Federal oversight of the New Orleans Police Department ended this week a with a judge signing an order dissolving the consent decree. The oversight began 13 years ago after a Department of Justice investigation found a pattern of unconstitutional practices, including racially-based policing. The investigation was requested after complaints about police abuse in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Wednesday that the department has been transformed over the past decade. Use of force by officers declined by 47% from 2015 to 2023, but the ACLU of Louisiana says force is still disproportionately used against Black men. Opponents say the department is slow in clearing sexual assault cases.