NEW ORLEANS — Interim New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Michelle Woodfork described her highly anticipated crime-fighting plan as “back to basics, gumshoe policing” that she said has been put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, Woodfork reiterated that her plan would focus on proactive policing and partnerships with state, federal and local police partners, as well as community organizations. She said that the collaborations will disrupt violent crime while increasing visibility, traffic stops, gun and drug arrests, and the apprehension of individuals wanted for violent crimes.
“We have been reactive for a couple of years, and I think that’s in direct correlation to why our crime was going up,” Woodfork said. “So we had to turn that around and go back to the basics, get back together.”
The police department has already joined the ‘Neighbors by Ring’ program which would allow residents to anonymously send video of crimes in their area to the department.
Woodfork said her department would continue to meet with community leaders, clergy, elected officials and community groups to sponsor engagement through youth events, panels and peace walks.
She added that the department’s analytics section will provide police department leaders with daily crime stats, and a historic context for city-wide crime and identify trends in crime happening in the city.
Another main focus of her plan is to retain and recruit officers for a department that is undergoing a staffing crisis. Woodfork said her team is reaching out to officers who have recently left the department to attempt to get them to rejoin the force or to address the reasons why those officers left in the first place.
“The streamlining of that process with continuous feedback is definitely going to yield dividends for us as far as our recruiting efforts,” Woodfork said.
This is a developing story. Stay with WWL-TV for updates as new information becomes available.
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