Since its founding in 1995, the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation (NOPJF) has been committed to making the City of New Orleans a safer place to live, work, and visit. In the last decade, much of our efforts have been singularly focused on improving the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) through robust efforts in recruitment and retention, leadership training, public policy efforts, and officer support programs. Today, we extend our focus to assisting Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Attorney General Liz Murrill, and the Louisiana State Police and Troop NOLA in their crime plan efforts.
The NOPJF strongly endorses Governor Landry’s “tough on crime” policy proposals including the establishment of 40+ Louisiana State Troopers and an Office of the Attorney General dedicated to increasing justice in the Greater New Orleans region. For too long, excuses such as juvenile status, cashless bail, and lax sentencing have turned a revolving door of offenders into an open door. It has created dangerous repeated interactions with violent offenders and depleted the morale of the dedicated Officers who must continuously investigate incidents which should never have occurred. This renewed and coordinated approach to crime in our great city of New Orleans will likely produce an immediate positive impact on public safety and should be celebrated at each milestone.
With the possibility in sight that the Consent Decree Monitor may find NOPD to be in substantial compliance and new leadership in Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, there is a sense of hope for the future of the City. The NOPJF looks forward to working with all parties to ensure any and all resources are available to meet this goal. The assistance from State partners will undoubtedly enable the NOPD to focus on continuing to rebuild its ranks and to train newer Officers to replace the experience lost due to attrition. As such, advanced training for Officers will be a priority for the NOPJF in the immediate future.
We foresee the sharing of intelligence on the most extreme offenders as well as their quick apprehension and prosecution to be paramount. Justice should be swift and those who uphold it should be seen as the selfless heroes they truly are. We welcome these new heroes and applaud those who remain. The NOPJF has long been the voice of the community in support of its law enforcement, and we look forward to encouraging that support for its new partners in building a safer New Orleans for our citizens as well as the brave men and women who serve in law enforcement.
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