The Big Uneasy

New Orleans slay capital of US

New Orleans has overtaken St. Louis as the nation’s murder capital with 52 homicides per 100,000 residents — a 141% spike since 2019 — and a police consultant is recommending drastically shifting officers to patrol duty as a way to “save the city.”

As of Sept. 11, there have been 205 homicides in the Big Easy this year, according to figures from the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

In St. Louis, there have been 45 homicides per 100,000 residents as of Sept. 17, the commission reported, citing data from the St. Louis police.

In addition to the 141% jump in three years, New Orleans has seen a 78% spike in homicides compared with 2021.

The city also has seen a 100% increase in shootings in 2022 when compared to 2019, the commission said.

By comparison, Chicago has a homicide rate of 18 per 100,000 residents and New York City’s is 3.5 per 100,000, according to the commission.

Call to action

Fausto Pichardo, a former head of the NYPD’s patrol division who was recently hired as a consultant by New Orleans to fight escalating crime, called for the redeployment of 212 officers from their current assignments to patrol duty.

“Action must be taken now if there is ever a chance to save the city and bring the reputation of being a city where tourists can come to party and celebrate and not become victims,” he wrote in a draft of a nine-page summary of recommendations to New Orleans police, according to WVUE-TV.

“The residents of New Orleans . . . also need and deserve to have a police force that can make them feel safe and be there for them every time they call 911.”

A police spokesman told WVUE that the final number of officers reassigned would fall below Pichardo’s 212 target and likely would end up being between 10% and 20% of the force.

“We can’t provide public safety, or our own safety with those numbers,” said Capt. Mike Glasser, president of the Police Association of New Orleans.

“Had we done it earlier, it would have been better. But we didn’t. Are we going to like it? No, probably not. But it really needs to be done.”

“We have to consider whether or not we can respond to calls for service for people who call the police, whether we can get there in a reasonable time and give them the attention they deserve,” Glasser added.

“Everybody’s going to have to chip in, including command staff-level rank. I’m going to have to go back on the street as a field supervisor, and I should. That’s what we need to do.”

The reassignments could begin by Sept. 23.