NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Agency: New Orleans Office of Independent Police Monitor (IPM) (Current as of August, 2014)
Contact Information:
Susan Hutson, Independent Police Monitor
New Orleans Office of Independent Police Monitor
525 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans LA 70130
P 504-681-3223
F 504-681-3265
Agency website: www.nolaipm.gov
Type of oversight mechanism: Audit and Monitoring
Oversight of: New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) (Municipal Police Agency)
Number of Sworn Officers: 1,349 (2011 on FBI website)
Population of City: 346,974 (2011 on FBI website)
Enabling Legislation: Article XIII Chapter 2 City Ordinance Sec. 2-1121 (see Attachment 1)
Staff: 5 full time staff
- One Independent Police Monitor (attorney)
- One Deputy Police Monitor
- Executive Director of Community Relations
- Mediation Coordinator
- Administrative Assistant
Volunteers: 15 local pro bono attorneys, student law clerks, and interns
Authority/Function/Jurisdiction of the Agency:
- The Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIPM) is a civilian police oversight agency operating out of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The OIPM is independent of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and the elected officials who govern the NOPD.
- The OIPM monitors the process by which the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) investigates allegations of misconduct and uses of force by its employees in order to determine if the investigative process is timely, thorough and fair.
- It collects and analyzes data about complaints and police operations in order to identify problem areas and their root causes and makes that analysis public.
- The IPM provides an independent and safe place for members of the community and NOPD to lodge their complaints. However, the complaints will be sent to the NOPD for resolution unless the complaint alleges misconduct involving critical incident. The NOPD PIB always conducts the investigation and the Independent Police Monitor monitors it.
- Public Integrity Bureau(PIB) receives allegations in a citizen-friendly, non-intimidating environment, and performs exhaustive, objective analysis of these allegations.
- The Office of PIB conducts the investigation in all citizen complaints involving employees of the NOPD. Upon receiving your complaint, the Public Integrity Bureau will review, classify, and process the complaint.
- After all allegations have been fully investigated, the Superintendent of Police will determine what action, if any, should be taken to resolve the complaint.
Scope of Agency’s Authority
- The Independent Police Monitor first reviews how the NOPD PIB classifies the complaint. The classification determines how thorough an investigation the complaint will receive.
- If Independent Police Monitor thinks the complaint should be more thoroughly investigated, it will recommend that the NOPD PIB change the classification and will make that recommendation public.
- When the NOPD PIB investigation is concluded, the Independent Police Monitor reviews the investigation to determine whether it was fair, thorough and timely.
- If the Independent Police Monitor finds that the NOPD PIB investigation was not fair, thorough and timely, it will inform the NOPD and will make a public report. The citizen is given a copy of this report.
Mediation:
New Orleans Community/Police Mediation Program (CPMP) it was created pursuant to the NOPD-IPM Memorandum of Understanding.
The Program is designed to bring members of the NOPD and civilian complainants together to settle their disputes through mediation. It will be administered by mediation professionals and function independently from the NOPD and PIB (Public Integrity Bureau).
Volunteer Board:
The Office of the Independent Police Monitor (IPM) reports to the Office of Inspector General. The Search Committee was created by the Office of Inspector General to appoint an Independent Police Monitor.
Mission Statement:
The Office of the Independent Police Monitor (IPM) is an independent, civilian police oversight agency created in August of 2009. Its mission is to improve police service to the community, citizen trust in the NOPD, and officer safety and working conditions. The Police Monitor has three broad responsibilities:
1) to ensure that all concerns regarding police misconduct are classified and investigated at the appropriate level and that those investigations are fairly, timely and thoroughly handled. To make information about this review process available to the public.
2) to carefully consider aggregate data from complaints, investigations, community concerns and public policy in crafting recommendations aimed toward improving the quality services of the NOPD.
3) to reach out to inform the community about the complaint process and IPM activities, and to listen and respond to broader community concerns
Performance Reviews or Studies & Audits:
OIG/IPM Joint 2013-2016 Strategic Plan
Links:
- Number of Police Officers in New Orleans: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-78-state-cuts-2011/table_78_full-time_law_enforcement_employees_louisiana_by_city_2011.xls
- Office of Independent Police Monitor: http://nolaipm.org/main/inside.php?page=about
- NOPD Public Integrity Bureau: http://new.nola.gov/nopd/about-us/bureaus/public-integrity/
- New Orleans Police Department: http://new.nola.gov/nopd/
ATTACHMENTS:
2) Office of Inspector General / Independent Police Monitor Joint 2013-2016 Strategic Plan
3) Review of the New Orleans Police Department's Field Interview Policies, Practices, and Data, 3/12/13