NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Data from the Metropolitan Crime Commission shows some violent crimes are down, like carjackings and armed robberies, but when it comes to shootings, the stats are a little more complicated.

According to Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche, the number of nonfatal shootings is down, but the number of shooting incidents involving more than one victim is up.

Between January 1 and February 26, out of the 75 nonfatal shootings, 108 people were shot.

“We’ve had a number of mass shootings in the city in which more than one person has died,” Goyeneche explained. “It could be one incident, but you could have more than one murder victim.”

Compared to 2022, a notoriously violent year, homicides are slightly up; however, some violent crimes are down.

“Carjackings are the most dramatic decline, over 40% decline this year, versus last year,” Goyeneche said. “Armed robberies are down double digits, a little over 10%. That’s promising.”

The leader of the Metropolitan Crime Commission says the New Orleans Police Department has reduced violent crime in the city by being more proactive in their policing.

“They’re no longer driving by some of the open-air drug markets that they see. They’re starting to make some more strategic drug arrests.” Goyeneche continued, “They’re starting to make more strategic gun arrests.”

The Metropolitan Crime Commission is already looking ahead. Along with collecting violent crime data, they will start, once again, reporting regularly on criminal court cases following the court’s shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once the courts have reopened, we want to give it a good year to be able to track any meaningful information that’s coming out, so later this year, we’ll start issuing reports on the Judiciary as well,” Goyeneche said.