NOLA Homicides Up in 2020

New Orleans saw 196 people killed in homicides in 2020, according to New Orleans Police Department and Orleans Parish Coroner’s data. That is a 63% increase from the 120 homicides last year. It is also the highest number since 2011 when 199 people were killed. New Orleans’ increase is dramatically different from the national average, which is somewhere around 20%. Some factors that could explain the increase in homicides in New Orleans this year include the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, as well as recent strategy shifts for the NOPD away from proactive policing.