Name: New Orleans homicides climb 63% in 2020
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New Orleans homicides climb 63% in 2020

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AdvertisementIt's the highest number since 2011.New Orleans homicides climb 63% in 2020It's the highest number since 2011.Hide TranscriptShow TranscriptFOUR ADULTS HAVE BEEN DISPLACED AS A RESULT OF THE FIRE. MEMORIES OF A DIFFICULT 2020 FOR SOME IN NEW ORLEANS WILL ALSO BE MARKED BY THE PAIN OF LOSING A LOVED ONE TO VIOLENCE. NEW ORLEANS SAW 196 PEOPLE KILLED IN HOMICIDES LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO POLICE AND CORONER DATA THAT WDSU TRACKS. THAT'S MORE THAN A 60% INCREASE COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR'S COUNT. CITY COUNCIL CRIME ANALYST JEFF ASHER POINTS OUT THE LAST TIME NEW ORLEANS SAW THAT MANY MURDERS WAS IN 2011 WHEN 199 PEOPLE WERE KILLED. THE NAMES OF SOME OF THOSE KILLED ARE ADDED ON THE WALL OUTSIDE ST. ANNA'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH ON ESPLANADE AVENUE. THE REVEREND BILL TERRY SAYS IT SERVES AS A MEMORIAL TO THE PERSON BEHIND THE STATISTICS &gt;&gt; ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH MURDER IN NEW ORLEANS AND ANYWHERE, IS THAT IT BECOMES ABOUT NUMBERS, AND RATES, AND THAT'S DEHUMANIZING. SO IN AN EFFORT TO HUMANIZE, SO THE EXPERIENCE OF URBAN VIOLENCE, WE STARTED LISTING NAMES ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH. GINA TERRY’S CHURCH HAS DISPLAYE DISPLAYEDHOMICIDE VICTIMS’AdvertisementNew Orleans homicides climb 63% in 2020It's the highest number since 2011.Memories of a difficult 2020 for some in New Orleans will also be marked by the pain of losing a loved one to violence. The city saw 196 people killed in homicides last year, according to New Orleans Police Department and Orleans Parish Coroner’s data that WDSU has tracked.The tally is a 63% increase from the 120 homicides logged last year. It’s also the highest number since 2011 when 199 people were killed, according to the NOPD. New Orleans’ increase is dramatically different from the national average, which City Council crime analyst Jeff Asher places at 21%. LSU Health criminologist Peter Scharf said a variety of factors could explain the increase in homicides in New Orleans. They range from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy to recent strategy shifts for the NOPD away from proactive policing.Even though other cities around the country also saw increases in their homicide counts, Scharf said New Orleans’ jump is particularly acute given its smaller population. He also noted the City Council’s recent decision to force the NOPD to move away from its use of facial recognition technology. When combined with the national push toward police accountability, Scharf said police find themselves taking a less aggressive approach to crime fighting. “They like their jobs and want to keep them, so the temptation is not to get into marginal high-risk encounters,” he said. When crime rates spike, Scharf said law enforcement agencies are faced with a difficult question: “Have we become a little bit too cautious in our approach?”Since 2007, the Rev. Bill Terry has kept a log of murder victims on a wall outside St. Anna’s Episcopal Church on Esplanade Avenue. He says the display serves as a memorial to the people behind the statistics. “One of the issues with murder in New Orleans … is that it becomes about numbers and rates, and that’s dehumanizing,” Terry said. Terry said the persistently high homicide count reveals how violence is a generational problem in New Orleans.Memories of a difficult 2020 for some in New Orleans will also be marked by the pain of losing a loved one to violence. The city saw 196 people killed in homicides last year, according to New Orleans Police Department and Orleans Parish Coroner’s data that WDSU has tracked.The tally is a 63% increase from the 120 homicides logged last year. It’s also the highest number since 2011 when 199 people were killed, according to the NOPD.AdvertisementNew Orleans’ increase is dramatically different from the national average, which City Council crime analyst Jeff Asher places at 21%. LSU Health criminologist Peter Scharf said a variety of factors could explain the increase in homicides in New Orleans. They range from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy to recent strategy shifts for the NOPD away from proactive policing.Even though other cities around the country also saw increases in their homicide counts, Scharf said New Orleans’ jump is particularly acute given its smaller population. He also noted the City Council’s recent decision to force the NOPD to move away from its use of facial recognition technology. When combined with the national push toward police accountability, Scharf said police find themselves taking a less aggressive approach to crime fighting. “They like their jobs and want to keep them, so the temptation is not to get into marginal high-risk encounters,” he said.When crime rates spike, Scharf said law enforcement agencies are faced with a difficult question: “Have we become a little bit too cautious in our approach?”Since 2007, the Rev. Bill Terry has kept a log of murder victims on a wall outside St. Anna’s Episcopal Church on Esplanade Avenue. He says the display serves as a memorial to the people behind the statistics. “One of the issues with murder in New Orleans … is that it becomes about numbers and rates, and that’s dehumanizing,” Terry said. Terry said the persistently high homicide count reveals how violence is a generational problem in New Orleans.Loading more articles...

AdvertisementIt's the highest number since 2011.New Orleans homicides climb 63% in 2020It's the highest number since 2011.Hide TranscriptShow TranscriptFOUR ADULTS HAVE BEEN DISPLACED AS A RESULT OF THE FIRE. MEMORIES OF A DIFFICULT 2020 FOR SOME IN NEW ORLEANS WILL ALSO BE MARKED BY THE PAIN OF LOSING A LOVED ONE TO VIOLENCE. NEW ORLEANS SAW 196 PEOPLE KILLED IN HOMICIDES LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO POLICE AND CORONER DATA THAT WDSU TRACKS. THAT'S MORE THAN A 60% INCREASE COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR'S COUNT. CITY COUNCIL CRIME ANALYST JEFF ASHER POINTS OUT THE LAST TIME NEW ORLEANS SAW THAT MANY...

New Orleans homicides climb 63% in 2020

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