NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — We are nearly halfway through 2022 and so far more than 150 people have been killed in New Orleans, that means we’ve had fewer than 30 days go by without a homicide.

In June alone the number of homicides surpassed the number of days.

“Homicides are up 155 percent over the last two and half years, that’s 53 percent up this year since last year,” Rafael Goyeneche, President of the Metropolitan Crime Commission said.

With almost a homicide a day so far in 2022, Goyeneche says it is because the number of police officers continue to go down.

“As the number of police officers available to be deployed, to respond, as they continue to diminish the violent crime rate goes up,” he said.

“Officers are leaving now because it is no longer safe to be a police officer,” Goyeneche said.

He says as of June, NOPD has lost 80 officers, and they only have eight cadets, but One million dollars has been allocated to the Police and Justice Foundation to beef up recruitment.

“It is going to take some time before we see ranks of department beefed up, but at least now there’s some movement,” he said.

Tulane University Sociologist Dr. Andrea Boyles says there are many other reasons for crime waves.

“The fact that crime occurs is not detached from other social factors and social issues it all speaks to me is desperation. Crime takes place based on desperation, economic and otherwise,” Dr. Boyles said.

She says emotional effects from the pandemic, easy access to guns, and national chaos trickling down locally all play a part.

“We can not expect for people in the communities at the local level to somehow function orderly when the broader society the national society is extremely disorderly. It would have to be that social dynamics are improving for people,” Dr. Boyles said.

According to the data, New Orleans has had more murders per capita than any other city in the nation so far this year.