As the city continues to slog through one of its most violent chapters in recent history, satisfaction with the New Orleans Police Department has dipped to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to the New Orleans Crime Coalition’s annual citizens satisfaction survey.
The survey, released Tuesday, found that only 31% of city residents are somewhat or very satisfied with the NOPD, down two percentage points from last year and down precipitously from 2021, when 52% of those surveyed said they were satisfied. Black residents, women, and residents over 45 were more likely to report being satisfied than others.
A "good" approval rating for an urban police department hovers around 60%, according to Michael Cowan, chairman of the New Orleans Crime Coalition. That was last achieved in 2016.
"When people perceive their police department is working, it gives them confidence in the whole city," Cowan said. "And when they don't, it gives them a lack of confidence in the whole city."
The father of Asia Davis, left center, is comforted by family as they stand at the scene where she was murdered at Mayo Boulevard and South I-10 Service Road in New Orleans East on Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The coalition, founded in 2007, includes the Metropolitan Crime Commission, the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, Crimestoppers, New Orleans & Company and the New Orleans Family Justice Center. The independent survey was launched to gauge public sentiment in the wake of police misconduct during Hurricane Katrina, and remains a valuable tool for evaluating what is arguably the city's most crucial institution, Cowan said.
“With crime continuing to be arguably the biggest concern among New Orleans residents today, it's not surprising to see satisfaction with NOPD at a historical low,” Cowan said.
Perceptions about safety, however, have ticked up slightly this year compared to last, with 29% of all respondents saying the city is fairly or very safe, compared to 25 percent last year. Of those, Black residents and residents over 45 were more likely to report feeling safe, according to the survey.
In terms of policing strategies, 91% of respondents want to see increased patrols; 78% approve of the constitutional use of camera technology; and 71% support facial recognition technology. Eighty-six percent want to see more social programs and counseling.
Michael Hecht, CEO of GNO, Inc., which helped fund the study, said that echoes the strategies recommended in a recent crime fighting plan developed by The NOLA Coalition. The group of more than 500 business, civic and religious organizations banded together last year to create a crime plan and hold officials accountable for the skyrocketing violence.
"It is encouraging to see that an overwhelming majority of citizens—Black and White—support the coalition’s dual platform of a multifaceted approach to increasing public safety, combined with additional investment in social programs, including youth services," he said.
The next top cop
The annual results come as Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration conducts a nationwide search for a new police chief to replace Sean Ferguson, who retired in December. Cantrell appointed Ferguson and interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork, who has announced her desire to serve permanently.
According to a charter change approved by voters last December, the City Council must approve the mayor's selection for police chief. Sixty two percent of survey participants, however, said the police chief should be elected, not appointed.
Seventy one percent of participants also said they thought the violence was worse this year than last, even though there has been some improvement.
Yellow police tape hangs from a utility pole at the corner of Norman C. Francis Parkway and Banks Street in the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans on Monday, January 9, 2023.Three people were fatally shot near here in the 3300 block of Banks Street last Saturday night. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
In 2022, New Orleans saw 265 murders, a historic high that placed the city among the most country's most violent communities.
So far this year, the city has seen a homicides decrease by 17%, shootings and armed robberies dip by 9%, and carjackings drop by 44%, according to data compiled by the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
"The subjective experience of danger and the statistical weighing out of danger never match up," Cowan said. "You can be in a dangerous neighborhood and feel safe, and you can be in a safe neighborhood and feel in danger."
Participants also found fault with the NOPD's recruiting and retention strategy: only 14% positively rated the departments recent recruiting efforts.
Eighty-five percent said they wanted more detailed information about officer recruitment, even though some data is accessible on two recruiting and retention dashboards, one launched by the city and one launched by the NOLA Coalition.
The city this year also filled 70 civilian positions to augment patrol officers, and paid out recruitment and retention bonuses.
Results from the NOCC's annual survey of public satisfaction with the NOPD.
How to turn things around
Cowan says he is "discouraged" by this year's numbers, but he hopes it's only a matter of time before crime-fighting initiatives bear fruit in the eyes of the public.
"(2023's number) is a long fall from 2016, but also we know we have the capacity to move those numbers back up because we can see it on the graph," he said. "We just have to focus, pay attention and do the things we know work."
Ron Faucheux of Faucheux Strategies conducted the random survey of 800 adults years 18 and older. Residents were contacted by phone between May 30 and June 6. Fifty-eight percent of participants were Black, 35% were White and 7% were another race. The margin of error is 3.46%.
Funding for the survey came from GNO Inc., The Greater New Orleans Foundation, and the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region.
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