The good news: Crime is down in the state, and in New Orleans. The bad news -- we still have some of the highest murder rates in the nation.
WIth 11.4 homicides per 100,000 residents in the 2018 FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Louisiana leads the U.S. for 30 consecutive years, according to local crime analyst Jeff Asher. But Asher says the blame can't be put solely on New Orleans.
"If you took New Orleans out, the state of Louisiana would still be in the top five, nationally," he said.
The good news is that the murder rate in both New Orleans and Louisiana were down in 2018. The state's homicide rate was its lowest since 2015.
Gov. John Bel Edwards says the reduction shows criminal justice reform is working. Asher says it's not as simple as that, but it does indicate that prison reform has not led to an increase in homicide, either.
"You can reduce incarceration and you can reduce murder, and you can see that statewide, and you can also see that in the city of New Orleans," said Asher.
