NEW ORLEANS — Violent crime has decreased over the last two weeks, according to NOPD Chief Shaun Ferguson.
Ferguson admitted that it's only a small sample size, but says the numbers could show that the increased police presence on the streets is making a difference.
According the Ferguson, there have been five homicides since the increased patrols started two weeks ago, down from 12 over the same period last year. And seven people have been wounded in shootings, down from 10 over the same period last year.
"I hope I'm not jinxing us," the chief said. "We're moving in what we believe is the right direction."
Ferguson also said that response times are down in the 7th District, where a WWL-TV investigation showed that it took an average of 53 minutes for a patrol car to arrive for an emergency and nearly 5-and-a-half hours for non-emergency calls.
Those response times are down 4% for emergency calls and 42% for non-emergency calls, according to Ferguson.
"It's nothing to brag on, but it's something we should be proud of because we're moving in the right direction," the chief said.
On Sept. 25, NOPD put around 75 more uniformed officers on the streets by reassigning them from administrative, specialty and district investigative units to street duty.
The move is part of the sweeping plan drawn up by police consultants and former NYPD commanders Fausto Pichardo and Thomas Conforti.
They were hired by the city to make recommendations on how to address the many challenges now facing the department.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.