New Orleans, LA - ranks highest in crime, survey finds

Posted on: November 24, 2008 at 12:43 p.m.

The CQ Press "City Crime Rankings" list named New Orleans its most crime-ridden city based on a reported 19,000-plus incidences of six major crimes -- including 209 murder cases -- in 2007.

The Gulf Coast city of about 250,000, still grappling with the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, was followed in the rankings by Camden, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; and Oakland, California.

The lowest crime rate was reported in Ramapo, New York, about 40 miles northwest of New York City, with only 688 total crimes and no reported killings in a city of about 113,000. It was followed by Mission Viejo, California, south of Los Angeles; O'Fallon, Missouri, outside St. Louis; Newton, Massachusetts, west of Boston; and Brick Township, on the New Jersey coast.

The CQ report rated 397 cities larger than 75,000 and 356 metropolitan areas, some of which ranked very differently from their core cities alone. The New Orleans area was third on the metropolitan-areas list, behind Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. Camden, the second-worst city on the cities list, ranked 219th among metro areas. Among metro areas, Logan, Utah, north of Salt Lake City, had the lowest crime rate, followed by State College, Pennsylvania, and Ithaca, New York, the report said.

The data is drawn from FBI statistics on murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft.

Some of the contributing factors to any increase in a city's crime rate are economic conditions, a new influx of immigration, urban renewal and/or geographic crisis such as hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. In Los Angeles, the crime rate has gone down in part because the economy has stayed healthy, Los Angeles has never been a stranger to immigration and the last major earthquake (the Northridge quake) was almost two decades ago. Between Hurricane Katrina, the abandonment of the city by so many long time residents and the weak economy, New Orleans was ripe for a rise in crime.

Violent crimes in Los Angeles have also gone down in number, however they are still quite prevalent throughout the Southland. There are hundreds of murders every year, numerous muggings, car-jackings and the like. Violent crimes are criminal acts that involve the use or threat of violence. In most cases, violence is used as a means to an end, especially during crimes such as rape and robbery. During the commission of a violent crime, the offender may or may not use a weapon. If the offender uses a weapon while committing a violent crime, the offense will usually be classified as felony.

If you have been charged with a serious criminal offense, do not hesitate to call Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP at (877) 781-1570. Our knowledgeable legal team can evaluate your case and advise you of your legal options.

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Comments:

Jayme Farrell-Ranker, Com 174 on December 12, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. wrote:

It is undoubtedly good to hear that the crime rate in Los Angeles has gone down. The article attributes the decrease in crime rate partly to healthy economic conditions. One might fear with that as a main contributor what Los Angeles will look like in 6 months. The economy is anything but stable right now with more than 40% of companies laying-off employees. Southern California has one of the highest rates of household foreclosures in the nation. The idea that we are economically healthy right now is not a reality. Considering that we are arguably in the worst economic crisis in our life time, there is a high likelihood that in addition to the economic hardships there will also be a drastic rise in the crime rate. The government is going to have to make a considerable effort to ensure that people

Tatiana Vardanyan on November 30, 2008 at 8:13 p.m. wrote:

Economic and community development in the City of Los Angeles concerns issues with affordability and inequality. When the economy struggles, the people consequently struggle. It is imperative to evaluate the motives behind joining a gang and how these motives can be substituted by other measures. Gangs provide a support system for the troubled youth and when that security blanket is not present at home, the vulnerable youth resort to gangs for that sense of security and kin. Gang intervention and prevention is a key element in combating this issue. I believe that it is also critical for community leaders as well as residents to better understand the different facets of crime from a policy perspective. Some policies we can utilize to address gang violence and gang related crime may be physical developments such as graffiti clean-up and campaigns, street lighting, gating communities, and inner street lighting. The summer programs that the Mayor is advocating is also a very effective tool in addressing these concerns and it is showing some very promising results towards a better tomorrow.

Tatiana Vardanyan on November 30, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. wrote:

I contacted the Mayor's office and spoke with a representative regarding their game plan for targeting gang related violence. Here is their response: The Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) program was implemented last year in an attempt to reduce gang involvement and activities by seeking funding and improving opportunities and services for the youth (LA City). Summer Nights Lights (SNL) in an attempt to battle gang related activities by organizing sports and arts programs for the youth who are vulnerable to gang involvement.

Tatiana Vardanyan on November 30, 2008 at 8:09 p.m. wrote:

I conducted a research study on the LA county as a whole and found some interesting observations. We live in a world that is dynamic in nature with multiple dimensions that breed off each other and when one dimension is compromised, the unity also is compromised. According to the City of Los Angeles webpage, Mayor Villaraigosa

Tatiana Vardanyan on November 30, 2008 at 8:04 p.m. wrote:

Question: Did the investigative study include white collar crimes such as fraud? Does white collar crime require a greater investment from the city>?

Nicole Forde on November 29, 2008 at 4:57 p.m. wrote:

No, I don't think the entire crime rate can be blamed on Katrina. However, the effect that Katrina did have on the city can be blamed on the government. It is probable that a quick reaction to help could have kept such a steep increase in crime from occurring. People were scraping to survive. When you are worrying about where the next meal is going to come from, or whether you will have a roof over your head that night, morality is not high on the list. Sure, there are strong people who can pick themselves up after such a huge disaster and persevere, but that cannot be expected as a norm. Furthermore, I think this proves that racism still exists. Just look at a comparison of tragedies that occurred very close to each other. September 11th: people were driving across the country just to hand out food, fold blankets, give blood...anything they could do. But when Katrina hit a primarily black area, driving to help became an inconvenience. It is trivial to argue about the difference in disaster or scale of tragedy, when people are in need you either help everyone or don't help at all. The divide just makes things worse.

Keri Wittmeyer (Com 174) on November 25, 2008 at 4:14 p.m. wrote:

Coming from the bay area and always recognizing that Oakland was the place to avoid if you could help it, this article makes me wonder if all of New Orleans' problems can be 'blamed' on Katrina. While I'm certain it didn't make things any better, and that the increase in violent crime was in part due to the hurricaine and its aftermath, I have to question if it wasn't highly ranked in terms of violent crime in the past. Oakland, for example, hasn't had any major changes for as long as I can remember (no natural disaster etc.) and it consistently ranks at the top. No one blames Oakland's crime rate constantly going up on any outside influence; it's just how Oakland is. I understand that people become irrational when the economy gets out of whack. My sister works at Mervyn's, which is going out of business, and won't walk to her car alone at night because people have threatened her when she won't let them return 'final sale' merchandise. I guess I just have a hard time believing a simple top 10 list, without any background information. They can only include crimes that are reported and prosecuted, which could reflect on either the public not reporting it, the courts being too backlogged or police not being able to gather enough evidence. The rankings also can't include every single city, some cities don't have a complete set of data. Overall, I really think that it's too much of an imperfect science to use a ranking system like this to trace increases in crime and then after the fact find a reason for it.

Cho Yim on November 25, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. wrote:

It is good to hear that LA's crime rate has gone down - I had no idea that LA's economy had stayed healthy. Having come from Vegas, I wonder how the crime rate is there because their economy is based on the economy. I know it has been struggling economically. Does a falling economy always come with some increase of crime?

Samantha Kudus on November 25, 2008 at 5:55 a.m. wrote:

I was just wondering if you knew if crime rates had anything to do with the death penalty. In countries or cities with stricter punishments, it has been discovered that crime rates are lower, because criminals try and evade the punishment they deserve. And it's been shown that in cities with more corrupt law officers and 'flexible' courts, the crime rates are higher. I'm from Singapore, which is considered extremely safe by most standards...and I'd probably attribute this to our severe penalties for committing a crime. There have been many criminals who've been caned, sentenced to life imprisonment, and also given the death penalty. Living in the US puts a different spin on things...we know that the death penalty is frowned upon, do you think that if the courts enforced more severe punishments on the criminals, it might affect how high crime rates are?

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New Orleans, LA - ranks highest in crime, survey finds

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