Homicide trends in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1999–2006

In 2006, New Orleans had the highest homicide rate in the United States, at 85 homicides/100,000 persons, 15 times the national average of 5.7/100,000. In response to concerns that homicides and gang-related youth violence increased after Hurricane Katrina, we assessed homicide trends for 1999–2006. We used New Orleans' vital statistics and Uniform Crime Supplemental Homicide Report data for 1999–2006 to calculate the homicide rate per 100,000 population and the proportion of all deaths attributable to homicides. July 1 census estimates served as the denominator for all years except 2005, where a time-weighted estimate was used to account for hurricane-related population change. We used chi-square and regression analysis to assess temporal trends in homicides by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. The homicide rate in New Orleans has increased linearly since 1999 (P=0.01). The proportion of deaths classified as homicides increased from 2.9% in 1999 to 8.6% in 2006 (P<0.0001). During 1999–2006, no significant changes in demographic characteristics of victims occurred: 90% were male (P=0.32) and 89% were black (P=0.56). Mean age for victims and offenders was 29.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 28.9–30.0) and 30.5 (95% CI, 29.1–31.9), respectively. In 2007, New Orleans again had the highest homicide rate in the United States. Although we expected homicides to occur predominantly among adolescents, the older mean age for victims and offenders presents a challenge to traditional intervention approaches, which primarily target youth. We are working with state and community partners to develop age-specific strategies to reduce violent crime.