad, a partnership in conjunction with the United States Marshal, has made 74 apprehensions so far this year.
The NOPD is making strides in its recruitment and retention efforts. As of April 3, officers have begun to receive $5,000 to $20,000 in retention pay based on their years of service. Last Friday, Recruit Class 196 graduated from the Police Academy with 11 recruits; Recruit Class 197 started in January with 18 recruits; and another class is set to start April 10 with 20 to 25 recruits. Also, the department is halfway to its goal of filling over 100 new civilian positions in areas that allow for burden reduction.
“We need to continue our recruitment and retention efforts by having a robust marketing and advertising campaign to reach more individuals who may be interested in employment with the New Orleans Police Department,” said Superintendent Woodfork. “We are looking to our elected officials to assist us in ensuring funding is allocated for this extremely important initiative which we believe will enhance our recruitment efforts. At this point recruiting of police officers will require a collective effort of all stakeholders supporting this urgent priority.”
The NOPD continues to work towards substantial compliance with the consent decree and achieving the goal of self-monitoring. NOPD records indicate that the department’s measurement of compliance is approximately 87%. NOPD will hold a series of public meetings throughout the city in the coming weeks to update the public on specific details regarding consent decree compliance.
Other Initiatives:
*Crime fighting equipment - over 700 new vehicles, 500 new computers, four drones, MorphoIDent, a new investigative tool to allow for immediate identification, Bait-car coming soon to battle auto thefts & burglaries, and a new DNA Lab
*Recruitment - coordinating with U.S. Army ‘PaYS’ program reaching military personnel leaving service; working with National Testing service to allow recruits to do initial testing out-of-state; bilingual officer recruiting efforts as well as utilization of LBGTQ+ officers to reach potential applicants in the LBGTQ+ community.
*Community Engagement programs include the new Junior Citizens Police Academy and collaborations with the US Attorney’s office in the Pledge against Gun Violence program, partnerships with NORD in offering gun safety classes, Youth Empowerment Project sports programs and many more.
*On Scene Services contracted to assist Traffic Division by responding to minor accidents with no injury
*Neighbors by Ring, a free real-time crime and safety alert program that allows citizens to upload digital evidence anonymously.
Have a question or correction? Please email NOPD’s Public Affairs Division at nopdpio@nola.gov.