The New Orleans Police Department continues to battle an historic shortage of police officers in its ranks. A member of the local law enforcement community says things may soon be looking up.
"I won't disagree that it's a challenging recruiting environment, but I will tell you that it's not impossible," Melanie Talia, the president and CEO of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, told WWL's Newell Normand when discussing the NOPD's officer shortage.
Talia says the NOPD routinely receives around 200 applications each month, but some of the rules currently in place prevent those recruits from becoming officers.
"There are some institutional barriers and challenges to the hiring process that need to be broken down," Talia said. "We are slowly but surely breaking down those hurdles and those barriers so that it will be easier for persons who express an interest in becoming a New Orleans police officer to do so."
Talia says her organization and other stakeholders are actively discussing how best to remove those barriers.
"Right now, everything is on the table," Talia said. She said some of the changes the NOPD has already made to retain recruits includes making physicals, psychological testing, and civil service testing more accessible to those who live outside of New Orleans or whose work or school scheduled conflict with traditional testing times.
Talia says those efforts are working.
"We've gotten off the ground on that recruiting efforts with new officers with 2400 new applications," Talia said.
Now, Talia says the NOPD will turn its sights to hiring experienced officers.
"We are able to open the door for lateral, already post-certified Louisiana officers to join the New Orleans Police Department," Talia said. "They'll get an abbreviated academy as well as an abbreviated (field training)."
Talia says she and others fighting for these reforms are doing it because they love their hometown.
"I'm just not ready to throw in the towel," Talia said. "I love my city--born here, raised here, educated here, still live here, and not planning to leave. I love my city, and I'm not ready to give up--not on the police department (and) not on the city."