Louisiana State Police Troop NOLA has not even had a full year of operation, and it is not fully staffed, but already, it’s made hundreds of arrests, and is making the charges stick.
So far, Troop NOLA has made 240 arrests, says New Orleans Metro Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche.
Those cases are handled directly by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, under an agreement with New Orleans D.A. Jason Williams, and Goyeneche says those state prosecutors are accepting 87 percent of the cases Troop NOLA brings them. He says that shows some pretty impressive police work.
“When they were created to come here, keep in mind that policing in an urban environment is very different than what troopers are trained to do,” Goyeneche told WWL’s Newell Normand. “They have been, beyond my expectations, one of the most critical reasons why we continue to see a decline in crime citywide.”
Goyeneche says Troop NOLA also helps take some load off of NOPD.
“So they…can get to calls or service quicker, an they can use their resources and as crime continues to decline, the NOPD can devote more time to investigations that lead to higher solve rates,” he said, driving crime down even further.