NEW ORLEANS — Recent arrests involving illegal weapons and violent crime in New Orleans have prompted officials to hold a press conference Thursday.
NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson will brief reporters on the recent arrests 4:30 p.m. from the New Orleans Police Department headquarters.
In April, the New Orleans police chief admitted Bourbon Street was a crime hot spot.
“We’ve seen a major uptick in violent crimes, specifically homicide as well as shootings,” Ferguson said in April."You will see additional staffing with regards to our mounted patrol as well as additional lighting.”
People planning to visit New Orleans post-pandemic might be more reluctant after a recent string of French Quarter shootings.
Ferguson said he still expected crime to possibly increase over the summer, but the police department is working on a strategy while dealing with a shortage of officers.
The Superintendent said the department was down to 1,140 officers.
That’s about 500 fewer officers than they had just ten years ago.
A Tuesday statement from Ferguson defended officers, pointing to a higher solve rate for homicides.
The NOPD's solve rate for homicides was 35 percent in 2020, in the first four months of 2021, it was 59.3 percent.
“Detectives in our Homicide Unit are catching cases with frequency that increased significantly,” Ferguson said. “It should be seen as a great achievement that despite the large number of recent cases, our detectives have been able to solve so many, so quickly."
NOPD homicide detectives have cleared 60% of their cases in recent weeks.
“It’s flatly untrue to allege or to imply that the men and women of the NOPD are not doing everything within their power to solve crimes, and to make arrests. The statistics bear this out and stand as testament to the work being done on the ground," he said.
