LAFAYETTE, LA (Mar. 20, 2024) – The Lafayette Police Department (LPD) conducted an internal survey that allowed all employees to give their thoughts and opinions on everything from decreasing crime in Lafayette to improving work conditions within the agency. The anonymous survey, initiated by Chief Judith Estorge, was administered online and included 125 questions that were completed by 247 respondents.
“I’ve had several opportunities to meet with community members and hear their opinions on issues,” said Chief Estorge. “But this internal survey was an opportunity for my agency to provide feedback, and for me and my team to hear both the good and bad—so we can make efforts to improve.”
When it comes to managing crime, an overwhelming majority of the respondents (79%) feel that courts being too lenient contribute to crime rates, and most respondents (78%) believe that unlawful weapon use is very serious. Most respondents (81%) also feel that parenting plays a key role in reducing crime.
In line with recent reports, almost every respondent (94%) believes that lack of jail space contributed to crime rates in Lafayette in the last 5 years.
“The thoughts on managing crime were not surprising,” said Chief Estorge. “People here, just like the rest of the country, are tired of the senseless violence and the Lafayette Police Department wants it to stop,” said the Chief. “As for the issues with the jail, I plan to work closely with our Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee to develop solutions. Being able to actively apprehend, arrest and detain criminals plays a key role in us cleaning up the streets.”
While respondents’ current morale status varied, a slight majority (40%) believe the agency is not at all effective when it comes to responding to officers’ and employees’ ideas and opinions. Still, most employees (49%) said the agency is very effective in providing appropriate training, and many employees expressed the joy of working with their fellow officers and other co-workers in their comments.
“I’ve reviewed the comments, and my team and I have already begun to put things in place to allow officers to share their ideas. And if it’s something that’s feasible, we’ll be glad to implement it,” said Chief Estorge. “But all things have to be carefully weighed and considered. Some issues are far more complex than they appear,” said Estorge. “We pride ourselves on training, and when you take a closer look, you see we have some really good people working here.”
Many of the respondents had strong opinions on the issues of “patrol” and “pay” within the agency. An overwhelming majority (87%) said it is very important to increase the number of sworn officers, and even more respondents (88%) said it is very important to increase pay and benefits over the next few years.
“That’s no secret,” says the Chief. “Our department is doing better than most agencies our size, but we’d like to get as close to our allowed capacity as possible. And increasing the pay would definitely help with both recruitment and retention.”
LPD employees had mixed opinions on the importance and effectiveness of crime prevention services and other community initiatives, but most respondents agreed that officers are more effective if they “look beyond the call” to get to the root of the problem. However, many of the respondents believe that being asked to address more “quality of life” issues will detract from their ability to fight serious crime.
“I get it,” says Chief Estorge. “When you’re dealing with patrol, jail facilities, and other issues, it consumes your focus, and makes it kind of hard to get motivated about attending community events or listening to complaints and criticisms that are often out of your control.”
LPD’s next step is to further analyze the survey results and determine ways they can improve the agency. Chief Estorge promises to meet with the Command Staff and other LPD employees to discuss the findings and develop plans of action.
Annual Reports (lafayettela.gov)
