NEW ORLEANS — Interim New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick is counting down the days until her City Council confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Since getting sworn in as interim two weeks ago, Kirkpatrick has been getting to know the police department, huddling with other criminal justice leaders and, perhaps most importantly, meeting individually with the seven council members who will decide by a majority vote whether she becomes the next permanent chief.
In a one-on-one interview Friday with WWL-TV, Kirkpatrick offered an overview of her approach to taking on her latest challenge in a 35-year police career, 20 of those years in leadership. Her most recent position was police chief in Oakland, Calif.
Just as she was in Oakland after multiple chief posts throughout Washington state, Kirkpatrick embraces the role of being an outsider and doesn’t shy away from the label of “change agent.”
“I think anytime you go with outside chiefs, it's because you're looking for a change agent. That is what I was known for,” she said.
Kirkpatrick did the interview in the superintendent’s suite on the fifth floor of NOPD headquarters. Her office was completely bare, partly because she is not taking her confirmation as a done deal, and partly because – as she puts it – she travels light.
And Kirkpatrick does travel. After starting her police career in her hometown of Memphis, she has now crisscrossed the country as a law enforcement leader, including stops in Chicago and Spokane, Wash.
In a surprise to many, Kirkpatrick was selected by Mayor LaToya Cantrell following a national search, beating out Michelle Woodfork, who had served as interim chief for nine months since the sudden retirement of her predecessor Shaun Ferguson.
“Everybody has been genuinely welcoming,” Kirkpatrick said of her time in the city so far. “Which I really appreciate, because I really want to be here.”
While Kirkpatrick describes herself as a change agent brought in to shake things up, she's also a Southerner in temperament, ready to use grace and patience to make her mark.
But while she said she honors tradition, she said she will not hesitate to make the moves necessary once she settles in as chief.
“I'm watching for three months, just to see, do I have the right people in the right seats based on their giftedness,” she said.
Kirkpatrick has made one move already, enlisting Woodfork to help her learn the department. Woodfork’s six-month appointment comes with the title of deputy chief, but her role as an advisor is akin to “field training officer” for a chief, Kirkpatrick said.
“I wanted her to stay at the top,” she said. “And she accepted my offer, which I appreciate. So she remains as a deputy chief.”
Kirkpatrick said her selection by the mayor already helps solve one problem at the department.
“Promotions and assignments were basically based not on merit, but on who you knew. Favoritism,” she said. “Well, you've corrected that almost immediately. Because how do I promote someone or give an assignment because you're my buddy. I have no buddies.”
The NOPD's list of challenges is long and well-documented: persistently high rates of violent crime, a depleted force down from 1,200 officers five years ago to just over 900 today, and one of the main reasons Kirkpatrick was hired, the NOPD’s 11-year federal consent decree.
While the costs and resources spent on getting out of the consent decree continue to mount, Kirkpatrick said she sees “an exit ramp” and is already making contacts to get the NOPD heading in that direction.
“I have already met with the federal monitor. I have met with the federal judge,” she said. “We are close. There is an exit ramp. But we have to get over the finish line.”
But since her arrival in town two weeks ago, it has not been all work all the time for Kirkpatrick. One meal at a time, she said is taking in some of the renowned local cuisine.
“I want everyone to know I've had my beignets,” she said. “They were so much fun. They were great.”
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