A study into downgraded emergency calls delivered to the New Orleans City Council shows how often the practice has increased this year. The report from AH Datalytics shows 42 percent of more than 28,000 calls for service were downgraded as of mid-August, 2022. It happened in 33.7 percent of calls in all of 2021, and 30.7 percent for all of 2019.
A downgraded call increases an incident's response time from around 30 minutes to more than four hours.
"This analysis outlines the real harm caused by the troubling trend of downgrading serious crimes of violence," said New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno. "The result of staffing shortages and systemic failures are often missed opportunities to pursue and apprehend violent criminals. This seriously increases the danger to victims while decreasing trust in the system that is meant to protect them."
Moreno said downgraded calls lead to victims waiting longer, and in many instances, leaving the scene, resulting in first responders classifying the call as "Gone on Arrival" or "Unfounded."
"Many of these calls, especially those gone on arrival, could be answered by trained civilians but we have yet to see serious action on increasing these key civilian positions," said Moreno.
"It is deeply troubling to me that NOPD de-escalates calls of sexual assault to ‘non-emergency,’" said Councilmember J.P. Morrell, chair of the governmental affairs committee. "It’s not only offensive, but a direct slap in the face to sexual assault survivors."