Department of International Health and Development Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2200 New Orleans, LA 70112 ph. 504-988-3655 | fax 504-988-3653
www.sph.tulane.edu/~inhl MurderMurder rates in New Orleans, 2000-2008 Mark J. VanLandingham, Ph.D. Peter Scharf, Ed.D. Version: January 1, 2009
Most criminologists emphasize social structural factors. High poverty, poor education, easy availability of drugs and guns, fatherless households, and high unemployment all conspire to concentrate violent crime into the neighborhoods least equipped to combat it. While aging population structure has served to lower crime rates nationally, this “demographic dividend” with respect to violent crime has unfortunately not eased homicide rates in New Orleans.
-Thought it would help shed light on the topic