NOPD unveils plan to put more officers on the streets
19th January 2016 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
Last Wednesday, NOPD Supt. Michael Harrison unveiled a restructuring effort aimed at increasing police presence and reducing violent crime in the city.
An analysis by Berkshire Advisors, commissioned last year by the department, recommended putting 94 new officers on the street to respond to calls for assistance. The department will meet this goal through a combination of new hires and redeployments of existing personnel. The Berkshire report said if this goal is met, then the NOPD should be able to respond to 90 percent of all emergency calls within seven minutes.
“We’ve put more boots on the ground by taking officers from behind desks and putting them back on patrol,” said Harrison. “And for the first time in several years, we are hiring more officers than we are losing through attrition.”
Out of Offices, Into Streets
Traditionally, the NOPD used commissioned officers to handle duties like clerical and mechanical work. Harrison decided that those jobs could be filled by civilians, freeing officers for patrols.
In a 2014 report, the Office of the Inspector General found that only 21 percent of NOPD officers were assigned to patrol duties and answering calls for service. The report also identified 90 officers in positions like information technology, public records, and vehicle maintenance that could be handled by civilians. Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux, in a statement released to the media, said his office had not seen the specifics of the restructuring yet. But he expressed optimism for the future.
“We are pleased to see New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison continue to implement recommendations we made in May 2014 to increase the number of officers available to respond to citizen calls for service,” said Quatrevaux.
A similar recommendation was made by the Metropolitan Crime Commission in 2014, prompting some in the community to wonder why it took the City of New Orleans and the NOPD more than 18 months to move the officers from desk duty to street patrols.
Non-Violent Crime
Officers assigned to desk duty have been moved to the Alternative Response Unit (APR). The APR works out of the Orleans Parish Communications District and handles non-violent property crimes where there is no need for an officer to respond in person. This way, citizens affected by these crimes can hear from an officer sooner via phone. It also allows officers on the street to focus their time on violent offenses.
In addition to this, the NOPD hopes to move toward an online reporting system for residents and visitors to report non-violent property crimes. According to Tyler Gamble, communications director for the NOPD, similar programs have worked well in Seattle, Austin and Baltimore. The NOPD plans to implement its program later this year.
Community Policing
Gamble said the department will work time into each officer’s schedule dedicated solely to community policing. Officers will proactively patrol neighborhoods, working to prevent crime and build relationships with residents.
“I am particularly encouraged by the fact that this plan…brings a renewed focus to community policing,” said New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams. “Putting officers into communities will hopefully reduce crime, but also foster positive relationships between the community and the police.”
Part-Time and Full-Time Recruits
Harrison’s plan includes adding to patrols by hiring part-time police officers. These ranks will be filled with commissioned officers who left the force in good standing but are interested in returning on a part-time basis. These officers would work up to 24 hours a week, responding to citizen calls for service.
“The Department approached officers who are currently volunteering their time in the Reserve Division (and asked) if they would be open to working patrol on a part-time basis. A number of reserve officers told us they would be interested,” said Gamble.
The department will start with a total of 27 part-time officers. Gamble said as interest grows, so will the number of positions.
In an effort to continue recruiting new full-time officers, the department is pursuing multiple options, including its website (www.joinnopd.org), targeting veterans and military employees through the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and traditional methods such as commercials and job fairs.
False Alarms
The NOPD is also moving to free up officers’ time in the field. The City Council unanimously approved an updated false alarm ordinance in 2015 that the department expects will free up the equivalent of six full-time officers. Under the new ordinance, alarm system users face a progressive fine system that resets every calendar year. A written warning will be issued after the first false alarm. The second will result in a $75 fee, which can be waived. A third will result in a $150 fee. A fourth will result in a $150 fee and the NOPD will stop responding to additional alarms from the same address. Users can appeal fines and notices of non-response.
Many local officials have praised the NOPD’s restructuring efforts.
“Following Hurricane Katrina, the JPSO made similar changes to combat staffing challenges and streamline our department and we saw great success in improved response times,” said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand.
“Bringing back veteran officers and the redeployment of experienced officers will improve the capacity of the New Orleans Police Department to quickly and effectively address crime, as well as increase the ability of the officers to address community concerns,” said Melanie Talla, CEO of the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation.
The desk-duty officers won’t be reassigned to street patrols until after Mardi Gras Day, Feb. 9.
“Despite everything we have seen over the past few years — babies being killed, mass shootings and a rise in carjackings, robberies and murders— the NOPD and the City of New Orleans were obviously in no hurry to make these changes,” Ramessu Merriamen Aha, a New Orleans businessman and former congressional candidate, told The Louisiana Weekly. “Both the OIG and the Metropolitan Crime Commission told the Landrieu administration and the NOPD that the department was mismanaging its available personnel and that its failure to better utilize its available officers was negatively impacting public safety in New Orleans.
“Why hasn’t making these changes been a major priority for the city and the NOPD? That’s the only real question: Why did it take so long?”
Additional reporting by Louisiana Weekly editor Edmund W. Lewis.
This article originally published in the January 18, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
