There has been a rash of unsolved murders and shootings across New Orleans in recent weeks, including a little boy shot dead in broad daylight. Today the New Orleans Police Department and Crimestoppers will appeal to the public for help in finding those responsible for the recent outbreak of violence.
The rise is somewhat alarming considering the success New Orleans has with reductions in crime in recent years. However, Loyola criminology Professor Emeritus George Capowich says after the valleys, come the peaks.
"A certain amount of it might just be a cycle -- violent crime, like everything else, goes in a cycle," said Capowich. "It's been low for a while so you're going to see some natural variation up and down, and now it may be on an uptick."
Could recent protests against police be discouraging people from coming forward with helpful information? Maybe -- Capowich says that would be a sign that police-community relations were on shaky footing to start.
"If trust wasn't very high to begin with, certainly the demonstrations aren't going to help," he said.
And with that civil unrest coinciding with the pandemic emergency, Capowich says parts of society can break down.
"Whenever that happens in society, when things are uprooted or uncertain, people's routines are thrown in disarray, crime goes up," he explained.