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Originally Posted by BnaBreaker
That New Orleans ranking is skewed. Nearly all homicides in the New Orleans metro are drug crime related. The same can be said for most cities, but the stats are even more skewed in New Orleans.
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I don't see how that's the problem of the survey. We are #1 and #2 in several categories of violent crime; there's no getting around the fact.
Now, is the city a warzone? No, not at all. It was only 2 or 3 years ago that Central City had the highest murder rate in the city (and a well-known study estimated the number of incarcerated residents to be roughly 50%). Now the neighborhood's main street, OC Haley, is buzzing to life with several construction projects, and surrounding streets have seen numerous infill houses and volunteer projects.
On the other hand, there is an elevated risk on the streets of New Orleans as compared to other cities, and violent crime does occur in places like the French Quarter and Riverbend that are supposedly safe, stable areas. The way that the city's wealthier, more stable neighborhoods hug the river in a long corridor means that it is geographically easy for criminals to move between impoverished and stable areas to commit crimes.
Crime is undoubtedly a huge problem that we need to tackle, but at the moment it isn't preventing the city from growing. In the long run, NOPD reforms will make policing more effective and school reforms will help reduce the poverty that contributes to violence.