Improving Public Safety
Until our city does a better job preventing crime, fighting crime and reducing crime, New Orleans will not be the best city it can be.
During mayoral transition, we will conduct a national search to hire a new Superintendent for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). I will appoint a diverse citizen’s committee to implement the search process, and we will hire a Superintendent who is committed to reform and to making our city safer.
Action Item #1: Crime Report Card. Within a week of that new Superintendent’s arrival, I will sign and personally deliver an Executive Order requiring the NOPD to compile and disclose data to members of the press and public in a monthly “Crime Report Card,” enabling everyone to monitor and evaluate how we are performing on public safety. We need to let the sun shine in on police department operations, holding city government accountable for its performance in this vitally important area.
Ongoing Reform: Successfully tackling crime requires performance and accountability standards across a broad range of criminal justice agencies, not just the NOPD. I will direct the Superintendent to engage other members of the criminal justice system in a dialogue about citywide performance measures for all areas of criminal justice, including the courts, the district attorney, the criminal sheriff, and the social service agencies that address some of the root causes of crime. Our goal will be a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) executed among all players in the criminal justice process through which we agree to share with each other and with the public all the data necessary to assess effectiveness and implement changes, so that we can achieve our ultimate goal—reducing crime and making the streets safe for all residents of our city and all visitors to New Orleans.
