Audit reveals that NOPD misclassified robberies

2nd September 2014   ·   0 Comments

More than a year after the arduous process of implementing a 492-point NOPD consent decree began, it continues to become increasingly clear how challenging it will be for the embattled police department to move beyond its troubled past.

The New Orleans Office of Inspector General released an audit which finds the New Orleans Police Department misclassified robberies, FOX 8 News reported.

Auditors reviewed data from June 2010 and May 2013, finding that the NOPD misclassified 37 percent of offenses as miscellaneous rather than robberies.

Also, auditors say officers did not report known robbery offenses when alleged victims refused to cooperate.

The OIG selected robbery for testing based on the FBI’s 2012 published crime statistics which showed robbery in the city was 46 percent lower than other cities with the highest crime rates.

Former New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas challenged the findings.

“This report does not appear to identify any real systemic failings or present evidence that more than a tiny fraction of UCR robbery incidents go unreported,” Serpas told FOX 8.

“What City Hall and the NOPD don’t seem to get is that this is a public=safety issue, Ramessu Merriamen Aha, a New Orleans businessman and former congressional candidate, told The Louisiana Weekly Friday. “When certain crimes like robbery and sexual assault are underreported and/or misclassified, people are walking around the city of New Orleans thinking they are safer than they actually are. Knowing is half the battle and by playing games with these numbers the NOPD is taking away the power that comes with knowing what you are up against.

“It’s clear that the Landrieu administration and the NOPD are more interested in maintaining the status quo and concealing the police department’s struggles than keeping the people of New Orleans safe,” he added.

Earlier this year, Washington, DC-based Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, the NOPD consent-decree federal monitor, said that the NOPD still has “a long way to go” before it will be compliant with federal standards for constitutional policing.

In a recent interview, W.C. Johnson, a member of Community United for Change and host of local cable-access show “Our­Story,” told The Louisiana Weekly that the federal monitor has not held up its end by fairly and accurately assessing the NOPD’s practices and performance and taking steps to rectify problems whenever appropriate.

CUC criticized Sheppard Mullin for failing to release its quarterly reports at the specified times and handling the Landrieu and Serpas administrations with kid gloves

One of the glaring missteps taken by the NOPD was failure by the NOPD to report a police shooting until two days after it happened. During that incident, an officer shot suspect Armand Bennett in the head shortly after turning off her body camera.

Johnson said that on a number of occasions. Sheppard Mullin identified missteps taken by the NOPD but has not held the department and City of New Orleans accountable for those shortcomings, prompting some in the Black community to seriously question the commitment by the U.S. Department of Justice and the federal monitor to bring constitutional policing to New Orleans.

Some residents were relieved to learn last week that state troopers will remain in New Orleans beyond Labor Day. The state troopers, deployed to New Orleans after this summer’s Bourbon Street mass shooting, were scheduled to pull out this week. It was reported last week that they will remain on patrol in New Orleans for at least the next couple of months.

The Landrieu administration has also unveiled plans to hire civilians to help patrol the French Quarter to that law enforcement officers could be freed up for more pressing concerns.

In other NOPD-related news, NOPD Interim Chief Michael Harrison turned to local houses of worship to recruit new officers for his undermanned police force.

FOX 8 News reported that the NOPD’s recruitment at City of Love Church in Hollygrove held special meaning for Harrison, an ordained minister of City of Love Church and graduate of McDonogh 35 Senior High School.

“We always been announcing him as chief because we believe in his dream,” church member Alaina Fingal told FOX 8 Aug. 24. “His dream is to become chief of the police department.”

Joined by members of the McDonogh 35 Roneagle Marching Band, Harrison and Mayor Mitch Landrieu were greatly warmly by the congregation.

“There are a lot of reason I might be here,” Harrison told the congregation. “There is only one reason I know I’m here.”

During the visit, church leaders laid hands on Harrison and prayed that Harrison has a safe and successful tenure as interim police chief and the very real possibility of him becoming the permanent replacement for Supt. Ronal Serpas.

The church was the last stop for the Mayor and Harrison, part of a recruiting tour that brought them to more than a dozen churches throughout the area.

The NOPD has been aggressively recruiting potential officers hoping to end what has been termed the “blue hemorrhage.” At least 82 officers have left true department in 2014 and the first class of 27 recruits aren’t scheduled to complete their nine-month training until earlier next year. NOPD leaders have suggested that by recruiting officers from neighboring law enforcement agencies the department might be able to offset its manpower shortage.

While the Landrieu administration has set a mark of 1,600 NOPD officers to keep the city safe, the department currently only has about 1,100 officers.

During the service, both men addressed the issue of dwindling manpower on the force. They also encouraged people to step up.

“I want to be the person to hire you,” Harrison said. “I want to be the person to pin your badge.”

The service was also an opportunity for the interim superintendent to thank family, friends, and the City of Love Church. Harrison told FOX 8 that the congregation has supported him long before he was tapped by the mayor to serve as interim superintendent.

“It was just a matter of when,” City of Love church member Michael Hall told FOX 8. “We knew it was going to happen.”

Community United for Change will hold a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, September 4, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the St James AME Church Meeting Hall, 221 N. Derbigny St., next door to the old Two Sisters Kitchen.

CUC will update the community on recent NOPD matters and Federal Monitor progress on implementation of the consent decree. Additionally, CUC is requesting the community to come ready to formulate an agenda for the newly elected City Council.

“This meeting is crucial for community input and governmental transparency,” CUC said in a statement Thursday. “The people cannot push the envelope if the community has no envelope.”

For more information, call (504) 251-2201.

This article originally published in the September 1, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.