NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – A data analyst in New Orleans has reported a decline in the number of murders across the city in 2023 compared to recent years. Jeff Asher, a data analyst, stated that a total of 193 people were killed in New Orleans in 2023, marking a decrease from the 266 people killed in 2022. Asher, who crunches crime statistics for the New Orleans City Council, attributed the surge in crime to the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. This led him to express hesitation in crediting local crime reduction initiatives for the decrease in murder. “It’s good news couched within bad news,” said Asher. “We had 200 plus murders from 2020 to 2022, so 193 is an improvement.”
The years 2020 through 2022 were particularly troubling, representing the nation’s highest murder rates. In 2022, there were 266 killings in New Orleans. Asher pointed out that the decrease in crime in 2023 can be attributed to the fact that only five murders were reported in December. This was one of the lowest counts in murders since Hurricane Katrina, according to Asher. The reduction in murders coincides with the hiring of Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Kirkpatrick, approved by the council, became the first full-time female Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD).
Despite the decrease in murders, the NOPD continues to struggle with a record low of roughly 900 officers on the streets, well below the 1,500 officers the city ideally should have. Asher noted that the low murder count in New Orleans also reflects a national trend, with homicides decreasing in most major urban cities. While NOPD’s response time improved last year, Asher emphasized the difficulty in identifying any other local metric to credit the reduction in crime to. The last time New Orleans had fewer than 200 murders was in 2019, the year before the pandemic, when the city experienced an almost 50-year low in murders, totaling 121.
In summary, the year 2023 saw a decrease in the number of murders in New Orleans, with the total number of murders at 193, down from 266 in 2022. Despite this positive trend, challenges remain for the city’s police force, and experts are hesitant to credit the reduction in crime to any specific local initiatives.