NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The New Orleans Police Department held a news conference on Tuesday, April 2, to discuss a data reporting error found in statistics for its Special Victims Division in 2021 and 2022.
NOPD officials said the statistics were reported to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, which then reported it to the FBI Uniform Crime Report Summary Reporting System program.
The NOPD reported that the error was brought to the department’s attention by a civil rights attorney Mary Howell and a local researcher.
At the conference, NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick noted the issue “was only in the reporting of the data and did not impact any investigations or prosecutions for the listed years.”
According to a news release, in 2023, the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement asked the NOPD to compile crime statistics for 2021 and 2022, including the number of reported rapes for those years.
The release states that while the number of rapes reported by the NOPD Special Victims Division were classified as rapes by Louisiana law, some cases that didn’t fall under the state’s rape designation could be classified as rape under the FBI UCR’s definition, including some instances of sexual battery, indecent behavior and molestation.
Based on this analysis, it was found the number of incidents reported for 2021 and 2022 had been underreported.
“No investigations were impacted by the data reporting error to LCLE or eventually the FBI program. The investigations and the cases are classified based on Louisiana Law and those prosecutions are governed by existing Louisiana revised statute. The error that we discovered is really about correcting the record in the national UCR FBI program,” said NOPD Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon.
For 2021, the NOPD originally reported 501 rapes. However, it was discovered that an additional 149 sexual battery incidents and 46 indecent behavior or molestation incidents were also considered to be rapes under the FBI UCR’s definition, meaning the actual total number of rape cases for 2021 was 696.
For 2022, the NOPD originally reported 442 rapes and an additional seven after a recount. However, it was discovered that 175 sexual battery incidents and 48 indecent behavior or molestation incidents were also considered to be rapes under the FBI UCR’s definition, meaning the actual total number of rape cases for 2022 was 672.
NOPD officials also said the department’s data reported to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement on March 31, 2024, shows the total of rape cases as defined by FBI UCR guidelines to be 743 for 2021 and 726 for 2022.
According to the NOPD, “These figures include ongoing investigations where information came to light that changed the incidents’ classifications to fit the FBI UCR description of rape.”
NOPD leaders also noted they are taking the following steps to improve accurate reporting and transparency:
- “Publicizing this data reporting error to raise awareness for future researchers and the community.”
- “Notifying LCLE of the need to amend the 2021 and 2022 data.”
- “Implementing a new sexual assault data management system, which is currently being brought online.”
- “Obtaining and implementing a records management system compliant with the FBI’s UCR National Incident-Based Reporting System.”
- “Issuing quarterly reports on both sex crimes data as well as on domestic violence data.”
Watch the NOPD’s full conference:
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
