What is crime like in New Orleans, and will it get better?

College Chap: What is crime like in New Orleans, and will it get better?
I’ve heard that crime in New Orleans is absolutely terrible, and that’s the main reason my family wouldn’t want to move there if they had an opportunity to. Will the crime get better? Also, my family has said that they wouldn’t want to move to New Orleans because of the aftermath and effects of Katrina. Is it still that bad?

Answers and Views:

Answer by NOLA guy
New Orleans has a high murder rate because drug dealers are killing each other and the still-reduced population caused the rate to skyrocket (rate = population divided by crimes). However, other crime is at or below the average for cities. Use basic common sense + stay away from people who buy/sell/use crack cocaine and your chances of being the victim of anything worse than a parking ticket or hangover are very low.

The city and metro area are still recovering from Katrina, and the process will take more years. Realize that Katrina was the worst natural disaster in US history and turned 90,000 square miles (an area larger than the UK) into a rubbish heap overnight. Fortunately, the historic parts of the city were all built on high ground and didn’t flood. There has also been huge progress in the past 4 years and most of the metro area now looks like Katrina never happened.

There was a fear the “soul” of the city had been destroyed by Katrina, but that has not been the case.

In practical terms, the city & metro area are operating normally. Utilities like electricity/water/phone and city services like police/fire/ems/sanitation were all problematic in 2005-2006 but are back to normal. The area’s entertainment/tourism industry has also recovered.