Gov.-elect Jeff Landry takes first steps to crack down on crime in Louisiana, New Orleans

Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry took the first tangible steps Wednesday to deliver on his campaign promise to tackle crime in Louisiana and specifically New Orleans by naming a new State Police chief and announcing a partnership with the city's district attorney to take the lead on certain prosecutions.

Landry named Maj. Robert Hodges, a New Orleans native who is a 28-year veteran of the State Police, to lead the agency. He will replace Superintendent Lamar Davis, Gov. John Bel Edwards' current appointment.

Landry also announced the following additional public safety appointments during Wednesday's press conference in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome, which will host the 2025 Super Bowl:

Thomas Friloux, who rose from the rank of private to brigadier general during 35 years in the Louisiana National Guard, will lead that agency as its adjutant general;

and Bryan Adams, who has 40 years of firefighting experience and previously served as an elected state representative from Gretna, will be the next Louisiana fire marshal.

"These appointments are integral to the safety and security of our communities across the state," Landry said. "They further demonstrate our commitment to New Orleans and ensure we will have one great, safe state."

Landry's appointments follow two recent studies that ranked Louisiana as the most dangerous state in America noting the state is first for most murders per capita and fifth or most assaults per capita.

Three Louisiana cities — Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport — have recently ranked in the top 10 worst U.S. cities for crime.

Last spring, Louisiana residents listed crime as their top concern in the annual survey conducted by the LSU Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs for the first time in 20 years.

Landry said he has been particularly worried about New Orleans, the state's signature city that is Louisiana's doorway to the world.

He said the "world will be watching" as the Super Bowl approaches in 13 months. "Past statistics that have plagued this city can't be in place," Landry said.

"We going to bring as much law enforcement presence into the city as possible to keep all of the city safe," he said.

Democratic New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said he welcomes the help from the Republican governor-elect.

The agreement between Williams and Republican Attorney General-elect Liz Murrill will allow the attorney general's office to prosecute any cases led by State Police.

"This is an exciting moment," Williams said. "I said Rome was burning when New Orleans was the murder capital of the world. We've brought those numbers down, but a four-alarm fire is still too hot."

But even as Landry praised his new State Police leadership that included other key promotions in addition to Hodges, he and Murrill acknowledged the agency needs to "build public trust" after the U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation in 2022 into whether LSP uses excessive force.

That investigation followed the ongoing controversy surrounding the 2019 death of Ronald Greene, an unarmed Black man, during his violent, fatal arrest by troopers in Union Parish near Monroe.

Murrill announced Wednesday she has hired former U.S. Justice Department official Ed O'Callaghan to assist the state in an in-depth review of Louisiana State Police "with the goal of ensuring it is the finest law enforcement agency in the country."

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Jeff Landry takes first steps to address crime in Louisiana, New Orleans