New Orleans is famous for politicians saying, “other than murder, crime is way down.” Of course, they are only talking about reported crimes. If people give up on calling the police, fewer crimes get reported.
The two types of crimes that will always be reported are homicide and auto theft. Both of these are way up in New Orleans, even if fewer and fewer people are bothering to call the police for other types of crimes.
For the first 26 days of 2023, New Orleans averaged 23 auto thefts per day.
This is a dramatic rise over 2022, which averaged 11 auto thefts per day.
Officials in New Orleans are blaming the increase on a nationwide trend. They are also blaming Tik Tok for distributing vehicles that teach users how to easily hotwire older cars from the South Korean manufacturers Kia and Hyundai.
New Orleans Homicides:
2019: 121 (391k, 30.9 per 100k) – Lowest rate since 1985
2020: 198 (383k, 51.7 per 100k)
2021: 218 (377k, 57.8 per 100k) – Highest rate since 2009
2022: 266 (377k, 70.5 per 100k) – Highest rate since 2007 (post-Katrina bloodbath)
The figure 266 comes directly from the NOPD. However, some local media are reporting even higher numbers.
Click here to see New Orleans homicide rates going back to 1930.
