By: Anum Siddiqui | June 12, 2024 | wdsu.com
NEW ORLEANS —
According to the NOPD Citizens Satisfaction Survey, overall satisfaction within the police department is at 40 percent – that’s an improvement of nine points since last year. The survey results last year showed that the satisfaction rating was the lowest since the survey project began in 2009.The New Orleans Crime Coalition conducts the annual survey with 800 people in New Orleans participating
Forty-three percent of people say the city is “very safe” or “fairly safe” which is a 14-point increase from last year. However, a majority of residents (56%) still say the city is either “not that safe” or “not safe at all. According to the survey, more than seven out of ten residents say the crime problem has either stayed the same or has gotten worse.
The survey shows residents want to see NOPD do more for police recruitment and retention. According to the survey, 17% positively rate NOPD’s efforts at recruiting new police officers, while 65% rate those efforts either “poor” or “only fair,” which is better than last year’s survey.
President of the Metro Crime Commission, Rafael Goyeneche, says as crime is going down, the public’s perception of the police department is improving.
“The public realizes that police officers are doing their best but are still dissatisfied that there aren’t more officers. They’re still dissatisfied that they’re not more officers,” said Goyeneche.
The majority of city residents say it’s a “good idea” for a State Police task force in the city.
“I think between now and the next survey, the Louisiana state police will be more of a force in this city, arresting dangerous and violent and repeat offenders and as the state police get traction, that will improve the police department’s perception in the eye’s of the public,” said Goyeneche.
Other key findings:
- The NOPD’s hard negative rating (20%) is five times higher than its hard positive rating (4%)
- There are widening differences in NOPD satisfaction by age, growing from 9 points to 16 points, and by race, growing from 9 points to 14 points.
- Comparing last year’s survey to this one, the NOPD satisfaction rating among Black residents increased 12 points, from 34% to 46%, and the satisfaction rating among White residents increased 7 points, from 25% to 32%
The full results are available here.