The New Orleans murder rate is still really high

I haven’t posted in a while, but I have continued to track murders in the city. As of June 15, we are up to at least 88 murders in New Orleans.

On June 9, the FBI released its Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report for 2007, which “is based on information that the FBI gathered from 12,032 law enforcement agencies that submitted six to 12 comparable months of data to the FBI for both 2006 and 2007.”

For reported murders in 2007, here are the ten cities with the most murders, followed by their counts:

Total Murders in 2007
1. New York, NY – 496
2. Chicago, IL – 443
3. Philadelphia, PA – 392
4. Los Angeles, CA – 390
5. Detroit, MI – 383
6. Houston, TX – 351
7. Baltimore, MD – 282
8. Phoenix, AZ – 213
9. New Orleans, LA – 209
10. Dallas, TX – 200

New Orleans isn’t #1 when it comes to total murders. We’re #9. That’s good news.

But I am sure you noticed that one of these cities is not like the others. Here are the same ten cities in order of their official 2007 populations:

1. New York, NY – 8,220,196
2. Los Angeles, CA – 3,870,487
3. Chicago, IL – 2,824,434
4. Houston, TX – 2,169,544
5. Phoenix, AZ – 1,541,698
6. Philadelphia, PA – 1,435,533
7. Dallas, TX – 1,239,104
8. Detroit, MI – 860,971
9. Baltimore, MD – 624,237
10. New Orleans, LA – 220,614

That population difference translates into an incredibly high murder rate (murders per 100,000 residents) for New Orleans when compared to the other cities. Here’s are the same ten cities is order of murder rates:

1. New Orleans, LA – 95
2. Baltimore, MD – 45
3. Detroit, MI – 44
4. Philadelphia, PA – 27
5. Houston, TX – 16
6. Dallas, TX – 16
7. Chicago, IL – 16
8. Phoenix, AZ – 14
9. Los Angeles, CA – 10
10. New York, NY – 6

Now, an important note: New Orleans officials dispute the US Census number for 2007. They say the US Census number is too low. One local estimate put the year end population of 2007 at 300,000.

Of course, in the case of a rapidly repopulating city, you can’t use December numbers for the entire year. The number I like to use for New Orleans’ 2007 population is 260,000, which is in the middle of the US Census estimate and the year end estimate. But even with the higher number of 260,000, New Orleans sits atop the murder rate list with a rate of 80 murders per 100,000 residents.

In fact, if you use the year end population of 300,000, New Orleans still is atop the above list with a murder rate of 70.

Another important note: the above list is not the top 10 murder rates in the country going by the FBI numbers. I am using the cities with the top 10 total murders and reordering them according to their murder rates. I do this because the total amount of murders is a concrete number, a “real” number. It doesn’t change when you factor in percentages. If 209 people are violently killed in your city, 209 people are dead whether you divide it by the total population or not.

Here are the cities with the top ten murder rates in 2007 (going by official US Census numbers):

1. New Orleans, LA – 95 (pop. 220,614)
2. Gary, IN – 73 (pop. 97,048)
3. Richmond, CA – 46 (pop. 102,471)
4. Baltimore, MD – 45 (pop. 624,237)
5. Detroit, MI – 44 (pop. 860,971)
6. St. Louis, MO – 40 (pop. 348,197)
7. Birmingham, AL – 38 (pop. 227,686)
8. Newark, NJ – 37 (pop. 280,158)
9. Baton Rouge – 31 (pop. 228,446)
10. Oakland, CA – 30 (pop. 396,541)

One more thing. If you use New Orleans' population before the storm of 454,000 with 2007’s murder count of 209, we get a murder rate of 46. That would have still put New Orleans tied with Richmond, CA, at #2 on the top 10 murder rate list.

My point: the murder rate is really high in New Orleans. It’s a problem, no matter what population numbers you use.

The FBI numbers I used can be found here.

Last Murder Victim of 2007

posted by m.d.


I hope.

Nearly five months after robbers opened fire on seven people in an eastern New Orleans home, fatally wounding three, a fourth victim has died, the Orleans Parish coroner's office said.

Kiengkay Chomsy, 42, of eastern New Orleans, died Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Canon Hospice, a day after he was transferred from University Hospital, chief coroner's investigator John Gagliano said. Chomsy died of complications from gunshot wounds to his head.

Another name on my list, which is now 207 murders in the city of New Orleans in 2007. I count murders that I can find reported on in the media. The NOPD’s official number was 209. I do not know if they will count this death as a 2007 or 2008 murder.

As for this year, we have 11 murders in the first 18 days. Once again, about a murder every other day. That rate has been fairly consistent, even with more people moving into the city. If the population growth is slowing down, that might be the rate per day we are stuck with.

Cliff’s Crib directed me to the field negro’s blog (that is the title of the blog – I feel like I need to point that out). On it, the field negro (once again, that’s the blogger’s name) is tracking media reports of murders in Philadelphia which he calls the “Killadelphia Murder Count.” When I visited yesterday, there were 11 homicides in “Killadelphia,” three of which were vehicular homicides.

Philadelphia has around 1.4 million people in it. I prefer the New Orleans estimate that's around 300,000 people.

I don’t expect the total of Philadelphia murders (not including vehicular homicides) to stay lower than New Orleans for long. Last year, the city had 392 murders.

But my first reaction was: “Wow. We have more murders than a place called Killadelphia. What does that make us?”

At a ceremony to reopen NOPD headquarters yesterday, Superintendent Warren Riley:

"We will reduce our violent crime by year's end," Riley said.

I wonder if he means total numbers or per capita. It makes a difference.

It’s Hard Not To Be Morose

posted by m.d.


Six days, five murders in New Orleans. All shot.

Also, two non-fatal shootings. One is not life threatening. One victim was in critical condition.

A year later, and we are still on our bloodied knees.

Once again, the murder rate is not a blip.

In decidedly less morose news, I can start eating king cakes again. As of last year, and with the demise of McKenzie’s, my favorite king cakes come from Hi-Do Bakery on Terry Parkway in beautiful downtown Terrytown.

And, yes, this post contained murders and king cakes in it.

Four Days into 2008, Two Murders

posted by m.d.


First murdered person this year, shot and then burned. He had “RIP” tattooed on his arm.

The second, shot near his home in Algiers.

The violence continues at the same rate as last year – a murder every other day.

New Orleans Post-Katrina Murder Rate

The higher murder rate post-Katrina is not a blip, nor is it made up of a series of blips. It has been consistent.

Looking at NOPD numbers for 2006 and my count for 2007, we can see this in the quarterly results:

2006 Jan – Jun: 17 murders
2006 Apr – Jun: 38
2006 Jul – Sep: 53
2006 Oct – Dec: 53*

2007 Jan – Mar: 48
2007 Apr – Jun: 50
2007 Jul – Sep: 53
2007 Oct – Dec: 55

The population of New Orleans was still recovering through the first half of 2006, so the number of murders were thankfully lower. In July, the U.S. Census had the city’s population at 223,000.

To calculate the murder rate, you take murders per 365 days. Then, divide the population by 100,000 (murders per 100,000 residents). Now, divide the murders-per-365-days by the population-divided-by-100,000.

There have been 367 murders in 730 days (2 years), which is equal to 183 murders in 365 days.

Using today’s estimated population of 300,000 – which is high for 2006 through the first months of 2007 – I get a murder rate of 61 murders per 100,000 residents in the City of New Orleans in the first two years after Katrina. Using higher population numbers makes the murder count lower. But there is nothing low about a murder rate of 61.

And from July 2006 to the end of 2007, the quarterly (3 months) number of murders stays consistently around the average of 51, even with more people moving into New Orleans. What that suggests to me is that the people moving here are not killing anyone.

I want to say it could mean law enforcement tactics are starting to work because the numbers of murders are not going up with the growing population. But the murder rate is too high to say that anything in the criminal justice system is “working.”

It does support law enforcers’ claim that a small group of the usual suspects are causing all the violent crime problems, as was made in August 2007:

There have been more than ten shootings in the last five days, five of them fatal – and NOPD Sergeant Joe Narcisse said past trends reveal the same suspects.

"We have a small group of individuals that are committing most of the crimes, they are responsible for a large portion of the actual crimes that happen here in our city."

If that is true, then we need to put most of our resources into the area where this small group of individuals operates – and I don’t mean more police.

I’m talking more recovery resources. I’m talking CDBG money. I’m talking new schools, new community centers, new housing, new roads, new businesses.

That's it.

***

*I count one more than the NOPD because they count the last murder in 2006 as a 2007 murder. And for 2007, the NOPD count is three higher (209) than mine (206). I have not found a media report for the three I don’t count. Possibly, the murder I count in 2006 is one of the three 2007 murders I don't have.

Who Was Murdered in 2007

posted by m.d.


They were mostly men.

Of the 206 New Orleans murders in 2007 that I could find reported on in the media, 188 were men, 16 were women. I could not identify two people’s gender. At least 91% of the people killed were men.

They were mostly under 30.

The average age of a person murdered was 28.

22.8% (47) were under 21 years old.
23.7% (49) were 21 – 25.
17.9% (37) were 26 – 30.

That makes 64.5% (133) of those murdered 30 years old or younger.

They were mostly shot.

194 were shot. 94% were killed by a bullet.

Race?

I don’t know. The media generally does not print the race of the murder victims. NOPD press releases gave the race at the beginning of the year, but quickly stopped. Of the few they printed, they were mostly black. Based on personal experience as a news photographer, my guess is that "mostly black" is accurate all the murders. But, I can not back that up with facts.

When I started as a freshman at Jesuit High School, I was 13 years old (I have a late birthday). I was 17 when I graduated. A lot of my friends were 18. So, high school age is from 13 to 18.

25 murder victims were 15 to 18 years old – high school age. That’s a classroom full of teenagers who died instead of graduating high school. 24 were young men.

Did they ever have a chance? I wonder if they sensed that they had lived half their lives or more when they turned nine. I am in my thirties and I expect to live another thirty.

Then again, to quote a recent commenter on a previous post: “Damn life really aint promised.”

The Parish Line

posted by m.d.


The NOPD says 209 people were murdered in New Orleans in 2007. I found 206 media reports of murders in 2007. For the rest of this post, I will use my numbers because I know where they came from.

In Jefferson Parish, the Sheriff’s Office reports 30 murders through September. In this December 28 T-P article, JPSO says there were 44 murders in unincorporated Jefferson Parish in 2007. I found 13 murders in October, November, and December on the JP Crime Tracker map. Add the Dec 28 murder, and that adds up to 44 in 2007.

Kenner PD says there were 9 murders or non-negligent manslaughters through October there. I can find 8 media reports or KPD press releases for murders in the same period. Since I am not sure if there was one non-negligent manslaughter, I will only count 8. I found one more media report of a murder in Kenner in November, which makes 9 total in 2007.

I know of two in Gretna. I believe there were none in the other JP cities.

That makes at least 55 murders in Jefferson Parish.

206 in New Orleans. 55 in Jefferson Parish. That’s a big difference.

Here’s a bigger difference. New Orleans has an estimated population of around 300,000. Jefferson Parish has about 445,000 people in it (98% of pre-Katrina).

206 murders with 300,000 people equals a murder rate of 68 murders per 100,000 people.

55 murders with 445,000 people equals a murder rate of 12 murders per 100,000 people.

That's a big difference.

The combined rate is better – 261 murders with 745,000 people equals a murder rate of 35 murders per 100,000 people. But, it masks the problems in the New Orleans if you combine them. Geographically, only a parish line divides New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. There should not be this big a difference.

Official numbers will come out later this year. There might be more murders in Jefferson Parish than I am counting, but not enough to catch up to New Orleans.

Graphing the murders in JP and NOLA by month using my numbers, the second half of the year stands out. When murders went down in New Orleans, they went up in JP, and vice versa.
I’ll have to think about what that means.

Goodbye, 2007

posted by m.d.


In 2007, there were at least 206 murders in New Orleans. That’s a murder every 1.7 days – basically, a murder every other day. In a city of 300,000 people, that is a murder rate of 68 murders per 100,000 residents.

On at least 147 days in 2007, a person – or more than one person – died a violent death on the streets of New Orleans.

We here about most of their deaths, but we don’t hear many of their names. Here are their names, or at least as many as I could find:

Corey Hayes
Cedric Johnson
Hilary Campbell Jr.
Randall Thomas
Kevin Williams
Helen Hill
Jealina Brown
Steve Blair
Jeffery Santos
Chivas Doyle
Christopher Ruth
Tyrone Andrew Johnson
Ronald Holmes
James McGittigan Jr.
Roy Warner Jr.
Eldon Gaddis
David Crater
Daniel Allen
Chrishondolaye Lamothe
Tamara Gabriel
Robert Dawson
Michael Dunbar
Damon Brooks
Ivan Brooks
Alden Wright
Harrison Miller
Roy Grant
David Cagnalatti
Lionel Ware III
Aaron Allen
Josh Rodrigue
Herbert Preston
Byron Love
Ronnie Keelen
Mitchell Pierce
Kevin Pham
Kevana Price
Warren Thompson
Glynn Francois Jr.
Sean Robinson
Larry Ramee III
Warren Simpson
Antoine Williams
Terry Despenza
Eldridge Ellis
Travis Johnson
Phillip R. Boykins
Charley Zeno
Carl Anthony McLendon
Terry Brock
Cleveland Daniels
Alexander Williams
Terry Hall
Dominic Bell
Gregory Singleton
Damont Jenkins
Troy Thomas
Artherine Williams
Keith Moore
Nicholas Smith
Eligio Bismark Espinoza
Daniel L. Prieto
Curtis Helms Jr.
Troy Dent
Curtis Brenson
Michael Combs
Jay Landers
Mark Oneal
Corey Coleman
Emanuel Gardner
Edward Charles Balser
Arthur Dowell
Montrell Faulkin
Anthony Placide
Ernest Williams
Harry Heinzt Jr.
Robert Billiot
Willie Simmons
Tammie Johnson
Larry Hawkins
Terrell Ceazer
George Hammond
Persale R. Green
Joseph Magee
Albert Phillips
Samuel Gonzales
Darryl Williams
Robin Malta
Jason Wynne
Jerrell Jackson
Christopher Roberts
Samuel Williams Jr.
Jeremy Tillman
Jennifer Williams
Gary Walls
Arthur Jackson IV
Henry Newman
Johnny Martin III
Travan Coates
Jeffery Tate
Jerome Banks
Eric Fobbs
Keith Page
Adrian Davis
Paul Burks
Leon Williams Jr.
Dallas Jerome
James Johnson
Anthony White
Dellshea LeBlanc
John W. Barrow III
Kevin Underwood
Pablo Mejia Jr.
unidentified man
Thomas Jackson
unidentified man
Demond Phillips
Michael Phillips
Luong Nguyen
Anjelique Vu
Terry Johnson
Chauncy Smith
Cornelius Curry
Nia Robertson
Kadeem Wise
Percy Read
Freddie Davis II
Edwin Stuart
Corwin Shaffer
Julio Benitez-Cruz
Wilford Holmes
Perry L. Oliver
Donald Gullage
Kong Kham Vongvilay
Wisan Inthamat
Boon Roopmoh
Louis Heim
Brandon Snowton
Carnell Wallis
Thomas Dominick
Larry Gooden
Gerald Howard
Larry Butler Jr.
Phillip A. Carmouche Jr.
unidentified man
Aaron Harvey
Mario Anthony Green
Jason Snyder
Perry Watts
Lionel J. Hills
Warren Martin
Dwayne Landry
Don Smith
Demetrius Gooden
Townsend Bennett
unidentified man
Thelonius Dukes
Gregory Hayes
Charles Miller
Eddie Bernard
unidentified man
Carmen Leona Reese
Cedrick Brooks
Waldon Howard
unidentified man
Antwon McGee
Jason Anderson
Archie Solet
Shana Thomas
Brian Lee
David Bryan Alford Jr.
Brett Jason Jacobs
Howard Pickens
Darryl Daggons
Matthew Qualls
Aubrey Powell
John Batiste
Toran Landry
Anthony Walker
Lester Denis
Cardero Davis
Javier Sanchez
Julian Mathins
Theodore J. Leach
Daniel Baham
Jubbar Scott
Tyrone Lanaux Jr.
Andre Toussaint
Eddie Spiller
Carlos Miller
Sheldon Dean
Rigoberto Dominguez
Angela Thomas Bryant
Brandon Brown
Jermaine Turner
Alejandro Pecina Ruiz
George Hankton III
Aaron Williams
Frank Whittington
unidentified person
Jesse Jones
Chanell Sanchell
James Jones
Wendell Millro
Elizabeth Chapman
Clayton Johnson Jr.

I write “at least” for my numbers because I am only counting murders I can find reported on in the media. I believe the NOPD official number is higher than mine at 209.

NOLA's 40+ Under 21

posted by m.d.


Not to take anything away from Gambit's 40under40 issue, but there is another 40 list I'd like to point out.

As of today, (at least) 41 people under the age of 21 have been murdered in the city of New Orleans in 2007.


View Larger Map

Just think about it. Instead of going to high school or college, they are dead. Nine in Central City alone.

And going by Greg Rigamer's new population estimates, New Orleans' murder rate for 2007 is 74 murders per 100,000 residents. 182 reported murders to date.

City of Souls

posted by m.d.


October was a deadly month. 31 days. 26 murders.

Nothing is changing.

One day into November, one murder.

As of November 1, 2007, 305 days into the year, 179 human beings have died a violent death on the streets of New Orleans. All but eight were shot. All but 13 were men. The average age of the murdered was 28. Almost two thirds were under 30.

If nothing changes – and nothing has – 2007 will end with 214 murders. That’s a murder every 1.4 days – almost a murder every day and a half. In a city of 300,000 people, this comes to a murder rate of 71 murders per 100,000 residents.

October:

Dwayne Landry, 25
Don Smith, 45
Demetrius Gooden, 33
Townsend Bennett, 23
unidentified man, 37
Gregory Hayes, 18
Charles Miller, 19
Eddie Bernard, 23
unidentified man
Carmen Leona Reese, 18
Cedrick Brooks, 32
Waldon Howard, 19
unidentified man
Antwon McGee, 22
Jason Anderson, 27
Archie Solet, 32
Shana Thomas, 23
Brian Lee, 16
David Bryan Alford Jr., 21
Brett Jason Jacobs, 25
Howard Pickens, 51
Darryl Daggons, 40
Matthew Qualls, 27
unidentified man
unidentified man
Toran Landry, 25
Anthony Walker, 28

More Boots on the Streets

Actually, the same amount of boots. They will just be out there longer, wearing out their soles a little more:

Starting this week, uniformed officers in most New Orleans police districts will be on duty 12 hours a day, five days a week.

The move to 60-hour workweeks, proposed last month by Police Superintendent Warren Riley, means more officers will be on the street to battle the city's seemingly intractable violent-crime problem. The mandatory overtime shifts, opposed by two of the city's largest police associations, are scheduled to end at the close of the year.

The overtime patrols will be in five districts only: 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th. These districts are the most violent districts. 136 murders out of the 151 murders in New Orleans this year (that I have counted going by media reports) occurred in these five districts.

Here’s the murder breakdown by district:

1st – 31 murders
2nd – 17 murders
3rd – 2 murders
4th – 13 murders
5th – 35 murders
6th – 27 murders
7th – 26 murders
8th – 0 murders

September had 13 murders by my count. That is the lowest number since February, which also had 13 murders (by my count). Interestingly, none of murders were in the 1st District, which has one of the highest totals for the year (31). There were six murders in August in the 1st District. I hope that is a sign of positive things to come.

At the end of the third quarter of 2007, I count 151 murders this year in the city of New Orleans. In a city with a population of 300,000, that comes to a murder rate of 67 murders per 100,000 residents. We are averaging a murder every 1.8 days, basically a murder every other day. We are on track for 201 murders by the end of the year. If nothing changes, 50 more human beings will die a violent death on the streets of New Orleans. Most of those who die will be black men under thirty, shot to death.

Even with two of the lowest monthly totals for the year, the third quarter still had more murders than the first or second quarters:

First Quarter – 48 murders
*Jan – 17
*Feb – 13
*Mar – 18

Second Quarter – 50 murders
*Apr – 15
*May – 15
*Jun – 20

Third Quarter – 53 murders
*Jul – 14
*Aug – 26
*Sep – 13

My numbers differ from the NOPD’s official numbers because the NOPD records a murder in the month that the victim dies. If a person is shot in February but dies in March, the NOPD records it as a March murder. I count it as a February murder.

Also, I count murders solely by media reports. If a murder has not been reported by the media, I don’t know about it. For example, the T-P article says there were 29 murders in August. I know one June victim died in August, so the NOPD would count that as an August murder. However, I can not find media reports on the other two murders. I can not count them if I have no evidence to cite.

Therefore, my count should be considered the lowest count possible. There are “at least” 151 murders in New Orleans this year. Unfortunately, there might be more that I don’t know about.

When We Go Marching In

Tens of thousands of people marched in Jena Thursday to shine a light on the injustice done to six young men excessively charged, some charged with murder, for beating up a fellow student. Living in an environment that allowed a white-only tree, that called hanging nooses in that tree a prank, that allowed the DA to intimidate students and discourage them from speaking out about those nooses and that tree, that allowed white students to batter and threaten black students – possibly with a weapon – and not be similarly charged, the Jena Six deserved the attention of the marchers.

Countrymen and women, meet another group that deserves your attention. Meet the NOLA 148 and growing:

Corey Hayes, Cedric Johnson, Hilary Campbell Jr., Randall Thomas, Kevin Williams, Helen Hill, Jealina Brown, Steve Blair, Jeffery Santos, Chivas Doyle, Christopher Ruth, Tyrone Andrew Johnson, Ronald Holmes, James McGittigan Jr., Roy Warner Jr., Eldon Gaddis, David Crater, Daniel Allen, Chrishondolaye Lamothe, Tamara Gabriel, Robert Dawson, Michael Dunbar, Damon Brooks, Ivan Brooks, Alden Wright, Harrison Miller, Roy Grant, David Cagnalatti, Lionel Ware III, Aaron Allen, Josh Rodrigue, Herbert Preston, Byron Love, Ronnie Keelen, Mitchell Pierce, Kevin Pham, Kevana Price, Warren Thompson, Glynn Francois Jr., Sean Robinson, Larry Ramee III, Warren Simpson, Antoine Williams, Terry Despenza, Eldridge Ellis, Travis Johnson, Phillip R. Boykins, Charley Zeno, Carl Anthony McLendon, Terry Brock, Cleveland Daniels, Alexander Williams, Terry Hall, Dominic Bell, Gregory Singleton, Damont Jenkins, Troy Thomas, Artherine Williams, Keith Moore, Nicholas Smith, Eligio Bismark Espinoza, Daniel L. Prieto, Curtis Helms Jr., Troy Dent, Curtis Brenson, Michael Combs, Jay Landers, Mark Oneal, Corey Coleman, Emanuel Gardner, Edward Charles Balser, Arthur Dowell, Montrell Faulkin, Anthony Placide, Ernest Williams, Harry Heinzt Jr., Robert Billiot, Willie Simmons, Tammie Johnson, Larry Hawkins, Terrell Ceazer, George Hammond, Persale R. Green, Joseph Magee, Albert Phillips, Samuel Gonzales, Darryl Williams, Robin Malta, Jason Wynne, Jerrell Jackson, Christopher Roberts, Samuel Williams Jr., Jeremy Tillman, Jennifer Williams, Gary Walls, Arthur Jackson IV, Henry Newman, Johnny Martin III, Travan Coates, Jeffery Tate, Jerome Banks, Eric Fobbs, Keith Page, Adrian Davis, Paul Burks, Leon Williams Jr., Dallas Jerome, James Johnson, Anthony White, Dellshea LeBlanc, John W. Barrow III, Kevin Underwood, Pablo Mejia Jr., unidentified man, Thomas Jackson, unidentified man, Demond Phillips, Michael Phillips, Luong Nguyen, Anjelique Vu, Terry Johnson, Chauncy Smith, Cornelius Curry, Nia Robertson, Kadeem Wise, Percy Read, Freddie Davis II, Edwin Stuart, Corwin Shaffer, Julio Benitez-Cruz, Wilford Holmes, Perry L. Oliver, Donald Gullage, Kong Kham Vongvilay, Wisan Inthamat, Boon Roopmoh, Louis Heim, Brandon Snowton, Carnell Wallis, Thomas Dominick, Larry Gooden, Gerald Howard, Larry Butler Jr., Phillip A. Carmouche Jr., unidentified man, Aaron Harvey, Mario Anthony Green, unidentified man…

All of these people died a violent death in New Orleans this year. I count 148. The Times-Picayune says at least 150 people have been murdered.

I wanted to make the point that this, too, is an injustice. And that it disproportionately affects the African-American community.

But I couldn’t find the numbers to back that up, even though I am confident that by far the majority of those murdered in New Orleans are African-American, based on where the murders happen and my personal experience as a news photographer and seeing the murdered human beings myself. I get my information for this blog from media accounts, and the media does not think it is politically correct to reveal the race of the victim. Obviously, I disagree with this because I think race is part of the story.

The NOPD started off the year including the race of the victim in their press releases. But they stopped. It went from "This morning, members of the New Orleans Police Department are investigating the murder of a local 40-year-old African-American male" to "This morning, members of the New Orleans Police Department are investigating the shooting death of a 33-year-old local male."

I do know, of the NOLA 148, 140 were killed by a gun or guns. 135 were men. 97 were 30 years old or younger. 33 of those were 20 years old or younger.

148 murders 264 days into the year – a murder every 1.7 days, or basically a murder every other day. At that rate, we will end the year with 204 murders. If nothing changes, 56 more human beings will die a violent death on the streets of New Orleans. In a city with a population of 300,000, that comes to a murder rate of 68 murders per 100,000 residents.

That’s too many. It’s too much.

It’s worthy of a march.

Bring down your buses. Bring down your people. Bring down your t-shirts, your celebrities, your bottle water. Bring down your feet and wear comfortable shoes.

And join the people in the 9th Ward, the 7th Ward and Mid-City. Join the people in Gentilly, the East, and Hollygrove. Join the people Uptown, Downtown, and all around town.

From Central City to Carrollton, let us march on City Hall. From the French Quarter to the Bywater, let us march on Tulane and Broad. From the Marigny to Lakeview, let us march where we need to be seen, be heard, and be felt.

Maybe the Mayor will show up for this march, too.

This isn’t a city of 3,000. We are 300,000 strong. We are black. We are white. We speak English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and every other language you would expect to hear at a port. Including pirate.

If Jesse and Al come down with their crew, they might be surprised to see more of us here than them.

Even the Saints can come. Heck, let’s do it Monday night before the game. Monday Night Foot-All live from New Orleans. Are you ready for some marching?

Are you?

August’s Murders

I have been busy lately with a new job. Since I focus a lot on crime and murders with this blog, I can’t let August pass without comment.

August was the deadliest month in New Orleans this year with 26 murders.



What stands out looking at the map is the ten murders in New Orleans East, six of them in the Village de l’Est neighborhood, five on the same street. Of those, at least five were home invasions or robberies, possibly seven:

On Aug. 4, Pablo Mejia Jr., 29, was fatally shot while working at a house in the 5200 block of Sandhurst Drive. In that case, three gunmen approached the house and demanded money from Mejia and a co-worker.

Julio Benitez-Cruz, 42, of El Salvador, was killed on Aug. 22 inside a house in the 4800 block of Nighthart Street. Robbers invaded the home and shot Benitez-Cruz and two other men.

Seven people were shot -- three fatally -- in a robbery on Aug. 24 in the 4800 block of Savoie Court. On the same cul-de-sac two weeks before, a gunman fatally shot Anjelique Vu, 35, and Luong Nguyen, 38. Police have declined to say whether that double murder was a robbery attempt.

At one point in August, there were 25 murders in 25 days – 26 in 25 days if you count the August 24 victim who died in September, which I do.

There were those murders that some may have seen coming, and those that no one could have seen coming.

Three people shot, two died after a basketball game in Treme.

A 15-year-old shot on his porch. A 48-year-old shot in one of the home invasions.

Five people killed were under 20 years old.

I just want people to remember what our leaders were saying at the beginning of August:

MAYOR NAGIN: I know one murder is way too many. We are going to continue to try to bring this city to a zero point. But, just to give you an indication of the trends, this past July – which July historically has been our most violent month as relates to crime – this past July, we recorded 14 murders. Four of those murders were carryovers from somebody being shot in a previous month. Compare that to one year earlier, and there were 23 murders.

So, as you can see, we are starting to see some trends. And we’re not happy with it. But we’re starting to see some trends that suggest things that we put in place are starting to have some impact.

CHIEF RILEY: “And one thing that we have made some progress in, but we still certainly have a long way to go, is that you will see that our murder rate has dropped by 8.75%.”

At the beginning of August, they thought we were seeing some trends and making some progress.

I am running out of things to say. I keep writing the same thing about murders over and over again. There are just too many. Too many. Two more in September. 140 in 2007.

My brain fails me and my keyboard won’t write for me…

Personifying New Orleans

I have often personified New Orleans when speaking about her. She has been many people to me at different times, but mostly a family member whom I love and feel an intense duty to protect and fight for.

I have never thought of her as a murderer:

It has been almost eight months now since the early morning silence of the Marigny district was broken by the sound of gunfire from inside Helen Hill's tidy white house on North Rampart Street.

Eight long, frustrating months since the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker was killed by a bullet wound to the neck. No clues, no arrests and no closure for family members desperate for answers.

Still grieving, Hill's stepfather has come to his own painful conclusions.

"I felt right away that New Orleans killed Helen," says Kevin Lewis. "In my bad moods - my worst moods - I don't care if New Orleans gets flooded out again and is just plowed over." Lewis says he knows "in the long run" he can't hold the city itself culpable in the death of his daughter, but his assessment holds more than a kernel of truth.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina brought this historic city to its knees, murder is coming to define New Orleans's personality as much as jazz funerals, Mardi Gras parades and French Quarter debauchery.

The title of the article is “Did New Orleans kill Helen?”

At the risk of causing more hysteria over crime and therefore eclipsing the hysteria over more important issues, I just want to point out that there have been 25 murders in the last 25 days in the city of New Orleans, from August 4 to August 28. August has been the deadliest month in 2007 with its 25 murders, making 137 murders for the year.

Violent crime affects the recovery on a very personal level:

Dear New Orleans: I’m Leaving You

***

They don't understand that I'm in love. I talk to friends about New Orleans like a dysfunctional romance. I gush over it one day, then call up bawling and heartbroken the next. Why can't it change? Stop being self-destructive and violent? It has so much potential.

Recently, my blinders started to come off. It was building for awhile. My friend Helen Hill was murdered in her home;other friends have been mugged. We don't go out much any more...

But then there was this hot Friday night last month. I went on the perfect date with New Orleans . Saw live, local music, danced with friends on the stage, then headed home through my neighborhood of craftsman cottages and angel trumpet trees.

A block from my door, I was attacked from behind by a stranger. I escaped, with the help of my roommate. The case is moving forward, so I can't say much more than that.

Now I'm a jilted lover of the city. I'm angry and confused. Which is the real New Orleans? The one that's violent and desperate? Or the one that coos softly, and caresses me? The answer, of course, is both.

I just hauled my things out of New Orleans in a big truck. I am still in love with the city, but it's hard to trust it. Maybe we'll both heal, and the relationship will rekindle. I don't know what - or how long - that might take.

I wish that person would stay. I wish that her city loved her back. I wish that this were an isolated experience.

Once again, 25 murders in 25 days.

When do we march?

19 Murders in 19 Days

Three more murders yesterday, two men shot and one victim died who had been shot on Friday.

Starting from the first murder in the month of August 4 to the most recent one yesterday August 22, there have been 19 murders in the city of New Orleans in 19 days.

That’s Our Brother

Four more murders. Three yesterday, and one man shot in June died Saturday.

Heartbreaking vignette from the recent Times-Picayune article:

Schaffer lay on a stretcher with his arms folded, shirtless and wearing jeans and construction boots. Nearby, a huddle of bereaved family members wept and cried out in anger. A shoeless boy of single-digit age stared at the body on the stretcher. "That's my brother," he repeated over and over. He did not cry.

Yes, his brother was just released on parole for a narcotics charge. But, the child did not see a “bad guy” when he looked at the body on the stretcher. He saw his brother.

A murder is hard to prevent, unless you know it is going to happen. I can safely assume by the murder rate that NOPD officers are not psychic and do not know when and where murders will happen. So, how do you effectively prevent them?

One way is to look at every person as a potential murderer and act accordingly – more “boots on the street,” more cameras on the streets, more guns, more traffic checkpoints, a cop on every corner.

Or, you can look at every person as your brother or sister. Think, “What do I want my brother and sister to have?” and make sure every person has those things, be it food, education, health, opportunity, hope, etc.

The solution to our violent crime problem is not a law enforcement solution. We have plenty of laws and enough enforcers. As much as I want the criminal justice system to function after a crime is committed, I would much rather the crime never happen in the first place.

Sure, a functional criminal justice system is a deterrent. But, is there a better deterrent than not having a reason to commit a crime?

This goes back to valuing every life as equal.

Once again, my goal:

NOLA will have the lowest per capita murder rate in the United States for cities with populations between 250,000 and 300,000.

And some solutions:

Better and more effective policing strategies (problem-oriented policing), a city which provides functioning social and municipal services (health care, education, electricity, water, maintained streets, flood drainage, doesn't wrongly demolish your house), and a community that values every life as equal from birth to death.

We can do it. It will take a “no excuses” attitude and a lot of work. And it starts with us, which is why I am digging Rising Tide 2.

Another Murder Early This Morning

What's the excuse for this one?

It happened not long after midnight in the 1000 block of North Salcedo Street. Officers found the body of an unidentified man lying in the street.

Police said he’d been shot in the chest and died on the scene.

I think this is right around the corner from Pal's bar.

I am no expert in criminology. I am not posting about murders all the time because I like it. I am also not posting about murders to point out the negative.

That's not my goal.

Mayor Nagin said at a recent crime meeting:

Most intelligent people out in our community are looking for that balance. Some folk is just negative and that’s just the way they going to be. And there’s nothing we can do about that. But for the majority of our citizens, it’s incumbent upon us to give you the truth and to give you the facts so you can really understand what’s going on.

And to my friends who keep trying to portray the city in its worst light: Stop. Even when they talk about murders and violent crimes, they link it up to other parishes around this area to make it seem like New Orleans is totally out of control.

I hope that I am not one of the negative folk. I am trying to be a member of the positive folk. I want "to give you the truth and to give you the facts so you can really understand what’s going on."

And murders are going on.

The NOPD, the city, the state, the federal government, and the community are doing what they can to stop the murders.

But they are still going on. That's all I want to point out.

17 days into August, 13 murders. 229 days into the year, 124 murders. A murder every 1.8 days, about a murder every other day. At this rate, 73 more people will die a violent death this year.

That's too much. Right?

12 Days, 12 Murders

From August 4, 2007, to yesterday.

Pablo Mejia Jr., August 4
A man in the Iberville projects, August 5
Thomas Jackson, August 6
A man in New Orleans East, August 7
The Philips brothers, August 8
Luong Nguyen and Anjelique Vu, August 11
Two men in Treme, August 13
Cornelius Curry, August 14
Nia Robertson, last night

Are you mad, yet? I am.

Today, the NOPD released the official 2007 2nd Quarter statistics to the media. The 2007 1st Quarter statistics popped up on their website at the beginning of the week.

The official analysis:

Looking at just the numbers, violent crime is up 49%, non-violent crime is up 23% and total crimes are up 13%.

If you look at the crime rate as a percent of the population, violent crime is still up by 12%, non-violent crime is down 11% and total crimes are down 8%.

Determining the rate is a function of dividing by the population. So, a bigger population lowers all the raw data. The population the NOPD used was 294,000.

The article cited above states: “There were 48 murders in the city from April to June. That number is up 26% over the same time period last year.”

I count 49, and I have links to all of the news stories done on them. Rather than post them here, you can count for yourself on the Times-Picayune 2007 Murders blog which corresponds to my numbers. I want to double check the NOPD’s number, but the 2nd quarter stats are not on their website as of this post.

[UPDATE: Arthur Jackson was shot on the last day of June and died the first day of July. The NOPD might count that murder in the next quarter.]

Katrina devastated the city. And everyone in the criminal justice system can point to all the ways Katrina made their jobs harder.

Criminologist Peter Scharf addresses this:

"The hurricane theories, morphing of drug groups, or that the NOPD is in a trailer, really don't make sense," Scharf said. "You look at the leadership in this city to the leadership in cities that have been reasonably successful, and it's night and day."

It’s two years later. No more excuses. And we should champion that person who stands up and gives none. When that person stands up…

And *we* need to stand up to. When’s the next march? It was 5,000 strong then, and there is all the more reason to march today. Make that yesterday.

We are 123 murders into this year. Will we keep making excuses? What will be the excuse for the next murder? The one after that?

Here’s my goal:

NOLA will have the lowest per capita murder rate in the United States for cities with populations between 250,000 and 300,000.

How do we get there? Think about that.

It’s not: “What can we do?” It’s: “What will we do?”

New NOPD Official Crime Statistics

On their website.

They released the official stats for the first quarter of 2007 (Jan-Mar). Then they compare those stats to the first quarter of 2006 with an asterisk:

The population in the City of New Orleans was significantly reduced during the first quarter of 2006 as compared to the population of the City during the first quarter of 2007.

I don’t think the comparison with the same time period last year is important. But they are useful for watching trends.

The NOPD murder totals are the same as mine, except they count one less in February and one more in March. Aaron Allen was shot on February 27, but died later in March.

At the Crime Prevention Roundtable II, Chief Riley told the audience the statistics would be released this week and added:

“And one thing that we have made some progress in, but we still certainly have a long way to go, is that you will see that our murder rate has dropped by 8.75%.”

I am not sure what his comparison is to say that.

What I do know is that August has been a violent month. Today is 15 days into August, and we have had 11 murders this month. In fact, we have had 11 murders in the last 11 days.

We certainly do have a long way to go.

Mayor Nagin told that same audience at the Crime Prevention Roundtable II:

I know one murder is way too many. We are going to continue to try to bring this city to a zero point. But, just to give you an indication of the trends, this past July – which July historically has been our most violent month as relates to crime – this past July, we recorded 14 murders. Four of those murders were carryovers from somebody being shot in a previous month. Compare that to one year earlier, and there were 23 murders.

So, as you can see, we are starting to see some trends. And we’re not happy with it. But we’re starting to see some trends that suggest things that we put in place are starting to have some impact.

Well, that was July. The month before, June, had 19 murders by my count, the highest of any month this year. And now we have August.

Here are the murder trends by quarter:

2006 3rd Quarter (Jul-Sep): 53

2006 4th Quarter (Oct-Dec): 52

2007 1st Quarter: 48
-January: 17
-February: 13
-March: 18

2007 2nd Quarter: 49
-April: 15
-May: 15
-June: 19

2007 3rd Quarter (Jul-Aug 15): 25
-July: 14
-August: 11

The 2006 stats are NOPD. The 2007 stats are mine.

We have had an average of 50.5 murders per full quarter since Jul 2006. As the population rises, the murder totals are staying the same. That is good in the sense that the murder rate goes down.

But, we are hovering around 50 murders per quarter (three months) and we have steadily averaged a murder every other day, even with more people moving back.

One possible explanation is that the new population is moving into the safer areas. That would mean the crime hot spots are just as dangerous as they have always been. If that were true, then our murder totals will stay around these numbers, even though our murder rate will go down.

Also, we now know where murders happen and where they don’t. This would support the assertion that the safer areas are remaining safe, as it regards to murder, as the crime hot spots are staying hot.

Solutions? Better and more effective policing strategies (problem-oriented policing), a city which provides functioning social and municipal services (health care, education, electricity, water, maintained streets, flood drainage, doesn't wrongly demolish your house), and a community that values every life as equal from birth to death.

Simple as that.

Lives Gone, Lives Valued

Staying positive isn’t easy:

There were moments when the tears would stop just long enough for Mejia to see clearly what had happened to her life. Her arms rested across her round belly -- her first child, Mariana, is due this month. The body of her husband, Pablo Mejia Jr., lay in a casket an arm's length away from where she sat in the funeral parlor on Wednesday, the bullet wound in his forehead patched over in a way that the family's grief can never be.

A handmade rosary of yellow roses from an aunt, notes from friends and family, and a drawing from a 10-year-old godchild had been tucked into the coffin of a young man who had been actively pursuing the rebuilding of New Orleans. He was the third generation of a Hispanic family in New Orleans. The birth of his daughter would begin the fourth generation of family with roots in the city and a determination to stay and contribute to its rebirth.

Mejia was working on his house, with a friend, at 2 p.m. in the afternoon. Three gunmen robbed them, then shot Mejia, in his home, as he was rebuilding, in the daytime.

Further east in New Orleans East, a man and woman were shot yesterday morning:

Nguyen and Vu, who lived together at the Savoie Court address, owned three companies including a real estate firm, LA Properties of Slidell LLC, formed in May 2004. The company had purchased several properties in the Castle Manor neighborhood of eastern New Orleans.

Not only is violent crime killing our recovery as a metaphor, it is actually killing those who are staying to rebuild.

I am trying to stay positive. Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to say something positive about everything, or find something positive in everything. There is nothing positive in these stories.

The positive goal I would like to set for myself and the media: Treat every murder as the murder of a human being; treat every human being as equal; therefore, treat every murder as equal.

By the media account, Pablo Mejia was a good man. His family and friends know this. And, from what I read in the article, our community has gained from his presence, and will lose something in his absence.

But we lose something in every violent death. And we need to recognize this. Every murder in the city of New Orleans should be treated equally. Every murder should have an above-the-fold picture on the front page of the Living section of the Times-Picayune, with the story continued on a full page inside.

Part of the reason why we have as many murders as we have is we don’t value every human being’s life as equal in our city.

Let’s take Central City as an example.

Standing in the 2500 block of 3rd Street, in the middle of Central City, you are surrounded by violent death. Walk less than a mile (0.7 miles) in every direction from that point, and you encounter the scenes of 20 murders in 2007 (see the image below).


After a brief internet search, I found no two-page Living section articles about the people murdered inside that circle of violent death. Please, let me know if I am wrong.

If you think that they do not deserve a two-page Living section article revealing who they were beyond simply how they died, then how about at least a one-page article? How about a blurb other than “An unidentified man was shot to death…” or “The Orleans Parish coroner's office has released the identity of a man who was shot to death…” or an article that may as well be titled “A bad man gone,” listing all the times the murdered was shot or arrested or both?

Indeed, the bad is part of the story just as the good is part of the story. But the “bad guys” weren’t always bad. You are not born bad. You are taught bad.

We need to value every life as equal.

If we don’t, then we don’t value a child enough to make sure he or she is *not* living a home life that isn’t much better than a homeless life.

If we don’t, then we don’t value a child enough to make sure he or she does *not* go to a school where no learning occurs.

If we don’t, then we don’t value a child enough to make sure he or she receives preventative health care and enough (and nutritious enough) food to stay healthy.

If we don’t value every life as equal, then we don’t value a child enough to make sure he or she does not choose the street over the community and then dies a violent death.

That is how you teach bad, by not valuing every life as equal.

I have added a Goal for New Orleans in my sidebar that reads:

NOLA will have the lowest per capita murder rate in the United States for cities with populations between 250,000 and 300,000.

If we value every life as equal, we will achieve that goal.

If we had valued every life as equal, we would be there already.

As a goal for myself, I will become active in Care Forgot, an idea communicated to me by Ray and Alan Gutierrez. The idea is to remember every life lost to violent murder in New Orleans equally - a truly positive goal.

Mayor Nagin Has Taken the Positive Pledge, Too

As I make an effort to be positive, I want to surround myself with people also trying to stay positive. I attended the Crime Prevention Roundtable (pdf) at Gallier Hall today, and I am glad to see that Mayor Nagin also wants to stay positive:

The media keeps beating on everything that happens that’s wrong. If we have a sensational event as it relates to criminal activity, that’s all you here about over and over and over again. And it’s rare that we have any balance to this. So this is our opportunity for us to provide some balance.

Most intelligent people out in our community are looking for that balance. Some folk is just negative and that’s just the way they going to be. And there’s nothing we can do about that. But for the majority of our citizens, it’s incumbent upon us to give you the truth and to give you the facts so you can really understand what’s going on.

And to my friends who keep trying to portray the city in its worst light: Stop. Even when they talk about murders and violent crimes, they link it up to other parishes around this area to make it seem like New Orleans is totally out of control.

Why are you doing that? I don’t know. But it would be nice if you would stop.

That’s my transcript and my emphasis.

Nagin also provided an accountability moment that BSJD or any other blogger might want to fact check when he commented:

So many of the initiatives that we talked about many months ago, six, twelve months ago, we have put in place. If you go back and check the record, just about everything we told the public we would do, we’re either doing or have done. And it’s starting to make some impact in our city.

He was, of course, referring to crime initiatives, of which here are the highlights:

Increased pay for police.
A record breaking 71 recruits in the latest class.
New police cars.
“Crime cameras up in most areas of the city.”
In-car cameras.
“…latest and greatest in technology to the NOPD.”
$7 million from state to NOPD.
Crime walks.
Increased checkpoints.
Federal partnerships.
Focus on kids, like the Cops for Kids Program.

I am not sure where the crime cameras stand. I am also not sure if they are “up in most areas of the city.” That’s one for Dambala.


Mayor Nagin also took the positive route on population figures, which is nothing new:

We as a community have to unite. We are 300,000 strong in this recovery and the numbers are growing everyday.

The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center estimated the New Orleans population at 300,000 using mail delivery numbers. But Greg Rigamer set the population at 274,000. Nagin has said in the past that Rigamer’s number does not include migrant workers.

Nagin also shed some light on maybe why he’s only “somewhat” worried about the New Orleans brand when it comes to the murder rate:

I know one murder is way too many. We are going to continue to try to bring this city to a zero point. But, just to give you an indication of the trends, this past July – which July historically has been our most violent month as relates to crime – this past July, we recorded 14 murders. Four of those murders were carryovers from somebody being shot in a previous month. Compare that to one year earlier, and there were 23 murders.

So, as you can see, we are starting to see some trends. And we’re not happy with it. But we’re starting to see some trends that suggest things that we put in place are starting to have some impact.

July had the second lowest number of murders of any month this year. February saw 13 murders by my count, but had three less days than July. So, yes, that is positive.

One month earlier in June, however, there were 19 murders by my count, the most of any month. And we are averaging a murder every other day for 2007 even with the lower total in July.

The fact that the population is going up but more people are not being murdered is a good thing. That could mean that our violent crime prevention initiatives are working. Or it could mean that the new population isn’t moving to areas where they might be killed.

I heard a lot of good things at the Crime Prevention Roundtable. If I have time, I will post more transcripts and good things.

And heed the Mayor’s words. Stop the negativity!