Better for the Blue: Encouraging Sustainable, Effective Police Departments
Law and order cannot exist in a vacuum; strong policies alone are not enough to ensure that communities feel safe and transparency prevails between agencies, courts, and officials. Policies must work together and for the people and systems involved within the justice system. Law enforcement is a crucial component of this picture. Tasked with enforcing the very laws crafted to protect public safety, police officers have a solemn duty and a difficult job. When news broke earlier this month of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) being promised bonuses with no clear space in the budget to receive them, it seemed to be just the latest in a concerning pattern both locally and nationally. Police departments are struggling to recruit and retain officers, while the budgets that impact the justice system make it difficult to provide sustainable solutions because of their reliance on one-time grants.
In 2022, millions of dollars in federal grants were allocated to shore up the staffing of the NOPD. Officials are now concerned that the amount promised to the department is more than the remaining grant money can provide. The NOPD is not alone in its struggle to bring promised programs and rewards to fruition. Late last year, the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) cancelled an academy scheduled for January 2026. The rationale? Police Chief TJ Morse said “We’re really, really short. The shortest we’ve been in our department history. So we need more money and we need more manpower.” As shortages continue, budgets shift, and resignations roll in, police departments are cancelling and postponing valuable initiatives with the potential to improve their programs.
Louisiana is in line with national trends. A March 2025 report from R Street, “Rebuilding the Force: Solving Policing’s Workforce Emergency,” explains that a collection of factors have led to drastic reductions in sworn officers, often in cities where they are most needed. Even citing New Orleans, “Dozens of the nation’s largest departments have shrunk by 10 percent or more. Some agencies have seen staffing levels plummet dramatically, such as New Orleans and Minneapolis, which are both 40 percent smaller than they were a decade ago.” Agencies are in a challenging position, and the status quo is far from sustainable.
As demonstrated by the NOPD’s bonus uncertainty, the remedy to staffing shortages and the workforce strain is not to offer temporary fixes fueled by one-time grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act or any other federal program. In May of last year, Strings Attached: How Federal Funding Affects State and Local Policies, a report from the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, identified the pitfalls that can occur when state and local officials have to maintain what federal dollars started. Short sighted policy and promises, fueled by one-time grants, can leave agencies worse than before.
Other states have risen to confront the challenges of retaining officers without lowering standards or relying on temporary fixes. In Cleveland, Ohio the Public Safety Career Pipeline Program partners with the police department to generate interest in the field, and collaborate with colleges to create a program wherein the cadets can train, understand the career, and graduate with the necessary skills and certifications. In Florida, a state home to one of the country’s largest police academies, recruits are training with artificial intelligence (AI) before they even become officers. As the nature of crime, law enforcement, and policing adjusts to the advancements of AI, this early introduction is a vital step to making sure that police officers feel prepared and familiar to leverage the technology for good. The aforementioned R Street report explains that, alongside improving incentives and like conditions, compensation, and benefits, police departments should work to have modern recruitment practices and tools-like those in Ohio and Florida.
These are but two small examples of programs that can both support and equip officers. The job is challenging, at times dangerous, and deserves targeted policies that show a state grateful for the risks these officers incur. The very officers responsible for enforcing the law to keep people safe deserve more than a temporary fix. Solving the staffing and budget strains for police departments in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and around the country will begin with an honest assessment of the data about the needs and strengths of each department, and culminate in smart policies and programs that recruit and retain high quality officers.