[BITList] 10 times national average

[COLIN TAYLOR]

      hugh
      I imagine for some folks in certain areas, insurance premiums are exorbitant.....................
      as of march 26 there had been 58 murders = 232 [say] for 2011. I have not found figures yet for other years except In 1994, 421 people were killed. 
      Appears the number is slowly decreasing but as long as it is highly lucrative for lads to sell drugs [because they don’t have the inclination or education to do anything else] we will have these killings. so I expect it will be with for some time to come...

      ct
      New Orleans murder studies show rate is 10 times national average
      Published: Saturday, March 26, 2011, 1:45 PM 
       By Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune 
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      The U.S. Department of Justice released two much-anticipated reports Friday that tackle head-on the longtime scourge of the city, a decades-old problem that has bedeviled cops and scarred generations of New Orleanians.

      View full sizeRusty Costanza, The Times-PicayuneNOPD 

      Superintendent Ronal Serpas, right, speaks during a news conference as Mayor Mitch Landrieu, left, listens at City Hall in New Orleans on Friday. 
      Murder. 

      How prevalent is it? How do police stop it? What can be done?

      The two analyses, the result of months-long studies conducted late last year by the federal government, attempt to shed light on the myriad factors that conspire to make New Orleans the nation's most murderous city.

      With reams of data and statistics, federal experts determined that New Orleans' homicide rate is 10 times higher than the national rate and five times higher than the rate for comparably sized cities. 

      Despite the astronomical murder rate, overall crime rates and violent crime rates are actually slightly lower than the rates of cities of similar size, though they are higher than the national average.

      The report found murders are highly concentrated in pockets of the city, that victims and perpetrators are largely young, black males with criminal records, and disproportionately unemployed. 

      Most killings come by the gun. Most occur between 8 p.m. and midnight. And most are linked to drugs.

      About 73 percent of the city's murder victims have some type of criminal history. Meanwhile, three out of four homicide victims know their killer.

      "Homicides are not connected to one or a few sets of conditions," the report states. "It is not large, organized gangs vying for turf that drives homicide levels. It is not the kinds of drug wars we have seen in other cities."

      The report comes amid a steady uptick in killings. Fifty-eight people have been murdered in the city this year, up from the 45 people killed over the same period last year. If the rate holds steady, New Orleans is in for one of its most murderous years since 2004.

      The second federal report, conducted by a different group of appointed experts, centers solely on the New Orleans Police Department's homicide division. It notes that the unit is greatly understaffed and lacking in resources and training. It recommends the homicide unit grow to 32 investigators from its current crop of 22.

      The report found most detectives to be dedicated professionals, but said the section's culture is dated, reflecting "past practice rather than current models, methods and technologies." 

      Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas and Mayor Mitch Landrieu released the two documents Friday morning at a City Hall news conference. 

      "The first thing is to acknowledge that you have a problem," Landrieu said. "To get somebody who is objective to help you assess it. Then to make a commitment to fix it."

      He said it was clear that the NOPD had "lost its way" when it came to fighting crime. 

      Among the many recommendations in the recent studies, the NOPD should create a "homicide review team," a multi-jurisdictional group that looks for crime-fighting opportunities while reviewing recent killings. The NOPD should also take steps to better engage the community and build relationships with stakeholders. In addition, the department should focus on better crime analysis, which is sorely lacking, and improve its COMSTAT process of tracking and mapping crime patterns. 

      The report says Serpas, who took over the NOPD in May 2010, has addressed many of these shortcomings in recent reforms. Serpas pointed out Friday that the police force is in the process of installing industry-best crime-analysis software, as well as a data tool that looks at police staffing and assignments.

      "The Police Department has not been sitting on its hands," Serpas said. "We are making the changes."
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