With violent crime and car burglaries rising and no crest of the wave in sight, the police find themselves unequipped to deal with the spree due to staff shortages.
“I think we have below 1,100 officers in total. That’s from the recruits all the way up to the superintendent.”
That’s the estimation of Fraternal Order of Police attorney Donovan Livacarri, and it’s a far cry from the NOPD’s well-stated goal of 1,600 officers on the force.
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Livacarri told WWL Radio that part of the reason for the staffing woes is a high turnover rate.
“We have a very young police department right now,” Livacarri said, citing that the NOPD is a very attractive place to garner valuable experience, but that when it comes to upward mobility, many officers leave for greener pastures elsewhere.
“It’s a big-city police department in a small city. There’s a lot of opportunities, but when the career path doesn’t materialize, then people start thinking they’re not getting what they were promised when they went through the recruiting part.”
The NOPD recorded a net loss of 38 officers in 2020, adding just 58 officers while losing 96. So far in 2021, they’ve hired 27 new recruits but lost another 78. Fourteen of those were retirements since the beginning of June.
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It all comes at a time when those living in the Crescent City would prefer a better police presence.
A June survey by the New Orleans Crime Commission showed that city residents feel considerably less safe than they did a year ago. Just 35% of respondents said they feel safe in New Orleans, down from 57% in 2020.
“They want to feel safe in their neighborhood, in their community, and in the city,” New Orleans Police and Justice President Melanie Talia told WWL-TV. “And right now they don't.”
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Talia said, in addition to a lack of access to promotions, the pay in New Orleans needs to be more in line with the surrounding areas, if not better.
“Our officers haven't had a raise in three years,” Talia said. “At this point, they're not competitive with the South, the southern states, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, they're not competitive with other agencies in the Greater New Orleans area.”