NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Metropolitan Crime Commission released its latest violent crime report for New Orleans, and the data is alarming to say the least.
“50% of the violent crime over the last three years has occurred in the seventh and fifth districts. If you live in the third district, you can see that car jackings have increased over 120%,” said Rafael Goyeneche, President of the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
The study breaks down violent crime by every district, from armed robberies to homicides.
Overall, New Orleans is seeing a 47% increase in crime compared to 2020.
Goyeneche says the biggest issue in the battle against crime, is the lack of officers on the street.
“There needs to be more officers, how do you hire more officers? You need to offer a raise to recruit more officers and to slow down the attrition rate. We lost 96 officers last year, we lost 81 officers as of last week,” said Goyeneche.
He says this isn’t an issue the New Orleans Police Department can fix on its own.
“The political leadership has to prioritize public safety the way other communities are prioritizing public safety, because that’s the foundation that prosperity is built upon,” said Goyeneche.
Go to PowerPoint Presentation (metrocrime.org) for the full report.