Aug 15, 2024 - News

New Orleans' number of teen homicides plummets in 2024

Chelsea Brasted

Illustration of a downward arrow made out of crime-scene tape. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

As New Orleans celebrates a significant drop in its violent crime statistics, one number especially stands out: Year to date, the city has seen a 71% drop in juvenile homicides over the same period in 2023, NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick says.

Why it matters: The city ended last year with a big drop in its murder count, but not among its juvenile victims, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune's analysis at the time.

The big picture: Murders in New Orleans are down 38.8% year to date, according to city data, part of a national trend that's seeing violent crime rates plummet.

Business and city leaders gathered Wednesday to tout the improved stats during a press conference linking them to the two-year run of The NOLA Coalition, a collective of 574 local organizations that's so far raised over $8 million for youth programs.
Kirkpatrick was one of the speakers at the event.

Zoom in: So far this year, three of New Orleans' 52 murder victims were between the ages of 14 and 17, city data shows.

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New Orleans' number of teen homicides plummets in 2024

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