There’s a vote that's coming up before the New Orleans City Council on Thursday relative to predictive policing and I’ve been hearing that this proposal may fail on a 4-3 vote. At stake is NOPD's chance to use facial recognition, cell site similarity systems predictive policing, and characteristic tracking. I’ve made light of the city trying to recruit officers to the NOPD having to work with one arm and one leg tied behind their back, but in all seriousness, the city is at a real defining moment right now with the momentum that the NOLA Coalition has created. I've been calling the business community out for almost two years to get involved. If we're going to have long term systemic change in this city, it requires everybody coming to the forefront in the fight on crime.
If the city continues to not provide the necessary tools necessary to the police department, then how do you get people to join it? I'm told that they've already lost about a hundred officers this year. If that's true, then it will take a long time to recoup those numbers, especially when the size of the average recruiting class is less than 25.
I certainly hope that we're not worried about politics. It sounds cliche, but we should be focused on creating a safe place to live, work, and raise a family - because that cuts across all races, genders, and ideologies. I suggest everybody call their councilmembers and let them know how you feel about these intelligence-related tools. The NOPD remains in a depressed state due to low staff - these tools can help the police gather the proper information to do intelligence-led policing.
Again, it would be a real tragedy for the NOPD to not get these tools based on a four to three vote. Any councilmember who votes against this is telling you there's an accepted casualty rate in this community. They're willing to engage in less, instead of giving police officers every tool necessary to fight crime. Look at the January 6th investigation, how many of those arrested were identified through facial recognition… Anyone exercising common sense would want the NOPD to have every means necessary to identify, incapacitate, and put offenders in jail.
The councilmembers who will vote against predictive police measures are saying they have an accepted casualty rate. It’s okay if folks are murdered, shot, or robbed because council members have security. They’re concerned about their own security - just not yours.
