The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has taken a critical step toward ending more than a decade of federal oversight following a damning Department of Justice report dating back to 2011.

The New Orleans Police Department can begin ending its longstanding federal oversight, a judge ruled Tuesday in response to a request from the city and the Justice Department to wind down the monitoring program.

The New Orleans Police Department could be on the eve of emerging from the federal consent decree. A U.S. District Court judge will announce a decision Tuesday on whether the NOPD is ready to have less oversight.