In the first year, murders fell in three developments by 75 percent and eventually a similar reduction was seen in the remaining seven public housing developments. Not only were violent crimes reduced by 50 percent over eight years, but for the first time in years families were able to sit on their porches or sleep at night without hearing the sound of gunshots.

In October of 1996, the NOPD instituted the COMSTAT program, a computerized system that recorded every crime and required district commanders to be accountable for the reduction of crime in the areas assigned to them. COMSTAT opened the lines of communication between commanders in order to share information and solve crimes that crossed district boundaries. This, combined with a "no tolerance for crime philosophy," increased the number of arrests by the NOPD from 40,000 a year in 1993 to more than 70,000 a year by 2000.

Crime in New Orleans dropped dramatically with overall crime at its lowest in 27 years. Violent crime and more specifically murders fell by over 50 percent, and in 1999 New Orleans was recognized by the National Crime Prevention Council as one of America's Six Safest Cities.

From 1994 through 2002, the administration fought for and successfully provided from 12 to 62 percent pay increases for some officers. Although still lagging behind some major American cities and the region, for the first time in recent memory police pay was recognized as a top priority and the city's leaders worked to address it.

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