New Orleans, La. -
Every day, when New Orleans police officers go to work, they face a rising murder rate and a public perception damaged by scandal.
Against that backdrop, the Police Association of New Orleans asked officers how they feel about their jobs.
In a snapshot from the newly-released survey results, just 23 percent of the 463 officers who took the survey agreed that they look forward to coming to work every day.
And the vast majority -- 88 percent -- disagree that the chief's policies have made the NOPD more effective. More than three quarters of the officers disagreed with the statement, "The strategy of one-officer cars creates greater patrol benefits than safety liabilities."
Of the officers who took the online survey, almost 60 percent were PANO members and 83 percent were male, and included rookies and veterans with decades of service in equal measure.
80 percent indicated they would leave the department, if such a move wouldn't cost them money or seniority.
The PANO survey of nearly 476 officers shows that 83 percent don't believe they have the backing of executive NOPD management when executing their responsibilities in the field.
For his part, Mayor Landrieu says he isn't shocked by the findings.
"Only 36 percent of the department responded to that survey, and that's not to invalidate that survey, but it's not a surprise to us," the mayor told FOX 8.
The PANO survey, taken over the past month, also shows that 82 percent of officers don't believe management is fair.
While some say the survey should serve as a useful management tool, others -- including a former FBI field officer -- are calling its validity into question.
"If NOPD or PANO wants to really find out, they should mandate 100 percent of participation," said Jim Bernazzani, claiming the FBI requires full participation in all of its agent surveys. "30 percent are the individuals who felt they needed to speak out, but it's less than the majority of the NOPD, and I don't think it accurately reflects the state of the NOPD."
The survey also says the majority of the respondents don't believe the NOPD is adequately staffed. And although the mayor has said we are over the national average, he now says we could use a few more hands.
"We would love to have more officers, but I would remind everybody, when we came into office, the previous department overspent its budget and we had to furlough every city employee. "
"In the 90's there were 36 officers in a district, and now there are six or seven," said Tulane criminologist Peter Scharf.
Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson says she and the council are ready to hire more officers. "We are prepared to budget for more officers," she told us. "Absolutely we have to have more officers."
In spite of this new survey, the mayor says the NOPD is on the right track. Though murders have spiked this week, Mayor Landrieu says other big cities like Chicago have seen much bigger increases. He says, overall, we're still below last year's murder levels.
