April 15, 2026 • 36 mins
New Orleans has had one of the nation's highest murder rates every year for decades. Since 2023, however, violent crime has dropped sharply — and in this episode, I talk with Mayor Helena Moreno about crime and criminal justice in New Orleans. We discuss the city's difficulties, like a severe budget crisis and the ongoing challenge of abysmally low sexual assault clearance rates, as well as the city's successes.
Mayor Moreno has had a front row seat to the city's crime rise and subsequent decline, and she details what she attributes the historic drop to — a combination of prevention investments like expanded summer jobs programs and violence intervention, targeted policing of the most violent offenders, and critical partnerships with state and federal law enforcement. Crime and criminal justice issues in New Orleans are often a microcosm of what is happening nationally, and this conversation puts a spotlight on how to attack problems happening both in New Orleans and throughout the country.
Mayor Helena Moreno is a leader whose path to City Hall began not in politics, but as an Emmy-winning investigative reporter at WDSU. After years of exposing systemic failures behind the anchor desk, Moreno transitioned to public service in 2010, eventually serving as City Council President before her historic mayoral victory in 2025. Throughout her career, she has been a tireless advocate for accountability and equity—spearheading reforms ranging from cannabis decriminalization and renewable energy initiatives to expanded protections for sexual assault survivors. Born in Mexico and fueled by her early experiences as an immigrant, Mayor Moreno now brings that same spirit of urgency and responsiveness to the city’s highest office.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Well, I'm Jeff Asher, and this is the
Jeffalytics Podcast.
New Orleans is one of the mostbeloved and recognizable cities
in America.
People know it for the music,the food, Mardi Gras, and a
culture that's unlike anywhereelse.
It's also a place that I'm proudto call home.
But New Orleans is also knownfor its crime.
The city has had one of thenation's five highest murder
rates every year since themid-1980s.
(00:22):
Since 2023, however, the numbershave started moving in a vastly
different direction.
Violent crime in New Orleans hasdropped sharply, even as the
city wrestles with massivefinancial, infrastructure, and
police staffing challenges.
In this episode, I talked withMayor Helena Moreno about crime
and criminal justice in NewOrleans.
We discuss how to navigatepublic safety challenges that
are both local and national andthe way forward on these issues
(00:44):
in the city that care for crime.
Crime and criminal justiceissues in New Orleans are often
a microcosm of what is meaningnationally.
And this conversation puts aspotlight on how to attack
problems happening both in NewOrleans and throughout the
country.
Let's dive in.
My guest today is the wonderfulmayor of the wonderful city of
New Orleans, Helena Marina.
Helena, thank you so much forjoining me.
Hey Jeb, great to see you.
(01:06):
Great to be with you.
Good to see you as well.
So my first question is, and Iknow this may take the entirety
of the interview because I knowyou have an extensive
background, but what is yourbackground?
How did you get to be heretoday?
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Oh my gosh.
So I never in a million years,if you go back, you know, to my,
I don't know, early 20s, thoughtI would be here.
I came to the city of NewOrleans in my early 20s to be a
news reporter.
And all I ever wanted to be wasa news reporter and eventually
make it to the anchor desk andbe an investigative reporter as
(01:39):
well.
And and in New Orleans, I wasable to do all of those things
working for the NBC affiliate.
And then Hurricane Katrinahappened.
Hurricane Katrina happened andit changed my life as it the
lives of everybody living herein the city of New Orleans.
And when I uh started working asa journalist in in in the
(01:59):
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,I really felt like journalists
had this kind of elevatedresponsibility to help rebuild
New Orleans, bring people home.
And so all of a sudden, I what Ithought my job was had been
elevated to really advocatingfor New Orleans.
And when things started to goback around 2008 to just like
(02:21):
the way things were before, andjust about, you know, the
stories of the day and what'sthe big national story and all
of that, I started to think it'slike, do I really just want to
do this?
I want to do actually now morefor my city, which is when I
decided to first run for office.
And I thought, go big or gohome.
So I ran for United StatesCongress.
And at that time, the voterssent me home.
(02:43):
But I but I had great peoplelike Senator Mary Landrew, our
former U.S.
senator, who was like, you know,there's a spot for you, keep
keep at it.
And like clockwork, a specialelection opened up for the
legislative seat where I lived.
And I ran for that legislativeseat, was elected to the
Louisiana legislature.
I served there from 2010 to2018.
(03:06):
And then I went uh to the NewOrleans City Council and served
there for two terms, and thenwas elected mayor this past
October and inaugurated inJanuary.
So, really, my background is inmedia and in journalism.
But ultimately, it's always beenabout advocacy for the city of
(03:26):
New Orleans.
And this is just another way inwhich I advocate and support the
city of New Orleans.
SPEAKER_00 (03:32):
I want to ask, because you're really effective,
I think, at this the short formvideo.
It's an art form, it's a skill,it's something that, like you
look at at Mayor Mamdami up inNew York, had was it just like
great, greatly effective at sortof skipping all of the
traditional means of talking tothe public and communicating
with them.
Has that really changed how youcommunicate with everyone, how
(03:56):
you you pass messages?
And how how do you pick that up?
How do you succeed in somethinglike that?
SPEAKER_01 (04:02):
So, you know, someone coming from traditional
media, I would always getfrustrated that it's like I'd
I'd be, you know, whatever theissue would be, I'd be leading
every newscast.
I'm on the front page of thepaper, yet people would totally
miss it, right?
And during the campaign, itwould be so annoying that I
would address certain issues.
(04:23):
And once again, all thetraditional media would cover
it.
And yet I'd still get all thesequestions, like, well, what
about this?
And I'm like, oh my gosh, it'sbeen covered.
So that's when during thecampaign, I just started to do
these quick little walk-in talkson Sundays just on issues I was
working on that I wanted to talkabout.
And they're short form, youknow, no more than, unless I
(04:44):
have a lot to talk about, butthe longest I think I've ever
gone is like a little bit overfive minutes.
And so they're short, usuallyless than three minutes, and
just quick updates on what I'mworking on, an issue that I see,
and the solution to it.
And I started that during thecampaign every Sunday.
So then I got elected intooffice and I just kind of kept
it going every Sunday.
And then I got inaugurated intooffice and I just keep kept it
(05:08):
going.
And the average view we get forlike the not super popular walk
and talks that I do on Sundaysget about 150,000 views.
unknown (05:17):
So that's I know.
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
So those are like the like the eh, it was kind of
boring this time around.
Only 150,000 views.
So so I and people, I uh and asI go through through the city,
people always come up andcompliment me on them.
And they just it I think it'sjust a quick way for just people
to see like, what did she dolast week?
What's going on this week,what's happening within city
government?
And so now people are justexpecting it.
(05:43):
So I think the key to thesemessages are there has to be a
consistency to them.
There needs to be an expectationof when potentially these things
could be coming out, and thenalso that they're short.
You know, I mean, the reason whyI think people like them, it's
because usually they're nolonger than than three minutes.
I know that there's otherswho've tried to who are like,
(06:05):
oh, let me do that as well, butthey don't have the consistency
to them.
And so they're like, how comepeople aren't at, you know,
listening to my videos?
I was like, yeah, because youhave to const you you can't
stop.
You can't do it like twice inone month and skip a whole month
and then come back on.
And it's like it has to be aboutthat consistency and
expectation.
(06:26):
But look, the bottom line,people are getting all of their
information from their phones.
It's not TV and it's not thenewspaper, Jeff, the way that
you and I grew up, you know?
Where I I'm now knocking on thedoor of 50.
I I I still think of myself aslike a young person, but then I
realize, oh wait, I'm almost 50.
And so we have to we have tomeet people where they're at,
(06:47):
meet people where they aregetting their information, and
it's it's on social media andit's it's on their phone.
So that's what I what I'm tryingto do as well.
SPEAKER_00 (06:55):
I have to ask, as a completely failed TikToker
myself, and someone who,whenever I have to record videos
for our Instagram channel, it islike pulling teeth with me.
How many takes does it take youto record a video?
Because I'm on like 14 for a90-second clip.
Usually it's one.
That's one take that is the mostimpressive thing imaginable.
SPEAKER_01 (07:15):
Well, because the thing is, it's like, you know,
this ultimately is my Sunday.
So it's usually one take.
Sometimes, if some sometimes ifI'm on a walk, things will
happen, like, you know,something will interrupt me or
whatever.
So I'll have to do like a coupletakes or whatever.
But usually it's one take.
The one definitely this pastSunday was one take.
(07:36):
I was in the car, and you know,like obviously as a passenger,
not driving, because sometimeswhen I when I do the videos in
the car, people are like, Areyou driving?
I'm like, no, I'm not drivingand doing a video.
So anyway, but usually one takebecause I also want it to be
natural.
Like, I don't want it to bescripted.
It is really just me talking tothe people of the city of what's
(07:57):
going on within their citygovernment.
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
That that is truly impressive, I have to say.
Is this like I can't evenimagine doing it all the time?
SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
I mean, obviously, I do put thought into it.
Like today, I want to talk aboutthese three things.
You know, I don't just like turnthe phone on and record.
You know, I think I obviouslythink about it in advance what I
want to talk about.
But yeah, usually it's one take.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
So I want to turn to more of the criminal justice
side.
Obviously, I I like talkingabout the communication element
because I think it's criticaland it's sort of at the heart of
what I'm trying to think abouton the podcast.
Obviously, your challenge, andyou've only been in office two
months or so as we're recordingthis.
The challenges are immense inthe city of New Orleans.
What do you think is sort ofyour biggest challenge, and
(08:36):
where does the crime, criminaljustice angle fit in right now?
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
Yeah, I mean, uh it's been widely reported and I
talk about it all the time.
It's the the city finances andthe budget.
We have a real budget crisisaround our general fund.
And moving into the the 2026budget, Jeff, I had to make
substantial cuts across theboard.
But one thing I was able topreserve is ensuring that our
(09:05):
essential services, includingpublic safety, that that those
agencies did not receive cuts.
If I don't succeed inrevenue-raising measures with a
sanitation fee that's incrediblyunpopular and raising that
sanitation fee, you know,through the city council, if I
don't achieve some of thesethings or or or get some of my
bills across the board, thelegislature, then unfortunately
(09:28):
I will be faced with no choice.
But for 2027 to make cuts intouh public safety, which I don't
want to do.
I've I've been able to exemptfirst responder agencies from
furloughs, but I may not be ableto do that if I don't succeed in
some of these revenue raisingmeasures.
There's just the otherdepartments that we've cut,
(09:48):
there's just there's just noadditional uh cuts that can be
made.
I mean, if anybody has any ideason that, I I welcome them.
But we have cut so much.
Just the mayor's office alone, Ieliminated 36 positions.
So that that's that's thechallenge, Jeff, is to ensure
the things that I need to do tostabilize our budget and
structurally fix our budget,that those things get
(10:11):
accomplished.
And then if that happens, I'llbe in in pretty good shape, you
know, public safety-wise.
On the budgeting side for ourNew Orleans Police Department,
one of the things that we reallyhad to come in and and manage
tightly is the overtime.
The overtime for our New OrleansPolice Department, and the
legislative auditor also agreeswith this, is that it was pretty
(10:32):
it pretty much became afree-for-all.
And the spending on overtimewasn't based on necessity, but
was based on spend as much aspossible on overtime.
And so don't get me wrong,overtime is certainly necessary
for our New Orleans PoliceDepartment and to meet the the
needs of our city, but it wasit's not a free-for-all type of
(10:54):
spending luxury that that thatthat they were using it as.
So with the accountabilitymeasures that we put in place
for overtime, what we've seen isalready projecting about a$10
million less in expendituresthan we had projected.
So we put you know roughly$38million into the overtime budget
(11:15):
this year, and it and it may be$10 million less than that which
is spent.
So that just goes to show youthat better management and
accountability that that goes along way.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
How has your perspective on all of these
issues, especially specificallyrelated to crime and criminal
justice?
How has that changed from sortof your days as a reporter to
the legislator to the citycouncil to where you sit now?
SPEAKER_01 (11:36):
Well, things are very different, Jeff.
You know, I mean, when I was areporter, the New Orleans Police
Department was much larger thanit is now.
I mean, this was in the early2000s.
Uh, so we had a much biggerpolice department.
It was pre-Katrina, it waspre-consent decree, and you
know, the the level of abusesthat we were reporting from the
(11:57):
department were constant.
To then, of course, me enteringthe legislature and Mitch
Landrew coming into office withuh Chief Harrison, Chief
Harrison, who is now my deputymayor of public safety, but they
moved forward with a consentdecree, which of course then put
in place many of the differentnecessary reforms for our NOPD,
(12:19):
which I believe made them a muchmore effective and
constitutional policedepartment, and one that I think
can be a gold standard for therest of the country.
And so then that changeoccurred.
And then on the city councilgetting to understand more about
the operations and deployment ofthe NOPD to now being mayor and
(12:42):
working very closely with ChiefKirkpatrick and her leadership
team on initiatives.
One of the things that I that Ido appreciate about Chief
Kirkpatrick is the fact that,you know, she looks at her
force, the number of officersthat she has, and then goes and
finds ways to fill gaps througheither partnerships with our
(13:03):
state and federal partners orfigure out ways to fill gaps
through different technologythat we can bring in to assist
the police force.
So the relationships that wehave with our state and federal
partners, I believe have beenvery effective over the past
several years.
I think Mardi Gras is a perfectexample of that.
We were able to ensure that thesecond weekend of Mardi Gras,
(13:27):
which is of course the biggestweekend, was a Sier one event.
And that brought in additionaltactical resources, intelligence
resources.
There were things that werestopped before they could even
happen.
And so that is that's that's acritical partnership there.
That's that's effectivecollaboration and coordination.
And we had an incredibly safeMardi Gras, which I was very
(13:49):
proud to see.
But then on the technology side,you know, seeing what's working
in other departments and seeingwhat potentially could be
implemented here, the droneprogram that they have in
Jefferson Parish to assist inresponse times, you know,
deploying a drone immediately toit could be a carjacking, a car
burglary, so that immediatelythe drone gets there quickly and
starts recording so that thenofficers know exactly who
(14:11):
they're looking for and able torespond to the situation better
is something that we are nowworking on implementing here in
New Orleans, first through apilot program in the French
quarter and then expanding thatover to the 7th district in New
Orleans East.
So so it's just different, it'sit's so different, Jeff, from
when I was a reporter and justlike policing was different in
(14:33):
the city to where it is now.
You know, I mean it's just it soI've seen kind of the evolution
NOPD to where it is now, and itis a much improved and advanced
department for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (14:45):
How do you think through you mentioned the drone
program, sort of balancing thethings that these new
technologies can bring,especially as you mentioned, New
Orleans is a place that had1,600 officers 20 years ago and
has 900 now?
So you have so many fewerofficers, these technologies can
really bring a lot to the tableand matching that gap.
(15:05):
They also bring surveillancequestions, they bring civil
liberties questions.
How do you balance thosecompeting ideas?
SPEAKER_01 (15:11):
And that's really around delving in and getting a
lot of information about thetechnology.
Like, explain to me how it willbe used, how is it used in other
cities, and on the drone programspecifically, because there
there were a lot of questionsabout surveillance.
Like, is this just another wayto like surveil people?
(15:31):
But once I receive theinformation of how NOPD would be
utilizing it, how JeffersonParish has been utilizing, that
literally the drone is deployedto the area.
And once it gets there, itstarts recording.
So there aren't just, we're notjust deploying drones just to go
and just watch, you know, it'sabout specific response to an
(15:53):
ongoing, already dangeroussituation.
That's where the drone is going.
And once the drone hits thatsite, that's when they start
recording.
And so, really, it's aboutgetting as much information as
possible about the technology,getting as much information from
our NOPD about the very specificuse of the technology, and then
from that point on making adecision on whether or not it uh
(16:15):
it aligns with my views on whatis really necessary as far as
crime fighting in New Orleans.
SPEAKER_00 (16:21):
You also mentioned the consent decree, and and I
think that this is such acritical issue because I agree
with you completely that thecity has seen dramatic changes
in how the department hasoperated over the last what 15
years since it was firstimplemented.
Obviously, that has gone awaynow.
So, how do you sustain that, notjust while you're mayor, but
ideally setting it up so thatfor the next 50 years or 100
(16:41):
years or however long the cityis is here is that lasts?
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
So the NOPD always had, I think like 11 monitors
who worked on the consentdecree.
So these were folks workinginside the NOPD.
And the consent decree is gone,and we don't need the
interaction with the court andthe DOJ.
We did keep five or six of thosemonitors still in-house just to
(17:07):
monitor and ensure that there isconstant compliance with all of
the major advancements that wemade, that there is no
backsliding.
You still need, for lack of abetter term, kind of that
auditing team within NOPD tomake sure that there is no
backsliding.
And I think that that's gonna bethe important piece to
constantly have that level ofoversight, to constantly have
(17:29):
that level of auditing tocontinue to make improvements
and not go backwards justbecause we're not in a consent
decree.
SPEAKER_00 (17:36):
New Orleans has has seen dramatic drops in crime
over the last few years.
I mean, I remember when when youwere in city council and the
horrible days of 2022, and notonly 2022.
SPEAKER_01 (17:46):
Oh my gosh, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
And you know, record high murder, response times
through the roof, just horrifictragedy after horrific tragedy
sent it felt like to now wherewe're having the lowest murder
rate since the 70s.
Um first question is sort ofwhat you've had a front row view
of all of this and have driven alot of this.
What do you attribute for thisdramatic decline?
SPEAKER_01 (18:10):
So you kind of broke up a little bit there, but I
think you were talking aboutwhat do I attribute to the
dramatic decline in in crimehere in the city?
And and really predominantly,Jeff, it's around violent crime
in the city.
So I think it's it's both a realinvestment in prevention and
also, as I mentioned before, thereal key partnerships that NOPD
(18:31):
has with our state and federalpartners.
So it's both prevention andpolicing and an effective
combination of both.
I think that's the that's thereal formula.
You can't just be about justpolicing your way out of this.
You have to also work on theprevention piece.
So during my time on the citycouncil, especially uh right
around 2022, we started to makesignificant investment on
(18:52):
boosting our summer jobsprogram.
They only had like 250 slots,something like that.
We boosted it to 2,000 slots,really making heavy investment
on partnering with organizationswho were already working on
crime prevention measures orworking on youth and
recreational opportunities.
And so once we started seeingthat investment along with the
(19:14):
work of our health departmentwith some of the violence
intervention that they weredoing and grants that they were
receiving and working with theviolence interrupters, so it's
that really that wholecombination.
And then uh Chief Kirkpatrickreally started to lean in on
work with specific task forcesto go after the most violent
offenders in the city andidentify who are the top violent
(19:37):
offenders, go after them, goarrest them.
And then plus, you know, I alsohave to give credit to Troop
NOLA.
Troop NOLA here in the city ofNew Orleans, I do believe has
made a major impact here in thecity.
And one of the things that I'mworking on this legislative
session is to find thatrecurring revenue stream to keep
Troop NOLA here permanently.
(19:57):
The city of New Orleans puts inabout$2 million a year towards
supporting Troop Nola.
Obviously, with the general fundissues that we have, I'd like to
find, you know, some kind ofrevenue stream coming from
potentially one of our tourismentities like the convention
center, maybe uh take a littlepiece of a food and beverage
tax, you know, and steer thattoward keeping Troop Nola here
(20:18):
in the city of New Orleans.
SPEAKER_00 (20:19):
Is there a way?
I mean, I know that obviouslyfrom a political standpoint, uh
most of the politicians in NewOrleans could not be more
different than the politiciansin the State House in Baton
Rouge.
Is there a way to sort ofsustain that cooperation going
forward?
SPEAKER_01 (20:33):
Look, I mean, as a former legislator, yes, there is
always this New Orleans, notagainst the world, but New
Orleans against Louisiana, youknow?
I mean, like everyone's everyonecoming at New Orleans, you know?
But at the at the same time, youknow, the the New Orleans
argument is like, what wouldLouisiana be without New
Orleans, right?
And we are such a revenuegenerator for the state of
(20:54):
Louisiana as a whole.
So what I've always tried to dois find ways to work across
party lines and still deliverfor the city.
And that's kind of the approachthat that I have now and that
I've put on my delegation.
You know, let's find a way towork together, get things done.
Right before I got on yourpodcast, the governor was
calling me.
We had to work through somethings.
(21:15):
I had to tell him of the intentof one of the pieces of
legislation that I have and whyI need to make sure that he's, I
don't necessarily need his likerah-rah, but I also don't need,
you know, him to try to block itbecause it's about advancing New
Orleans, moving New Orleansforward in our infrastructure,
particularly around sewage andwaterboard, with about the bill
that he and I talked about.
So there there have to be theseconversations and we have to
(21:38):
find a path to work together.
It's one of those things that'slike we're stuck with each
other, right?
And I want what's best for thecity of New Orleans, and I'll
and I'll find the right way towork with those that maybe I'm
not politically aligned with toensure that we still get results
for our city.
SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
Have you given thoughts?
I'm sure you have.
What are your thoughts about howwe sort of sustain the progress
that we've seen, not just in theconsent decree, but across The
entirety of sort of the criminaljustice landscape over the last
few years.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:04):
Well, you know, I I think a lot of it has to do with
what I talked about before asfar as a department with the
auditing piece of it.
But, you know, the other piecetoo is really uh those who are
in leadership positions standingfirm, you know, to make sure
that there isn't that level ofbacksliding.
But while we've made progress,Jeff, I can tell you that
(22:26):
there's still more progress tobe made.
I I still see some issues thatwe have with our criminal
justice system just not movingfast enough.
Like there always there's alwaysroom for things to be more
efficient, to, to work faster,but you also hear it from those
who are going through theprocess in the criminal justice
system of how timely, you know,things can be.
(22:47):
So there's always room forimprovement and progress.
So, yes, while we have come along way, there is definitely
room for additional things toimprove.
And on the NOPD side, Jeff, youand I talk about this all the
time, and we have for years.
We still need improvement whenit comes to sexual assault
cases, sexual assault cases andthe clearance rates around
sexual assault cases.
(23:09):
I I will always continue to talkabout this, and and this is not
just an NOPD issue, this isacross the criminal justice
system, is that still domesticviolence is not treated with the
severity that it should and theurgency that it should across
the board.
Uh I've talked about this forthe past, I don't know, now like
15 years.
I've been constantly, you know,talking about this, ringing the
(23:31):
bell.
Like it's just it's infuriatingsometimes of how dismissive uh
some in the criminal justicesystem continue to be, not just
in New Orleans, but across thestate and really across the
country of domestic violencecases.
SPEAKER_00 (23:45):
Are there specific ways that we can do better to
address this?
I think we've we've talked aboutthe the rate clearance rate is
like 7% in New Orleans orsomething like that.
How how can we make these thingsor help to solve these things?
SPEAKER_01 (23:56):
Yeah, I think part of it, and I've talked to Chief
Ann about this, has to do withhow can you be more responsive
first to victims.
And we talked about this, Jeff,I think this was when the
response times were like really,really bad.
We talked about deploying socialworkers to the non-emergency
sexual assault cases.
(24:16):
So when a victim would call,just so that your viewing
audience understands, when avictim would call and say, let's
say she was sexually assaultedlast night, and she would call,
well, there is not a specificemergency right now anymore.
She is safe, and therefore itwould take police hours to
(24:37):
sometimes in extreme cases daysfor police to actually show up
at to to try to help the victim.
So oftentimes in situations likethis, the victim would no longer
even be around or just, youknow, kind of put their hands up
and it's like, never mind, whichis terrible because this is a
significant serious violentcrime that has occurred, a
(25:01):
serious felony that hasoccurred.
And so we talked then deployingsocial workers to those
non-emergency types of cases sothat the victim could then be
advised of steps she needed totake to ensure that a forensic
medical exam could be conducted.
So then if she would want topress charges, that evidence
(25:21):
would be preserved.
And preserving that evidence toour best of our ability is one
of the main ways I still believethat we can solve more cases.
So if you have more victims whoare given the right information,
have someone there who is ableto support them, tell them that
they need to go to UMC hospitalto get their forensic medical
exam, explain to them the stepsthat need to be taken.
(25:42):
I think that those types ofmeasures can go a long way.
And so once again, though, it'smaking that that that adjustment
within NOPD to allow for socialworkers to do that.
And I know that Chief is open toit, but I also know that she's
dealing with a variety of othertypes of initiatives that she's
working on as well.
And and bringing more thingsin-house as well.
(26:05):
Like, you know, we have On-SceneServices, which has a it's a
company that responds tonon-major traffic accidents with
without injuries.
So the chief continues to lookat how do we start to bring in
those types of servicesin-house?
Uh, one, she believes you canprobably manage them better, and
there's also cost savings.
(26:25):
So she continues to find ways.
What Chief Harrison startedunder the Landru administration,
find ways to bring in civilianemployees to help with overall
responses to a variety ofdifferent crimes.
SPEAKER_00 (26:41):
And are there sort of, as you look at these things,
are there completely uniquechallenges to public safety and
fighting crime in New Orleanscompared to all of your other
mayors?
And are there other ways on theother end that you're like, oh,
every city's dealing with this?
I can learn from other mayors.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
So an ever and every city is dealing with this
situation, is the recruitmentpiece.
Every city is is dealing with,you know, having trouble
attracting officers just basedon the fact that that people
aren't flocking to thisprofession like they did many
years ago.
So that's something that everycity faces.
And that is something where Ilook to other cities and suggest
(27:20):
to Chief Ann, I'm like, hey,maybe take a look at what some
of these other cities are doing.
So that's one aspect.
But then on where we are sounique is that, you know, we're
we're a little city.
We're we're a little city with,you know, roughly 350,000
people.
Like we're a little, littleplace, but we attract so many
people into our little city,millions of people to our little
(27:43):
city.
So one of the things that ourNOPD is phenomenally known for
is how to handle major eventswith hundreds of thousands of
people and to do that severaltimes a year.
It would be hard for a policedepartment anywhere in this
country to handle one or twoevents like that a year.
(28:06):
And we have them consistently.
I mean, we're now planning forFrench Quarter Fest.
That's that's literally rightaround the corner, which will
bring thousands and thousands ofpeople just to one area of town,
the riverfront and the FrenchQuarter area.
So that's something that they doexceptionally well.
And then I'll also say they haveone very unique feature that is
(28:28):
also very celebrated across thecountry for how well they do
their job.
And that's our mounted division.
You know, our mounted divisionhas been around for a really
long time, and they are anexceptional equestrian group,
and they are very well trained,and the I've I've seen them
personally have to deal withvery difficult situations, and
(28:50):
the level of talent there isphenomenal.
Just the other day when we were,I guess not other day, all the
days are coming together nowbecause it's now a while ago,
but as we closed out, as weclosed out Mardi Gras, walking
down Bourbon Street, and youhave all the horses in front of
you.
Obviously, you've got the crowdsclearing other crowds, but then
you had people who were likepopping, you know, the confetti
(29:10):
cannons and everything.
The way that they handled theirhorses, the way they handled the
crowd with such a level of skillis truly phenomenal.
There are others who have kindof these, you know, more
temporary or every once in awhile mounted divisions.
Our mounted division isyear-round.
These officers are specificallyfor mounted.
(29:31):
And so that takes a real levelof skill.
And I know that that issomething that is celebrated by
other departments across thecountry of how good we are here.
SPEAKER_00 (29:40):
And as the question was coming out, I know if you
ask a New Orleanian what makesthem unique, you're gonna like
it's the softball questionthat's gonna get a thousand
different answers.
SPEAKER_01 (29:48):
Yes, exactly.
unknown (29:49):
Yeah, right, right.
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
Mart Mardi Gras, for anyone listening who has not
been, is it is amazing how everyyear you have this just mass of
people.
There's there's alcohol, peopleare throwing things into the
crowds, and it just it just sortof happens every year, and it
and that it happens safely issuch a testament, I think, to
all the hard work of the citygovernment.
So yes, um, certainly, certainlycongrats on that for a
(30:12):
successful Mardi Gras that Iknow my kids loved most
recently.
Um good.
So looking forward, do you seeany any new public safety
challenges, any issues?
Are you you know, are you sortof thinking that at some point
the murder drop will stop, thethe crime drop will level out,
and we need to be prepared forthat?
Or is this just uh we're gonnakeep going on and and keep doing
(30:35):
what's working?
SPEAKER_01 (30:36):
I think if we're gonna continue to to make
strides, we have to continue ourinvestment on prevention.
And I do worry about the factthat, you know, there seems to
be kind of this reduction ingrants on the federal level for
kind of public health-relatedgrants.
And obviously, our healthdepartment and some of these
initiatives that we fund aroundprevention are federally funded.
(30:58):
So that is that is a concern.
And because we need to continuethese initiatives on the
prevention side.
On the policing side, tocontinue to make strides, I do
believe we have to constantlykeep moving the needle on
solving cases and then also onresponse times.
And so that's why on theresponse times, if if we don't
have, you know, more policeofficers coming in in droves,
(31:22):
well, what can we do to thinkdifferently around response
times?
Which is why I think thebringing on civilians, I think
is so critical, and also thetechnology piece.
So to continue to make progress,you have to continue just to
think outside the box to solvethese issues.
And so I do appreciate ChiefKirkpatrick and my deputy mayor,
former police chief Harrison,thinking that way.
(31:43):
And and I will say this, youknow, I am beyond grateful and
and just beyond excited to havetwo major law enforcement
professionals who are are reallyknown across the nation for
their work, and Chief Harrisonand Chief Kirkpatrick now both
(32:05):
working for the city of NewOrleans.
To have one ensuring that citygovernment is supporting the
NOPD with the assets that itneeds, and that you have Chief
Kirkpatrick who is running theoperations, the NOPD, those two
experts working for the city, Ithink will take us a long way.
And and particularly forthinking of new ways to continue
(32:29):
to make progress.
Because you're right, if we justkeep just here, you're gonna
start backsliding.
You have to constantly bethinking ahead and like what
potentially, you know, could wedo to just start chipping away
at issues that are stillpersisting?
And I do believe that the thatChief Kirkpatrick, our NOPD
(32:50):
chief, does have a greatleadership team that thinks that
way too.
So that's important.
SPEAKER_00 (32:54):
And you mentioned technology, sort of my last big
question.
I've been asking, started to askall of my guests this, but how
does AI, and I guess this is atwo-parter, how does AI change
how we approach criminal justiceand crime and public safety?
And then also, how would AI, areyou all thinking about how it
changes how you do your job asmayor?
SPEAKER_01 (33:12):
Yeah.
Yes.
So the the AI discussion isalmost daily here at City Hall,
which is kind of interestingconsidering that we are so
behind the times at City Hallwhen it comes to IT.
I think we're like on Windows93.
I say that as a joke, but thatjust gives your viewers the
example of just how far off.
How just how behind the times weare.
(33:35):
So, yes, you know, we're lookingat AI in a variety of different
ways on everything from helpingour city attorney's office with
public records requests tolooking at AI into permitting,
which is a real way that citiesacross the country are finding
some real progress on expeditingpermits and implementing AI
(33:56):
systems into permitting.
And the law enforcement pieceand public safety piece, I do
think that, you know,potentially it could be useful.
I do know that even on thenumber of public record requests
that the NOPD gets, certainly AIcould help with all of those
administrative things, you know,but ultimately, you know,
(34:18):
technology is something that iscoming fast at us.
And what I do worry about AI,particularly when you're talking
about, you know, our ourcriminal justice system, is as
you're implementing potential AIsolutions, is to ensure that
you're also protecting privacy.
And so that's kind of like thekey piece that as they as they
(34:39):
look at different improvements,that that piece is always like
top of mind, uh, particularlyaround criminal justice.
SPEAKER_00 (34:46):
Absolutely.
So what what is next for you?
SPEAKER_01 (34:50):
Well, what's next for me and and really my top
priorities right now is ensuringthat one, that we're a safe
city.
So ensuring that we have our ouressential services really met
here in our city.
Jeff, you're from New Orleans,so that so you know that we've
had kind of we have some work todo on our essential services, on
getting our streets repaired andour lights on.
(35:11):
So that's like my key prioritynow.
And obviously, public safety isan essential service.
So making sure we're safe andmaking sure that our
infrastructure is much enhanced.
So that's top priority, alongwith stabilizing the budget.
And then from that point on,really building and building.
But I do think that we aremoving at a much faster pace
than projected to get some ofthese issues solved.
(35:33):
We even have some of our stateleaders who thought it would
take me four years to get someof these accomplishments done.
Do you believe that I can getthese things in a much better
place in just one year inoffice?
We work with urgency.
My my team does.
I said that I would come intothis office knowing that I would
not be perfect, but what I couldguarantee the people of New
Orleans is that I would workextremely hard for them every
(35:56):
single day, and that every day Iwould push to move the ball
forward.
So that's that's really whereI'm at, Jeff.
You know, that's what's next forme is to just keep chipping away
at the problems here in NewOrleans and keep making New
Orleans a more and morewonderful place.
We have one of the most amazingcities, not just in this
country, but in the world.
And to your viewers who may notbe from New Orleans, you need to
(36:17):
come visit because this city isphenomenal, amazing, and it's
only getting better.
SPEAKER_00 (36:24):
Absolutely.
All right.
Maybe Miranda, thank you so muchfor joining me.
This has been terrific.
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01 (36:29):
Thanks, Jeff, and I'm so glad you've got this
podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (36:32):
Thank you.
Yeah, everybody should listen.
SPEAKER_01 (36:34):
Yeah, everybody should listen.
Thank you, Jeff.
Have a great one.
SPEAKER_00 (36:37):
Thank you, you too.
Thanks for listening to theJeffalytics Podcast.
Be sure to subscribe and tolearn more, head on over to
ahdatalytics.com for moreinformation and previous
episodes.
If you like what you heard,please leave a glowing review,
which will help others todiscover the show.
Until next time, I'm Jeff Asher.
Well, I'm Jeff Asher, and this is the
Jeffalytics Podcast.
New Orleans is one of the mostbeloved and recognizable cities
in America.
People know it for the music,the food, Mardi Gras, and a
culture that's unlike anywhereelse.
It's also a place that I'm proudto call home.
But New Orleans is also knownfor its crime.
The city has had one of thenation's five highest murder
rates every year since themid-1980s.
(00:22):
Since 2023, however, the numbershave started moving in a vastly
different direction.
Violent crime in New Orleans hasdropped sharply, even as the
city wrestles with massivefinancial, infrastructure, and
police staffing challenges.
In this episode, I talked withMayor Helena Moreno about crime
and criminal justice in NewOrleans.
We discuss how to navigatepublic safety challenges that
are both local and national andthe way forward on these issues
(00:44):
in the city that care for crime.
Crime and criminal justiceissues in New Orleans are often
a microcosm of what is meaningnationally.
And this conversation puts aspotlight on how to attack
problems happening both in NewOrleans and throughout the
country.
Let's dive in.
My guest today is the wonderfulmayor of the wonderful city of
New Orleans, Helena Marina.
Helena, thank you so much forjoining me.
Hey Jeb, great to see you.
(01:06):
Great to be with you.
Good to see you as well.
So my first question is, and Iknow this may take the entirety
of the interview because I knowyou have an extensive
background, but what is yourbackground?
How did you get to be heretoday?
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Oh my gosh.
So I never in a million years,if you go back, you know, to my,
I don't know, early 20s, thoughtI would be here.
I came to the city of NewOrleans in my early 20s to be a
news reporter.
And all I ever wanted to be wasa news reporter and eventually
make it to the anchor desk andbe an investigative reporter as
(01:39):
well.
And and in New Orleans, I wasable to do all of those things
working for the NBC affiliate.
And then Hurricane Katrinahappened.
Hurricane Katrina happened andit changed my life as it the
lives of everybody living herein the city of New Orleans.
And when I uh started working asa journalist in in in the
(01:59):
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,I really felt like journalists
had this kind of elevatedresponsibility to help rebuild
New Orleans, bring people home.
And so all of a sudden, I what Ithought my job was had been
elevated to really advocatingfor New Orleans.
And when things started to goback around 2008 to just like
(02:21):
the way things were before, andjust about, you know, the
stories of the day and what'sthe big national story and all
of that, I started to think it'slike, do I really just want to
do this?
I want to do actually now morefor my city, which is when I
decided to first run for office.
And I thought, go big or gohome.
So I ran for United StatesCongress.
And at that time, the voterssent me home.
(02:43):
But I but I had great peoplelike Senator Mary Landrew, our
former U.S.
senator, who was like, you know,there's a spot for you, keep
keep at it.
And like clockwork, a specialelection opened up for the
legislative seat where I lived.
And I ran for that legislativeseat, was elected to the
Louisiana legislature.
I served there from 2010 to2018.
(03:06):
And then I went uh to the NewOrleans City Council and served
there for two terms, and thenwas elected mayor this past
October and inaugurated inJanuary.
So, really, my background is inmedia and in journalism.
But ultimately, it's always beenabout advocacy for the city of
(03:26):
New Orleans.
And this is just another way inwhich I advocate and support the
city of New Orleans.
SPEAKER_00 (03:32):
I want to ask, because you're really effective,
I think, at this the short formvideo.
It's an art form, it's a skill,it's something that, like you
look at at Mayor Mamdami up inNew York, had was it just like
great, greatly effective at sortof skipping all of the
traditional means of talking tothe public and communicating
with them.
Has that really changed how youcommunicate with everyone, how
(03:56):
you you pass messages?
And how how do you pick that up?
How do you succeed in somethinglike that?
SPEAKER_01 (04:02):
So, you know, someone coming from traditional
media, I would always getfrustrated that it's like I'd
I'd be, you know, whatever theissue would be, I'd be leading
every newscast.
I'm on the front page of thepaper, yet people would totally
miss it, right?
And during the campaign, itwould be so annoying that I
would address certain issues.
(04:23):
And once again, all thetraditional media would cover
it.
And yet I'd still get all thesequestions, like, well, what
about this?
And I'm like, oh my gosh, it'sbeen covered.
So that's when during thecampaign, I just started to do
these quick little walk-in talkson Sundays just on issues I was
working on that I wanted to talkabout.
And they're short form, youknow, no more than, unless I
(04:44):
have a lot to talk about, butthe longest I think I've ever
gone is like a little bit overfive minutes.
And so they're short, usuallyless than three minutes, and
just quick updates on what I'mworking on, an issue that I see,
and the solution to it.
And I started that during thecampaign every Sunday.
So then I got elected intooffice and I just kind of kept
it going every Sunday.
And then I got inaugurated intooffice and I just keep kept it
(05:08):
going.
And the average view we get forlike the not super popular walk
and talks that I do on Sundaysget about 150,000 views.
unknown (05:17):
So that's I know.
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
So those are like the like the eh, it was kind of
boring this time around.
Only 150,000 views.
So so I and people, I uh and asI go through through the city,
people always come up andcompliment me on them.
And they just it I think it'sjust a quick way for just people
to see like, what did she dolast week?
What's going on this week,what's happening within city
government?
And so now people are justexpecting it.
(05:43):
So I think the key to thesemessages are there has to be a
consistency to them.
There needs to be an expectationof when potentially these things
could be coming out, and thenalso that they're short.
You know, I mean, the reason whyI think people like them, it's
because usually they're nolonger than than three minutes.
I know that there's otherswho've tried to who are like,
(06:05):
oh, let me do that as well, butthey don't have the consistency
to them.
And so they're like, how comepeople aren't at, you know,
listening to my videos?
I was like, yeah, because youhave to const you you can't
stop.
You can't do it like twice inone month and skip a whole month
and then come back on.
And it's like it has to be aboutthat consistency and
expectation.
(06:26):
But look, the bottom line,people are getting all of their
information from their phones.
It's not TV and it's not thenewspaper, Jeff, the way that
you and I grew up, you know?
Where I I'm now knocking on thedoor of 50.
I I I still think of myself aslike a young person, but then I
realize, oh wait, I'm almost 50.
And so we have to we have tomeet people where they're at,
(06:47):
meet people where they aregetting their information, and
it's it's on social media andit's it's on their phone.
So that's what I what I'm tryingto do as well.
SPEAKER_00 (06:55):
I have to ask, as a completely failed TikToker
myself, and someone who,whenever I have to record videos
for our Instagram channel, it islike pulling teeth with me.
How many takes does it take youto record a video?
Because I'm on like 14 for a90-second clip.
Usually it's one.
That's one take that is the mostimpressive thing imaginable.
SPEAKER_01 (07:15):
Well, because the thing is, it's like, you know,
this ultimately is my Sunday.
So it's usually one take.
Sometimes, if some sometimes ifI'm on a walk, things will
happen, like, you know,something will interrupt me or
whatever.
So I'll have to do like a coupletakes or whatever.
But usually it's one take.
The one definitely this pastSunday was one take.
(07:36):
I was in the car, and you know,like obviously as a passenger,
not driving, because sometimeswhen I when I do the videos in
the car, people are like, Areyou driving?
I'm like, no, I'm not drivingand doing a video.
So anyway, but usually one takebecause I also want it to be
natural.
Like, I don't want it to bescripted.
It is really just me talking tothe people of the city of what's
(07:57):
going on within their citygovernment.
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
That that is truly impressive, I have to say.
Is this like I can't evenimagine doing it all the time?
SPEAKER_01 (08:04):
I mean, obviously, I do put thought into it.
Like today, I want to talk aboutthese three things.
You know, I don't just like turnthe phone on and record.
You know, I think I obviouslythink about it in advance what I
want to talk about.
But yeah, usually it's one take.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
So I want to turn to more of the criminal justice
side.
Obviously, I I like talkingabout the communication element
because I think it's criticaland it's sort of at the heart of
what I'm trying to think abouton the podcast.
Obviously, your challenge, andyou've only been in office two
months or so as we're recordingthis.
The challenges are immense inthe city of New Orleans.
What do you think is sort ofyour biggest challenge, and
(08:36):
where does the crime, criminaljustice angle fit in right now?
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
Yeah, I mean, uh it's been widely reported and I
talk about it all the time.
It's the the city finances andthe budget.
We have a real budget crisisaround our general fund.
And moving into the the 2026budget, Jeff, I had to make
substantial cuts across theboard.
But one thing I was able topreserve is ensuring that our
(09:05):
essential services, includingpublic safety, that that those
agencies did not receive cuts.
If I don't succeed inrevenue-raising measures with a
sanitation fee that's incrediblyunpopular and raising that
sanitation fee, you know,through the city council, if I
don't achieve some of thesethings or or or get some of my
bills across the board, thelegislature, then unfortunately
(09:28):
I will be faced with no choice.
But for 2027 to make cuts intouh public safety, which I don't
want to do.
I've I've been able to exemptfirst responder agencies from
furloughs, but I may not be ableto do that if I don't succeed in
some of these revenue raisingmeasures.
There's just the otherdepartments that we've cut,
(09:48):
there's just there's just noadditional uh cuts that can be
made.
I mean, if anybody has any ideason that, I I welcome them.
But we have cut so much.
Just the mayor's office alone, Ieliminated 36 positions.
So that that's that's thechallenge, Jeff, is to ensure
the things that I need to do tostabilize our budget and
structurally fix our budget,that those things get
(10:11):
accomplished.
And then if that happens, I'llbe in in pretty good shape, you
know, public safety-wise.
On the budgeting side for ourNew Orleans Police Department,
one of the things that we reallyhad to come in and and manage
tightly is the overtime.
The overtime for our New OrleansPolice Department, and the
legislative auditor also agreeswith this, is that it was pretty
(10:32):
it pretty much became afree-for-all.
And the spending on overtimewasn't based on necessity, but
was based on spend as much aspossible on overtime.
And so don't get me wrong,overtime is certainly necessary
for our New Orleans PoliceDepartment and to meet the the
needs of our city, but it wasit's not a free-for-all type of
(10:54):
spending luxury that that thatthat they were using it as.
So with the accountabilitymeasures that we put in place
for overtime, what we've seen isalready projecting about a$10
million less in expendituresthan we had projected.
So we put you know roughly$38million into the overtime budget
(11:15):
this year, and it and it may be$10 million less than that which
is spent.
So that just goes to show youthat better management and
accountability that that goes along way.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
How has your perspective on all of these
issues, especially specificallyrelated to crime and criminal
justice?
How has that changed from sortof your days as a reporter to
the legislator to the citycouncil to where you sit now?
SPEAKER_01 (11:36):
Well, things are very different, Jeff.
You know, I mean, when I was areporter, the New Orleans Police
Department was much larger thanit is now.
I mean, this was in the early2000s.
Uh, so we had a much biggerpolice department.
It was pre-Katrina, it waspre-consent decree, and you
know, the the level of abusesthat we were reporting from the
(11:57):
department were constant.
To then, of course, me enteringthe legislature and Mitch
Landrew coming into office withuh Chief Harrison, Chief
Harrison, who is now my deputymayor of public safety, but they
moved forward with a consentdecree, which of course then put
in place many of the differentnecessary reforms for our NOPD,
(12:19):
which I believe made them a muchmore effective and
constitutional policedepartment, and one that I think
can be a gold standard for therest of the country.
And so then that changeoccurred.
And then on the city councilgetting to understand more about
the operations and deployment ofthe NOPD to now being mayor and
(12:42):
working very closely with ChiefKirkpatrick and her leadership
team on initiatives.
One of the things that I that Ido appreciate about Chief
Kirkpatrick is the fact that,you know, she looks at her
force, the number of officersthat she has, and then goes and
finds ways to fill gaps througheither partnerships with our
(13:03):
state and federal partners orfigure out ways to fill gaps
through different technologythat we can bring in to assist
the police force.
So the relationships that wehave with our state and federal
partners, I believe have beenvery effective over the past
several years.
I think Mardi Gras is a perfectexample of that.
We were able to ensure that thesecond weekend of Mardi Gras,
(13:27):
which is of course the biggestweekend, was a Sier one event.
And that brought in additionaltactical resources, intelligence
resources.
There were things that werestopped before they could even
happen.
And so that is that's that's acritical partnership there.
That's that's effectivecollaboration and coordination.
And we had an incredibly safeMardi Gras, which I was very
(13:49):
proud to see.
But then on the technology side,you know, seeing what's working
in other departments and seeingwhat potentially could be
implemented here, the droneprogram that they have in
Jefferson Parish to assist inresponse times, you know,
deploying a drone immediately toit could be a carjacking, a car
burglary, so that immediatelythe drone gets there quickly and
starts recording so that thenofficers know exactly who
(14:11):
they're looking for and able torespond to the situation better
is something that we are nowworking on implementing here in
New Orleans, first through apilot program in the French
quarter and then expanding thatover to the 7th district in New
Orleans East.
So so it's just different, it'sit's so different, Jeff, from
when I was a reporter and justlike policing was different in
(14:33):
the city to where it is now.
You know, I mean it's just it soI've seen kind of the evolution
NOPD to where it is now, and itis a much improved and advanced
department for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (14:45):
How do you think through you mentioned the drone
program, sort of balancing thethings that these new
technologies can bring,especially as you mentioned, New
Orleans is a place that had1,600 officers 20 years ago and
has 900 now?
So you have so many fewerofficers, these technologies can
really bring a lot to the tableand matching that gap.
(15:05):
They also bring surveillancequestions, they bring civil
liberties questions.
How do you balance thosecompeting ideas?
SPEAKER_01 (15:11):
And that's really around delving in and getting a
lot of information about thetechnology.
Like, explain to me how it willbe used, how is it used in other
cities, and on the drone programspecifically, because there
there were a lot of questionsabout surveillance.
Like, is this just another wayto like surveil people?
(15:31):
But once I receive theinformation of how NOPD would be
utilizing it, how JeffersonParish has been utilizing, that
literally the drone is deployedto the area.
And once it gets there, itstarts recording.
So there aren't just, we're notjust deploying drones just to go
and just watch, you know, it'sabout specific response to an
(15:53):
ongoing, already dangeroussituation.
That's where the drone is going.
And once the drone hits thatsite, that's when they start
recording.
And so, really, it's aboutgetting as much information as
possible about the technology,getting as much information from
our NOPD about the very specificuse of the technology, and then
from that point on making adecision on whether or not it uh
(16:15):
it aligns with my views on whatis really necessary as far as
crime fighting in New Orleans.
SPEAKER_00 (16:21):
You also mentioned the consent decree, and and I
think that this is such acritical issue because I agree
with you completely that thecity has seen dramatic changes
in how the department hasoperated over the last what 15
years since it was firstimplemented.
Obviously, that has gone awaynow.
So, how do you sustain that, notjust while you're mayor, but
ideally setting it up so thatfor the next 50 years or 100
(16:41):
years or however long the cityis is here is that lasts?
SPEAKER_01 (16:45):
So the NOPD always had, I think like 11 monitors
who worked on the consentdecree.
So these were folks workinginside the NOPD.
And the consent decree is gone,and we don't need the
interaction with the court andthe DOJ.
We did keep five or six of thosemonitors still in-house just to
(17:07):
monitor and ensure that there isconstant compliance with all of
the major advancements that wemade, that there is no
backsliding.
You still need, for lack of abetter term, kind of that
auditing team within NOPD tomake sure that there is no
backsliding.
And I think that that's gonna bethe important piece to
constantly have that level ofoversight, to constantly have
(17:29):
that level of auditing tocontinue to make improvements
and not go backwards justbecause we're not in a consent
decree.
SPEAKER_00 (17:36):
New Orleans has has seen dramatic drops in crime
over the last few years.
I mean, I remember when when youwere in city council and the
horrible days of 2022, and notonly 2022.
SPEAKER_01 (17:46):
Oh my gosh, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
And you know, record high murder, response times
through the roof, just horrifictragedy after horrific tragedy
sent it felt like to now wherewe're having the lowest murder
rate since the 70s.
Um first question is sort ofwhat you've had a front row view
of all of this and have driven alot of this.
What do you attribute for thisdramatic decline?
SPEAKER_01 (18:10):
So you kind of broke up a little bit there, but I
think you were talking aboutwhat do I attribute to the
dramatic decline in in crimehere in the city?
And and really predominantly,Jeff, it's around violent crime
in the city.
So I think it's it's both a realinvestment in prevention and
also, as I mentioned before, thereal key partnerships that NOPD
(18:31):
has with our state and federalpartners.
So it's both prevention andpolicing and an effective
combination of both.
I think that's the that's thereal formula.
You can't just be about justpolicing your way out of this.
You have to also work on theprevention piece.
So during my time on the citycouncil, especially uh right
around 2022, we started to makesignificant investment on
(18:52):
boosting our summer jobsprogram.
They only had like 250 slots,something like that.
We boosted it to 2,000 slots,really making heavy investment
on partnering with organizationswho were already working on
crime prevention measures orworking on youth and
recreational opportunities.
And so once we started seeingthat investment along with the
(19:14):
work of our health departmentwith some of the violence
intervention that they weredoing and grants that they were
receiving and working with theviolence interrupters, so it's
that really that wholecombination.
And then uh Chief Kirkpatrickreally started to lean in on
work with specific task forcesto go after the most violent
offenders in the city andidentify who are the top violent
(19:37):
offenders, go after them, goarrest them.
And then plus, you know, I alsohave to give credit to Troop
NOLA.
Troop NOLA here in the city ofNew Orleans, I do believe has
made a major impact here in thecity.
And one of the things that I'mworking on this legislative
session is to find thatrecurring revenue stream to keep
Troop NOLA here permanently.
(19:57):
The city of New Orleans puts inabout$2 million a year towards
supporting Troop Nola.
Obviously, with the general fundissues that we have, I'd like to
find, you know, some kind ofrevenue stream coming from
potentially one of our tourismentities like the convention
center, maybe uh take a littlepiece of a food and beverage
tax, you know, and steer thattoward keeping Troop Nola here
(20:18):
in the city of New Orleans.
SPEAKER_00 (20:19):
Is there a way?
I mean, I know that obviouslyfrom a political standpoint, uh
most of the politicians in NewOrleans could not be more
different than the politiciansin the State House in Baton
Rouge.
Is there a way to sort ofsustain that cooperation going
forward?
SPEAKER_01 (20:33):
Look, I mean, as a former legislator, yes, there is
always this New Orleans, notagainst the world, but New
Orleans against Louisiana, youknow?
I mean, like everyone's everyonecoming at New Orleans, you know?
But at the at the same time, youknow, the the New Orleans
argument is like, what wouldLouisiana be without New
Orleans, right?
And we are such a revenuegenerator for the state of
(20:54):
Louisiana as a whole.
So what I've always tried to dois find ways to work across
party lines and still deliverfor the city.
And that's kind of the approachthat that I have now and that
I've put on my delegation.
You know, let's find a way towork together, get things done.
Right before I got on yourpodcast, the governor was
calling me.
We had to work through somethings.
(21:15):
I had to tell him of the intentof one of the pieces of
legislation that I have and whyI need to make sure that he's, I
don't necessarily need his likerah-rah, but I also don't need,
you know, him to try to block itbecause it's about advancing New
Orleans, moving New Orleansforward in our infrastructure,
particularly around sewage andwaterboard, with about the bill
that he and I talked about.
So there there have to be theseconversations and we have to
(21:38):
find a path to work together.
It's one of those things that'slike we're stuck with each
other, right?
And I want what's best for thecity of New Orleans, and I'll
and I'll find the right way towork with those that maybe I'm
not politically aligned with toensure that we still get results
for our city.
SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
Have you given thoughts?
I'm sure you have.
What are your thoughts about howwe sort of sustain the progress
that we've seen, not just in theconsent decree, but across The
entirety of sort of the criminaljustice landscape over the last
few years.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:04):
Well, you know, I I think a lot of it has to do with
what I talked about before asfar as a department with the
auditing piece of it.
But, you know, the other piecetoo is really uh those who are
in leadership positions standingfirm, you know, to make sure
that there isn't that level ofbacksliding.
But while we've made progress,Jeff, I can tell you that
(22:26):
there's still more progress tobe made.
I I still see some issues thatwe have with our criminal
justice system just not movingfast enough.
Like there always there's alwaysroom for things to be more
efficient, to, to work faster,but you also hear it from those
who are going through theprocess in the criminal justice
system of how timely, you know,things can be.
(22:47):
So there's always room forimprovement and progress.
So, yes, while we have come along way, there is definitely
room for additional things toimprove.
And on the NOPD side, Jeff, youand I talk about this all the
time, and we have for years.
We still need improvement whenit comes to sexual assault
cases, sexual assault cases andthe clearance rates around
sexual assault cases.
(23:09):
I I will always continue to talkabout this, and and this is not
just an NOPD issue, this isacross the criminal justice
system, is that still domesticviolence is not treated with the
severity that it should and theurgency that it should across
the board.
Uh I've talked about this forthe past, I don't know, now like
15 years.
I've been constantly, you know,talking about this, ringing the
(23:31):
bell.
Like it's just it's infuriatingsometimes of how dismissive uh
some in the criminal justicesystem continue to be, not just
in New Orleans, but across thestate and really across the
country of domestic violencecases.
SPEAKER_00 (23:45):
Are there specific ways that we can do better to
address this?
I think we've we've talked aboutthe the rate clearance rate is
like 7% in New Orleans orsomething like that.
How how can we make these thingsor help to solve these things?
SPEAKER_01 (23:56):
Yeah, I think part of it, and I've talked to Chief
Ann about this, has to do withhow can you be more responsive
first to victims.
And we talked about this, Jeff,I think this was when the
response times were like really,really bad.
We talked about deploying socialworkers to the non-emergency
sexual assault cases.
(24:16):
So when a victim would call,just so that your viewing
audience understands, when avictim would call and say, let's
say she was sexually assaultedlast night, and she would call,
well, there is not a specificemergency right now anymore.
She is safe, and therefore itwould take police hours to
(24:37):
sometimes in extreme cases daysfor police to actually show up
at to to try to help the victim.
So oftentimes in situations likethis, the victim would no longer
even be around or just, youknow, kind of put their hands up
and it's like, never mind, whichis terrible because this is a
significant serious violentcrime that has occurred, a
(25:01):
serious felony that hasoccurred.
And so we talked then deployingsocial workers to those
non-emergency types of cases sothat the victim could then be
advised of steps she needed totake to ensure that a forensic
medical exam could be conducted.
So then if she would want topress charges, that evidence
(25:21):
would be preserved.
And preserving that evidence toour best of our ability is one
of the main ways I still believethat we can solve more cases.
So if you have more victims whoare given the right information,
have someone there who is ableto support them, tell them that
they need to go to UMC hospitalto get their forensic medical
exam, explain to them the stepsthat need to be taken.
(25:42):
I think that those types ofmeasures can go a long way.
And so once again, though, it'smaking that that that adjustment
within NOPD to allow for socialworkers to do that.
And I know that Chief is open toit, but I also know that she's
dealing with a variety of othertypes of initiatives that she's
working on as well.
And and bringing more thingsin-house as well.
(26:05):
Like, you know, we have On-SceneServices, which has a it's a
company that responds tonon-major traffic accidents with
without injuries.
So the chief continues to lookat how do we start to bring in
those types of servicesin-house?
Uh, one, she believes you canprobably manage them better, and
there's also cost savings.
(26:25):
So she continues to find ways.
What Chief Harrison startedunder the Landru administration,
find ways to bring in civilianemployees to help with overall
responses to a variety ofdifferent crimes.
SPEAKER_00 (26:41):
And are there sort of, as you look at these things,
are there completely uniquechallenges to public safety and
fighting crime in New Orleanscompared to all of your other
mayors?
And are there other ways on theother end that you're like, oh,
every city's dealing with this?
I can learn from other mayors.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
So an ever and every city is dealing with this
situation, is the recruitmentpiece.
Every city is is dealing with,you know, having trouble
attracting officers just basedon the fact that that people
aren't flocking to thisprofession like they did many
years ago.
So that's something that everycity faces.
And that is something where Ilook to other cities and suggest
(27:20):
to Chief Ann, I'm like, hey,maybe take a look at what some
of these other cities are doing.
So that's one aspect.
But then on where we are sounique is that, you know, we're
we're a little city.
We're we're a little city with,you know, roughly 350,000
people.
Like we're a little, littleplace, but we attract so many
people into our little city,millions of people to our little
(27:43):
city.
So one of the things that ourNOPD is phenomenally known for
is how to handle major eventswith hundreds of thousands of
people and to do that severaltimes a year.
It would be hard for a policedepartment anywhere in this
country to handle one or twoevents like that a year.
(28:06):
And we have them consistently.
I mean, we're now planning forFrench Quarter Fest.
That's that's literally rightaround the corner, which will
bring thousands and thousands ofpeople just to one area of town,
the riverfront and the FrenchQuarter area.
So that's something that they doexceptionally well.
And then I'll also say they haveone very unique feature that is
(28:28):
also very celebrated across thecountry for how well they do
their job.
And that's our mounted division.
You know, our mounted divisionhas been around for a really
long time, and they are anexceptional equestrian group,
and they are very well trained,and the I've I've seen them
personally have to deal withvery difficult situations, and
(28:50):
the level of talent there isphenomenal.
Just the other day when we were,I guess not other day, all the
days are coming together nowbecause it's now a while ago,
but as we closed out, as weclosed out Mardi Gras, walking
down Bourbon Street, and youhave all the horses in front of
you.
Obviously, you've got the crowdsclearing other crowds, but then
you had people who were likepopping, you know, the confetti
(29:10):
cannons and everything.
The way that they handled theirhorses, the way they handled the
crowd with such a level of skillis truly phenomenal.
There are others who have kindof these, you know, more
temporary or every once in awhile mounted divisions.
Our mounted division isyear-round.
These officers are specificallyfor mounted.
(29:31):
And so that takes a real levelof skill.
And I know that that issomething that is celebrated by
other departments across thecountry of how good we are here.
SPEAKER_00 (29:40):
And as the question was coming out, I know if you
ask a New Orleanian what makesthem unique, you're gonna like
it's the softball questionthat's gonna get a thousand
different answers.
SPEAKER_01 (29:48):
Yes, exactly.
unknown (29:49):
Yeah, right, right.
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
Mart Mardi Gras, for anyone listening who has not
been, is it is amazing how everyyear you have this just mass of
people.
There's there's alcohol, peopleare throwing things into the
crowds, and it just it just sortof happens every year, and it
and that it happens safely issuch a testament, I think, to
all the hard work of the citygovernment.
So yes, um, certainly, certainlycongrats on that for a
(30:12):
successful Mardi Gras that Iknow my kids loved most
recently.
Um good.
So looking forward, do you seeany any new public safety
challenges, any issues?
Are you you know, are you sortof thinking that at some point
the murder drop will stop, thethe crime drop will level out,
and we need to be prepared forthat?
Or is this just uh we're gonnakeep going on and and keep doing
(30:35):
what's working?
SPEAKER_01 (30:36):
I think if we're gonna continue to to make
strides, we have to continue ourinvestment on prevention.
And I do worry about the factthat, you know, there seems to
be kind of this reduction ingrants on the federal level for
kind of public health-relatedgrants.
And obviously, our healthdepartment and some of these
initiatives that we fund aroundprevention are federally funded.
(30:58):
So that is that is a concern.
And because we need to continuethese initiatives on the
prevention side.
On the policing side, tocontinue to make strides, I do
believe we have to constantlykeep moving the needle on
solving cases and then also onresponse times.
And so that's why on theresponse times, if if we don't
have, you know, more policeofficers coming in in droves,
(31:22):
well, what can we do to thinkdifferently around response
times?
Which is why I think thebringing on civilians, I think
is so critical, and also thetechnology piece.
So to continue to make progress,you have to continue just to
think outside the box to solvethese issues.
And so I do appreciate ChiefKirkpatrick and my deputy mayor,
former police chief Harrison,thinking that way.
(31:43):
And and I will say this, youknow, I am beyond grateful and
and just beyond excited to havetwo major law enforcement
professionals who are are reallyknown across the nation for
their work, and Chief Harrisonand Chief Kirkpatrick now both
(32:05):
working for the city of NewOrleans.
To have one ensuring that citygovernment is supporting the
NOPD with the assets that itneeds, and that you have Chief
Kirkpatrick who is running theoperations, the NOPD, those two
experts working for the city, Ithink will take us a long way.
And and particularly forthinking of new ways to continue
(32:29):
to make progress.
Because you're right, if we justkeep just here, you're gonna
start backsliding.
You have to constantly bethinking ahead and like what
potentially, you know, could wedo to just start chipping away
at issues that are stillpersisting?
And I do believe that the thatChief Kirkpatrick, our NOPD
(32:50):
chief, does have a greatleadership team that thinks that
way too.
So that's important.
SPEAKER_00 (32:54):
And you mentioned technology, sort of my last big
question.
I've been asking, started to askall of my guests this, but how
does AI, and I guess this is atwo-parter, how does AI change
how we approach criminal justiceand crime and public safety?
And then also, how would AI, areyou all thinking about how it
changes how you do your job asmayor?
SPEAKER_01 (33:12):
Yeah.
Yes.
So the the AI discussion isalmost daily here at City Hall,
which is kind of interestingconsidering that we are so
behind the times at City Hallwhen it comes to IT.
I think we're like on Windows93.
I say that as a joke, but thatjust gives your viewers the
example of just how far off.
How just how behind the times weare.
(33:35):
So, yes, you know, we're lookingat AI in a variety of different
ways on everything from helpingour city attorney's office with
public records requests tolooking at AI into permitting,
which is a real way that citiesacross the country are finding
some real progress on expeditingpermits and implementing AI
(33:56):
systems into permitting.
And the law enforcement pieceand public safety piece, I do
think that, you know,potentially it could be useful.
I do know that even on thenumber of public record requests
that the NOPD gets, certainly AIcould help with all of those
administrative things, you know,but ultimately, you know,
(34:18):
technology is something that iscoming fast at us.
And what I do worry about AI,particularly when you're talking
about, you know, our ourcriminal justice system, is as
you're implementing potential AIsolutions, is to ensure that
you're also protecting privacy.
And so that's kind of like thekey piece that as they as they
(34:39):
look at different improvements,that that piece is always like
top of mind, uh, particularlyaround criminal justice.
SPEAKER_00 (34:46):
Absolutely.
So what what is next for you?
SPEAKER_01 (34:50):
Well, what's next for me and and really my top
priorities right now is ensuringthat one, that we're a safe
city.
So ensuring that we have our ouressential services really met
here in our city.
Jeff, you're from New Orleans,so that so you know that we've
had kind of we have some work todo on our essential services, on
getting our streets repaired andour lights on.
(35:11):
So that's like my key prioritynow.
And obviously, public safety isan essential service.
So making sure we're safe andmaking sure that our
infrastructure is much enhanced.
So that's top priority, alongwith stabilizing the budget.
And then from that point on,really building and building.
But I do think that we aremoving at a much faster pace
than projected to get some ofthese issues solved.
(35:33):
We even have some of our stateleaders who thought it would
take me four years to get someof these accomplishments done.
Do you believe that I can getthese things in a much better
place in just one year inoffice?
We work with urgency.
My my team does.
I said that I would come intothis office knowing that I would
not be perfect, but what I couldguarantee the people of New
Orleans is that I would workextremely hard for them every
(35:56):
single day, and that every day Iwould push to move the ball
forward.
So that's that's really whereI'm at, Jeff.
You know, that's what's next forme is to just keep chipping away
at the problems here in NewOrleans and keep making New
Orleans a more and morewonderful place.
We have one of the most amazingcities, not just in this
country, but in the world.
And to your viewers who may notbe from New Orleans, you need to
(36:17):
come visit because this city isphenomenal, amazing, and it's
only getting better.
SPEAKER_00 (36:24):
Absolutely.
All right.
Maybe Miranda, thank you so muchfor joining me.
This has been terrific.
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01 (36:29):
Thanks, Jeff, and I'm so glad you've got this
podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (36:32):
Thank you.
Yeah, everybody should listen.
SPEAKER_01 (36:34):
Yeah, everybody should listen.
Thank you, Jeff.
Have a great one.
SPEAKER_00 (36:37):
Thank you, you too.
Thanks for listening to theJeffalytics Podcast.
Be sure to subscribe and tolearn more, head on over to
ahdatalytics.com for moreinformation and previous
episodes.
If you like what you heard,please leave a glowing review,
which will help others todiscover the show.
Until next time, I'm Jeff Asher.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.