On January 11, 2013, the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into an Agreement to ensure that the services of the NOPD improve public safety, increase public confidence, and protect the constitutional rights of all citizens. In the Agreement, the NOPD agreed to fundamentally change the way it polices throughout the New Orleans community.

The NOPD Consent Decree is the result of an extensive investigation of the NOPD conducted by the United States Department of Justice. The investigation was conducted with the full cooperation of the City of New Orleans and the NOPD, and the resulting Consent Decree is a product of a cooperative effort by all parties.

The role of the Consent Decree Monitor is to "assess and report whether the requirements of [the Consent Decree] have been implemented, and whether this implementation is resulting in the constitutional and professional treatment of individuals by NOPD." The Consent Decree further provides that the "Monitor shall be subject to the supervision and orders of the Court . . " and that the "Monitor shall only have the duties, responsibilities, and authority conferred by [the Consent Decree]." The Consent Decree makes clear that the "Monitor shall not, and is not intended to, replace or assume the role and duties of the City and NOPD, including the Superintendent."

Monitoring Team Reports

You can access all Monitoring Team Reports and public statements HERE.

The Monitoring Team issued its most recent report on August15, 2023. The Report is available on the U.S. District Court's web site and on the "Reports" section of this web site.

For ease of access, below are links to the three most recent Monitoring Team Reports:

• 2023-08-15 Report of the Monitoring Team for the Second Quarter of 2023 (issued 2023-08-15)
• 2023-07-07 Special Report of the Consent Decree Monitor on NOPD Sexual Assault Investigations
• 2023-06-21 Monitoring Team Review of PIB Administrative Investigations Processes

To promote greater public awareness and transparency of the New Orleans Police Department Consent Decree process, the Monitoring Team has established a LinkedIn presence to announce public hearings, public meetings, and its regular and special public reports. Any member of the public can follow the new Consent Decree Monitor LinkedIn page by clicking HERE.

Status Conferences, Public Hearings, & Public Meetings 

Consistent with Paragraph 461 of the Consent Decree, the Monitoring Team meets "with community stakeholders to explain the Monitor's reports, to inform the public about the Agreement implementation process, and to hear community perspectives of police interactions." The public is invited to attend each public event.

The NOPD Consent Decree Monitor will hold a virtual public meeting on Thursday, August 31st 6:00 PM CST to explain the Monitor’s recent public reports and inform the public on the status of the implementation of the NOPD Consent Decree. In an effort to make this public meeting available to as many individuals as possible, it will be held virtually via Zoom.

Questions and comments are welcome from any member of the New Orleans community, including the media and may be submitted by emailing them to: aburns@consentdecreemonitor.onmicrosoft.com. Additionally, comments or questions may be submitted anytime during the public meeting.

Any member of the public can register for the public meeting by clicking HERE.

The Court’s next public hearing or status conference is scheduled for Thursday, August 31, at 2:00 p.m. in the UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE:  Courtroom of Judge Susie Morgan, Room C-316, 3rd Floor, 500 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA.  

Getting More Information

As noted above, the Monitoring Team has established a LinkedIn presence to announce public hearings, public meetings, and its regular and special public reports. Any member of the public can follow the new Consent Decree Monitor LinkedIn page by clicking HERE.

If you would like to provide your feedback, comments, or questions regarding the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Consent Decree to the Court or Monitoring Team please email: aburns@consentdecreemonitor.onmicrosoft.com

Judge Susie Morgan will endeavor to review all public questions, and respond during upcoming NOPD Consent Decree Compliance court hearings.

NOPD Policies and Regulations

The approved NOPD Policies can be found on their website at:  NOPD - Policies - City of New Orleans (nola.gov) 

To ensure sustained reforms beyond the completion of the Consent Decree, the City adopted regulations mandating the continuation of the foundational reforms of the Consent Decree. You can view the regulations here.