Landrieu, Harrison pitch pay raises, new salary plan for NOPD officers

City leaders held a press conference to announce the proposed changes, which are designed to "retain the police officers we have and continue to grow the force," Landrieu said.

There are four key elements to the new pay plan and job classification system, according to the city:

Providing more competitive salaries across the board, to bring compensation for front-line supervisors in line with Southern regional averages; adjusting pay for entry-level officers by 10 percent; seasoned officers in the ranks of sergeant and lieutenant will see still larger raises.

Creating a new career path specifically for detectives, ensuring that they receive better compensation, and helping NOPD retain seasoned officers with a vital skill set.

Providing more opportunity for advancement for patrol officers; eliminating duplicative job descriptions, allowing motivated officers to rise more quickly through our ranks, and removing current administrative barriers to higher levels of compensation.

Addressing long-standing "compression" problems within the existing pay structure, by rationalizing pay differentials between senior ranks, and incentivizing long-term career investment by veteran officers.

"We don't have mandatory draft, which means that I can't make people be police officers," Landrieu said. "But everybody in this city asks what they can do to fight crime. One thing you can do is join the police department."

Landrieu said although violent crime is not as high as it was when it peaked here in the 1990s, he conceded that "no one is happy with current crime rates."

"Not me, not the council, not anybody," he said.

The new pay plan is one effort to address that, he said.

Landrieu touted new take-home patrol cars for every officer who lives in Orleans Parish, as well as the purchase of 300 long rifles to help officers in the event of an active shooter.

Under the new security plan announced earlier this year, more crime cameras are going up, and new license plate readers are being installed.