NOPD devoting more manpower to cold cases during decline in violent crime

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - When someone is shot, the first priority for paramedics or doctors is to stop the bleeding.

In many ways, that same strategy can apply to the New Orleans Police Department and crime. The NOPD has been trying to stop the bleeding in New Orleans in recent years.

Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's murder count exploded, peaking in 2022 with 257 homicides, according to the New Orleans City Council's public crime dashboard.

It has declined since: 192 homicides in 2023, 125 in 2024 and this year's murder rate is on pace for an even steeper drop.

"We were over 100 murders at this point in 2023 and now we're at about 46. That's a lot less victims and a lot less grieving families," Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon of the NOPD said in mid-June.

Gernon oversees NOPD detectives, which includes a team of cold-case investigators. With fewer murders and a drastic drop in other violent crime, Gernon says the cold case unit is now better able to focus on its primary duty.

"So some of those detectives have had time to go back and look at some of their older cases, or put more time into current cases," Gernon said. "And I think it's really a reason why our clearance rate right now for homicides is at 89 percent. That's phenomenal. NOPD's clearance rate historically over the last 20 years has hovered around 50 percent," Gernon said.

What is taking place within the NOPD is a far cry from the mode the department was in three years ago, when New Orleans was considered the "murder capital" of America.

Not only was there tremendous bloodshed on the streets, but the NOPD was also losing officers. The outbreak of violent crime seemed to highlight the force's long history of recruitment challenges.

Back in 2022, 2023, you were having cold-case detectives having to work active murders," Gernon said. "You were having cold-case detectives having to go out on other incidents. They were really on the beat. They were in uniform for a lot of special events, because we didn't have the bodies.

Gernon says the force is now able to put more manpower and attention into cold cases.

The NOPD has transferred eight new detectives to the Special Victims division, which focuses on sex crimes and child abuse cases. Unlike shootings and murders in the past three years, reports of sex crimes such as rape have increased. One doctor says a higher number of reported rapes is not necessarily a negative indicator.

These crimes are often underreported, because of the personal nature of the crime," said Dr. Jordan Pedalino, a sexual assault project specialist with the New Orleans Health Department. "It robs victims of so much.

When we see these numbers rise, it means people are trusting the system. They're trusting NOPD. More people seem to be coming forward and say, 'I was sexually assaulted.' That's significant, because most people do not trust the system.

In her role, Pedalino reviews sexual assault cases with forensic nurses, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office and the NOPD, as well as advocacy organizations. She says it is encouraging to see the NOPD devote more resources to sex crime cold cases, because they can be very difficult to solve.

"A very small percentage of cases are cleared nationally, only about one-third. And so this is showing folks -- the survivors -- that they're not being forgotten," Pedalino said.

According to Gernon, the NOPD cold case unit is seeing some early results through assigning more detectives to the special victims division.

We've solved 25 cold cases in sex crimes this year," Gernon said, "and I would say about a dozen or so child abuse cold cases.

Pedalino said, "Many of these perpetrators that they're finding within these cold cases have committed more than once, or are likely to commit more than once again."

To emphasize her point, Pedalino detailed a 2011 rape case solved last year by the NOPD cold-case unit. She said that by examining an old rape kit and referencing genetic results through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) national database, cold-case detectives were able to link the perpetrator in the 2011 rape to two other rapes. Pedalino said all three victims decided to proceed with prosecution, which helped them find a sense of resolution to their respective cases.

From an outsider's standpoint, that was really beautiful to watch," Pedalino said. "Three women come together and have this common experience and be able to get justice and feel like they were being heard and listened to. All of that came from an old kit and a CODIS hit.

But many other families are still waiting for answers in homicide cases involving their loved one.

The open murder cases page on the Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans website is filled with pictures and descriptions of people whose homicides remain unsolved. Among those cases is that of Jakai Quinn.

I don't think there is anything anyone could ever do to hurt me as much as I'm hurting now," said Quinn's mother Tamika Profit. "I wake up every day and it hurts. I go to sleep every day, it hurts. So, it's like now whatever happens, happens. But I'm not going to go out without a fight.

The NOPD says Quinn was killed on April 15, 2023, as part of a triple shooting on Bartholomew Street in the St. Claude neighborhood. He was 16 years old.

Someone found out about this Airbnb party that my son was at," Profit said. "And they told the guys that came around there shooting, 'So-and-so is at this location and I have their location.' And at the time my son was sitting in the car with his friend, actually getting ready to leave, the car came up and started shooting, and my son was hit.

He and two other people were hit. But he was the only one who died.

Profit said she has rarely heard from homicide detectives since her son was killed.

"After a while, it's like they're not answering the phones. I'm consistently calling them and nobody is telling me anything. I just need an update on what's going on," Profit said.

Profit said she has been doing her own investigating, a big reason why she left Louisiana.

I'm from New Orleans," she said. "I was born and raised there. I do understand that what I'm doing, someone may want to hurt me, and it's OK. I'm OK with that, because I'm not going to stop. But I do have other children, so for my kid's safety, yes, I did have to leave.

The NOPD released a statement addressing Profit's concerns, saying it "has deep compassion for victims of violent crimes and their families who have suffered the loss of a loved one to homicide" and provides support in the form of victim-witness advocates and other resources.

Still, in cold cases where investigations have stalled and little new evidence emerges over an extended period, it can be especially agonizing for grieving families when they don't hear from investigators as often as they hope," the department said. "The NOPD's cold case homicide unit remains committed to solving these cases no matter how long it takes. In the case you are referring to, the lead detective has been in touch with the victim's family. However, without updates to provide, the contact had been a while ago. On June 26, 2025, the detective did reach out and has spoken to the mother again.

Gernon says he is more than aware of the many grieving and frustrated families waiting for developments in their loved ones' cases. He pleaded for their patience and their phone calls.

"If you have information, please let us know. Don't give up on us, because we're not giving up on these cases," he said.

Gernon says new evidence or tips can spark a fresh look at a particular case. Solving cases, he said, not only can bring some closure but also be a tool in the retention of detectives.

It does bring a sense of relief for the victim's family, but it also decreases our burnout," he said. "Detectives are people too. When they have tremendous caseloads shoved on top of them, they burn out, transfer out, they leave the job. They leave the profession. So, this is helping us create more justice for our survivors, but also better conditions for our detectives to kind of continue to provide that level of expertise.

Much of what is happening within the cold-case unit largely depends on what happens outside it. The dramatic drop in the murder rate has occurred even as the department struggles with reduced manpower among its officers. If the crime pendulum swings the other way again, police may once again be scrambling to stop the bleeding.

"If we start to have substantial spikes in violent crime, we may have to reassess how much we can put into the cold-case unit," Gernon said.

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