The NOPD said in 2007 that electronic police reports were just months away from being implemented, yet in the MTV Real World drama that recently unfolded is proof positive that the old-fashioned handwritten police reports are still being used.
Currently, handwritten police reports take hours out of each patrol officers shift. Once handwritten police reports… »

As demonstrated in recent years by cost overruns and project failures with crime cameras as the 311 system, any investment to modernize and integrate city data systems to support a NolaStat reform will require contract reform to ensure that any outsourced work fits into well-considered, high-priority plans, and to ensure that the work is satisfactorily… »

There’s something wrong when it takes over three months to obtain a murder listing from the New Orleans Police Department, but you can go to Craig’s List anytime to find a sofa.
Maybe the scribes at the NOPD are overworked, or maybe the city has cut the budget for fountain pens, or maybe the NOPD… »

You could be sending 311 complaints to city officials, and receiving 311 updates, using Facebook and Twitter, in just about a day.
All that’s lacking is a mayor willing to make the commitment to this kind of open government. Well, that, and … um … turning the 311 system on again. Actually, there’s more to… »

The next New Orleans police chief should allow for independent audits of crime statistics. That will be a recommendation delivered on behalf of NolaStat at this evening’s New Orleans Police Department Task Force forum hosted by Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu at the Superdome.
Accurate crime statistics aren’t just vital to restore credibility to a police department suffering… »

“I understand that often times the best ideas come from people in neighborhoods across the city.”
A refreshingly enlightened perspective on post-Katrina leadership from Mayor-elect Mitch… »

New Orleans citizens didn’t need any confirmation of their fear that rogue behavior was metastasizing throughout the NOPD when the Department of Justice announced investigations into civil rights violations, including a conspiracy to cover up police shootings of unarmed citizens on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.
The public already feared the… »

The key to Susan Guidry’s victory over Jay Batt was two-fold:
1) Batt lost more voters between the primary and the runoff elections. Turnout remained stronger for Guidry than for Batt.
2) Guidry gained voters in a number of precincts — including precincts where Batt ran strong in the primary — and most notably in Lakeview precincts,… »

Attorney and neighborhood organizer Susan Guidry soundly defeated Jay Batt in the March 6th runoff for the District A City Council seat. Guidry earned roughly 3200 more votes than her opponent, ending Batt’s attempt to regain the seat after he was defeated by Shelley Midura in 2006.
The election result was consistent with predictions made after… »

Government Technology’s March issue focuses on 25 people who cut through the public sector’s infamous barriers to innovation — tight budgets, organizational inertia, politics as usual, etc. — to reshape government operations for the… »