Problem - New Orleans was the murder capital of America, having the New York City equivalent of approximately 5,000 murders a year.
Solution - Mayor Marc Morial had rooted out police corruption and then demanded a truthful, effective strategic plan. We wrote that plan for the New Orleans Police Department, which promised to cut murder in half in three years if three conditions were met: pay increases for recruitment and retention; a 40% increase in police staffing; and overtime to pay for that level of police services until recruiting had obtained the requisite numbers of full-time officers. While CompStat was being implemented by the Superintendent of Police and Chief of Operations, the applicant processing system was reengineered and a recruitment marketing campaign was devised, under our supervision.
Result - The requisite number (500) and profile of police officers were recruited. Effective police operations led to murder being reduced by 54% in three years.