The New Orleans Police Department has long struggled with staffing shortages. Currently, the NOPD employs around 900 officers, approximately 300 fewer than needed to adequately patrol the city without leaning significantly on overtime.
Since being sworn in as NOPD Superintendent in 2023, Anne Kirpatrick has led the charge to tackle a list of major departmental issues, from ending the federal consent decree to lowering rising violent crime rates to bolstering security on Bourbon Street and the French Quarter following the January 1st terror attack.
With the help of the entire police department and various city agencies/partners, Kirkpatrick’s efforts, so far, have been largely effective…