New Orleans fights violent crime — and violent reputation

The big picture: Since Landry went public on Fox's "Hannity" with his request to bring in up to 1,000 Louisiana National Guard troops to cities across the state, he's said it's in reaction to violent crime spikes, especially in New Orleans.

• "We all know about New Orleans," Sean Hannity said to Landry during the Sept. 29 segment. "New Orleans has never been particularly known for its safety and security."
• Landry conceded, but said that had improved greatly since he came into office. "We started to see violence start to trickle down in the city of New Orleans, and lately, we've seen an uptick," he added.

Reality check: He's not wrong about a violent crime spike. The city ended September with 14 homicides, trending up since July, according to The Times-Picayune.

Yes, but: Overall, city statistics indicate at least 45% improvement in violent crime rates year to date over 2023 and 2022, and New Orleans is still tracking about 5% better over 2024.

What they're saying: That's a complicated story to explain for tourism leaders.

• Since Landry's National Guard request, convention leaders have come to New Orleans & Co. with renewed questions about safety, says president Walt Leger, but because those are longer-term relationships, they've been easier to smooth over without any cancellations.
• For casual travelers, like families or bachelorette parties, "that messaging is a little more complicated."

• "We have been trying to share our very positive message about the decline of crime here," Leger says. But "this does complicate that."

What we're watching: It'll take time to see what happens with visitor trends, Leger says, and it's not yet clear when — or if — the deployment will arrive in New Orleans.

• Louisiana National Guard leadership met with agency heads from NOPD, the Louisiana State Police in New Orleans last Friday "to conduct preliminary contingency planning to improve public safety," according to LNG public affairs director Lt. Col. Noel Collins.
• Additional meetings were planned, according to Collins, but all awaited an official go-ahead for deployment.

The bottom line: "Perception is reality," Leger says.

• "We haven't quite overcome the perception that we are becoming safer, even though the data shows very strongly that there's been a lot of improvement."