NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans residents are not happy with the way the NOPD is handling violent crime, according to the results of a new survey by the New Orleans Crime Coalition.
The survey, which conducted between September 5 through September 7, was designed to track how residents view the NOPD and how well the city’s police force is doing its job.
Satisfaction with how the NOPD is handling violent crime plummeted 20 points from last year’s results to a 39 percent approval rating, according to the NOCC.
Overall satisfaction with the NOPD is down by 13 points to 51 percent, which is slightly below the average responses since 2013.
When asked about police presence in their own neighborhood, though, 63 percent of residents said they were satisfied with the NOPD.
Similarly, 82 percent of those polled said they feel safe in their own neighborhood, which is slightly higher than the average since 2013, according to the NOCC.
And for the first time since 2013, a slight majority of those polled, 51 percent, feel safe outside of their own neighborhood in Orleans Parish.
Seventy-one percent of people said they are satisfied with their interactions with the NOPD, but overall interaction with officers is down 12 percent, according to the NOCC.
“Since our last survey in September 2016, overall citizen satisfaction is down; however, citizen perception of New Orleans crime is not necessarily reflected in their personal experiences with police or their feelings of safety,” Crime Coalition chairman Dr. Michael Cowan said. “Not only are we seeing a significant feeling of safety in respondents’ own neighborhoods, but for the first time, we’re seeing a majority feel safe visiting areas outside of their own neighborhoods. While our murder rate is currently down, we believe the drop in overall satisfaction can likely be attributed to an increase in violent crime at the time the survey was taken.”
High performing police departments in other cities typically score no lower than 70 percent on citizen satisfaction ratings, Cowan said.
