New Orleans Police Want to End 11 Years of Consent Decree Oversight

The city of New Orleans and the U.S. Justice Department are pushing to end more than a decade of police oversight under a consent decree.

Critics say the reform effort is hardly a success story that should be replicated nationwide. They planned to urge a judge on Tuesday to maintain the oversight, citing continued racial disparities in use of force, poor handling of sex crimes and lackluster efforts to engage the community.

The city agreed to what it called "the nation’s most expansive” federal oversight plan in 2013 after a U.S. Justice Department investigation found evidence of racial bias, misconduct and a culture of impunity, ABC reports.

Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told The Associated Press that the goals have been met: “We’ve built that system."

Almost everyone acknowledges that the department has been transformed, with improved policies and leadership, but officers still disproportionately use force against Black people, and community activists say they're still not being adequately consulted.

"It is the community that is going to be served by the NOPD, needs to feel included by the NOPD, heard by the NOPD. And I cannot say today that that has been achieved,” said Stella Cziment, who runs the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, a civilian-run city agency.