By: Gabby Killett | fox8live.com | July 28, 2026
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Violent crime in New Orleans has dropped 70% since 2022, according to a Metropolitan Crime Commission report.
The report details violent crime reduction in New Orleans police districts covering the 9th Ward and New Orleans East as major contributors to the citywide decline.
The commission recently released a report breaking down violent crime data for the first six months of each year from 2022 through 2026. As of June 30, New Orleans recorded 247 violent crime incidents, compared to 816 at the same point in 2022.
Metropolitan Crime Commission Vice President Michelle Foster said the improvement is concentrated in the city’s 5th district, which includes the 9th Ward, and the 7th district, which includes New Orleans East.
“Those districts are what are helping drive the citywide reduction because they are experiencing the largest reductions,” Foster said.
Foster attributed the improvements to New Orleans Police Department partnerships, lower response times and proactive policing.
“The police department, it shows…that they’ve prioritized handling violent crime, as well as using technology,” Foster said.
New Orleans East community leader Anthony Jackson said the change is noticeable on the ground.
“It’s a feeling of safety and protection when you’re leaving out to go to work and when you’re heading home and you see your local policemen in your district making patrols and being vigilant,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he believes residents in New Orleans East are also becoming more willing to engage with law enforcement.
“They’re starting to have more trust in the police by reporting more activity in different communities,” Jackson said.
From here, to further drive down crime, Foster said she hopes the NOPD can implement a department-wide drone-as-first-responder program, which she says would allow police to cut response times further by sending drones to crime scenes.