Nonprofit Aids in Capture of Escaped Prisoners in New Orleans

In New Orleans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding law enforcement through surveillance cameras claims to have assisted in the capture of at least two out of ten inmates who escaped from a local prison last week.

Project NOLA, which manages around 5,000 cameras in the downtown area—including 200 equipped with facial recognition technology—reported that its system recorded footage of two escapes occurring in the French Quarter right after the jailbreak.

Bryan Lagarde, the executive director of Project NOLA, mentioned that the facial recognition tools are designed to alert nearby law enforcement if a wanted individual is detected in a specific area. This can lead to quicker responses from officers who might be in the vicinity.

When authorities receive tips, either a police officer or someone from Project NOLA can review the footage to check if the suspect is still in the area. “There are a lot of things that are involved,” Lagarde added, though the comment felt a bit vague, perhaps indicating just how complex this all can get.

Conversely, New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick told a local news outlet that her department wasn’t notified about possible whereabouts of the escapees, despite Project NOLA’s assertions that their system aided in locating them. It’s interesting how these things can often seem misconstrued, isn’t it?

The report highlighted that Kirkpatrick had previously suspended the system’s use in April, citing a 2022 city ordinance that limits reliance on facial recognition. The rule requires police to exhaust all other investigation methods before seeking permission to use such technology.

Interestingly, although the police department had received real-time alerts from Project NOLA since 2022, this arrangement was halted last month due to Kirkpatrick’s directive. In a statement, a police spokesperson clarified that this decision was made after realizing the department’s ongoing use of the system.

An email revealed that Kirkpatrick had contacted Lagarde regarding the cameras in 2022. She mentioned that she found out recently that some members of her team might still be utilizing Project NOLA’s app. Presently, the department is working to ascertain if the use of these cameras aligns with existing regulations.

Kirkpatrick stated, “We were simply suspending (technology use) to make sure we were within the scope of the city’s ordinance.” In the meantime, the ACLU has raised concerns about the facial recognition features, claiming they infringe on privacy and civil liberties.

Since the jailbreak, five of the ten fugitives have been recaptured, while five others have been arrested for aiding them. Law enforcement continues to search for the remaining escapees, though they acknowledge that some could be out of state by now. However, it’s worth noting that all individuals apprehended so far have been found within ten miles of New Orleans’ borders.

Kirkpatrick confirmed that investigators have determined that of the five inmates still at large, three are believed to still be in the New Orleans area, while two might have left Louisiana entirely. It feels like a never-ending chase, doesn’t it?