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NOPD aims to become friendlier force
'Arrest mode' hasn't worked, Police Chief Eddie Compass says
Friday, June 10, 2005
By Trymaine D. Lee
Staff writer

For the past decade, Police Chief Eddie Compass said New Orleans police have tried to get a handle on crime by operating in what Compass calls "arrest mode": focusing on arresting criminals rather than building relationships with residents who live daily with murders and drug deals.

But as violent crime, including murders, has continued to rise, it's become apparent that this approach hasn't worked well, he said.

So things are about to change. As part of a new initiative developed by Compass and his command staff, current crime-fighting techniques they say have resulted in more headaches for citizens than hard time for criminals soon will be history.

"We've been in arrest mode for 10 years, and the murder rate hasn't changed," Compass said Thursday. There have been 13 more murders so far this year than in the same time period in 2004.

"We're changing the whole mantra of the Police Department," he said. "Service will now be our top priority."

The move, Compass said, is as much of about the quality of life for the city's residents as it is about utilizing the force's resources.

Under the initiative, police will no longer routinely enforce roadblocks, wear military-style fatigues, or focus on trying to write municipal tickets. The police roadblocks, which needed 12 to 14 officers to man, would net a few arrests but caused unnecessary frustration and inconvenience to the law-abiding residents stopped, Compass said.

"We would stop 250 people and get two" criminals, Compass said. "We'd be stopping mothers with children, doctors, people on their way to work. . . . We realize now that we have to meet the community halfway."

Building trust

Compass said he hopes to cut the time residents have to wait for calls of service to five minutes or less. Right now, residents wait as long as 30 minutes for response to nonemergency calls. Compass also said he wants to make responding to traffic accidents a top priority.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metro Crime Commission said the move shows Compass is willing to try new things when other tactics have fallen short.

"I think what this is, is a recognition by the Police Department that the success of the department in this community and in any other community is dependent on the community's (trust) of the department," Goyeneche said.

The decision to make the Police Department a more resident-friendly force comes amid a spate of controversial police shootings and a recent block party that some residents said was broken up by police with excessive force.

Police need to be more courteous and respectful and begin to develop better relations with the community, Goyeneche said.

"In light of everything that has happened over the past several months, there is some merit in the need for more emphasis within the Police Department on how to deal with the public," he said.

As part of the new initiative, police have implemented a new community liaison post, held by 24-year veteran officer Roland Doucette. Doucette's primary role will be to operate at the grassroots level of the community, engaging in dialogue with residents, noting their concerns and presenting those concerns to the command staff.

Community leader Deborah Davenport, whose husband, Bruce Davenport, is pastor at St. John No. 5 Church near the St. Bernard housing development, said she hopes the police chief is serious about the changes, emphasizing that communication is key to mending the relationship between the cops and the community.

"Sometimes the community doesn't understand policing and the police don't understand the community," Davenport said. "So these changes do need to happen with both the police and the residents together, where they can appreciate each other and the roles they both play."

Officers friendly

During a recent walk-through at the St. Bernard housing development, Compass fielded complaints from residents concerning everything from housing police fighting with residents to visitors being arrested and charged with trespassing.

Compass said Thursday that under the new policy, from now on anyone stopped for trespassing on Housing Authority ground will be walked to the door of the family that person claims to be visiting to verify the relation.

Another change will come Sunday, when officers must begin wearing standard uniforms instead of paramilitary-type outfits -- though these still will be worn by SWAT officers conducting raids or sweeps.

Police said that when residents saw the officers dressed in the military-styled tactical uniforms, they saw an "occupying military presence" rather than friendly forces.

Police also said folks in the community often have so much disdain and distrust of the Police Department that they'd rather take their chances with the killers in the street than give information to the cops.

Police hope that the end result of these changes will be residents who are more willing to cooperate with investigations, spokesman Capt. Marlon Defillo said.

Also, in hopes of becoming a more visible presence on the streets, Compass said all of the department's unmarked patrol vehicles will be remarked within a year.

Other than this effort, for which the department should have funding next year, the initiative won't cause any additional strain on the budget, the chief said.

"I'm not looking at it from (a money) perspective," Compass said. "We're simply redirecting resources."