NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— New crime data shows the average response time to a 911 call in New Orleans is at an all-time high of two and a half hours — nearly tripling the 2019 average of 51 minutes.
The data, provided by private research firm AH Datalytics, was presented at Wednesday’s Criminal Justice Committee meeting as authorities from the city work to address the city’s growing crime issue.
According to councilman JP Morrell, the response time is worse in some areas of the city than in others.
“There is actually also a further microanalysis as far as response times by council district,” Morrell told WGNO. “[Districts] D and E, for example, have much longer response times than other council districts.”
Another key statistic the committee has its eyes on is the “gone upon arrival” rates, which, as its name hints, means when the person who called 911 is no longer at the location. Officials told the committee that a longer response time leads to more GOA rates and can even lead to fewer crimes being reported.
Other data presented at Wednesday’s meeting shows that numbers doubled for emergency calls, tripled for non-emergency calls, and that the NOPD’s ranks have dwindled to 19% in the last three years. As of July 22, there were only 974 NOPD officers – down almost 10 percent since the end of 2021.