The NOPD is making some changes to its police officer recruitment process to help streamline the effort to get new officers on the street.
CEO of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, Melanie Talia says one change to come is to move civil service testing online, which Talia says will open the NOPD up officer recruitment on a national level.
“So, with these additional funds we want to continue to remove hurdles, and one of those hurdles is… let’s offer the test remotely,” said Talia. “We ran a pilot program in 2020, it was very successful, unfortunately, the pandemic created some issues, so, we are ready to launch that program again.”
She says right now the required testing is done only at the civil service offices in downtown New Orleans and she says that can be a potential problem for national applicants not in the city.
“I may not be able to get to New Orleans when it is time for me to take my exam, I may think I can get to New Orleans but perhaps I can’t,” she said. “And that is whether I live in the city, in Metairie, or in Arkansas. If I am applying online and knowing I have to come and take the exam, which is the first hurdle I have to get passed.”
She says right now only about 17% of NOPD job applicants make it through the recruitment process. A number she says she hopes will increase once the process becomes more available online.
