People in New Orleans are losing confidence in the New Orleans Police Department and they no longer feel safe in the city according to a survey.
The survey, conducted from June 1-6, is designed to track trends over time in how New Orleans residents view the New Orleans Police Department.
The survey by the New Orleans Crime Coalition finds that New Orleans residents’ satisfaction with the job NOPD is doing to cut crime, fell to its lowest point since the survey began in 2009.
“Despite the big drop in satisfaction ratings, results show heavy majorities of residents support more resources and tools for the NOPD and its police officers to reduce crime in the city,” the survey said.
Greg Russovich with the New Orleans Crime Coalition tells WWL that the survey is not about residents not supporting the NOPD in their efforts to fight crime.
“We believe when you peel back what the public really wants, the public wants political action, and political leadership to support the officers,” said Russovich. “And the public specifically is calling for more police and more pay for police, and the use of more technology by the police.”
The survey, conducted by Faucheux Strategies, LLC from June 1-6, is designed to track trends over time in how New Orleans residents view the NOPD.
The study is based on a representative sample of 800 adult residents of New Orleans.
The survey finds that since last year’s survey, satisfaction with the NOPD fell 19 points to 33 percent.
The demographic breaks down as 33% of black residents and 34% of white residents are not satisfied with the job NOPD is doing to stop violent crime.
Only 25 percent of survey respondents say that citywide, New Orleans is safe. That percentage represents a 10-point drop since 2021.
The sentiment among Black (75%) and White (74%) residents who feel the city is not safe is near identical. Those surveyed who say the city is not safe increased 11 points from 64% to 75%.
“While residents are deeply troubled by the level in crime in the city and are less satisfied with the NOPD than they have been in years, they are not anti-police,” said Loyola University’s Dr. Michael Cowan, chairman of the Crime Coalition. “In fact, a considerable majority of residents want more resources invested in law enforcement, including better pay for officers, increased legal use of crime-solving technologies and tools, strengthened investigations, and more manpower to patrol neighborhoods.”
