Crime in Louisiana

This article refers to crime in the U.S. state of Louisiana.

Statistics

According to the Louisiana Uniform Crime reporting program, there were 193,902 crimes reported in Louisiana in 2012. All categories of crime decreased in 2012 from 2011, except for robbery, which saw a 4.6% increase. Louisiana's overall crime rate, at 4,037.5, ranked fourth among U.S. states in 2012. Among the ten largest cities in Louisiana, the town of Alexandria had the highest crime rate at 9,174.6 crimes per 100,000 people.

Property crimes represented 88% of all reported criminal acts in 2012. There were 162,936 property crimes committed in Louisiana that year. Property crimes include burglary, larceny/theft and motor vehicle theft. The rate for property crimes in 2012 stood at 3,540.6 which was a 3.9% decrease from 2011. Police reported 15,740 aggravated assaults for a rate of 342.0. This marked a 14.8% drop in the aggravated assault rate from 2011; the largest decrease of all crimes. Louisiana ranked eighth in the aggravated assault rate among U.S. states in 2012. In addition, 1,158 incidents of forcible rape were recorded by police in 2012 for a rate of 25.2. The forcible rape rate decreased 8.8% from 2011. Louisiana ranked 37th in the rate of forcible rape among U.S. states in 2012. Despite a 2.8% decrease in its murder rate for 2012, Louisiana had the highest murder rate among U.S. states at 10.8 homicides per 100,000 people. The total number of homicides perpetrated in Louisiana in 2012 were 495, a decrease of 11 murders from 2011. Firearms accounted for 370 murders or 81% of all homicides. With 193 homicides, New Orleans had the highest total number of murders for any city in Louisiana. Two police officers were murdered in the line of duty in 2012.[1]

Louisiana had the highest incarceration rate (847.1 per 100,000) among U.S. states in 2013 for the 16th consecutive year. In 2012, Louisiana's prison population stood at 41,248, a 3.9% increase from 2011, for an incarceration rate of 893 prisoners per 100,000 people.[2]

Homicide statistics

Louisiana experienced the highest per capita murder rate (11.7 per 100,000) among all U.S. states in 2019 for the 31st consecutive year (1989–2019), according to The 2019 FBI Uniform Crime Report.[3] Louisiana averaged 13.7 murders per 100,000, compared to the U.S. average of 6.6 murders per 100,000 from 1989- 2014.

Louisiana murder rates per 100,000 [4] [5]
Year	Murder rate	Year	Murder rate
1989	14.9	2001	11.2
1990	17.2	2002	13.2
1991	16.9	2003	13.0
1992	17.4	2004	12.7
1993	20.3	2005	10.0
1994	19.8	2006	13.1
1995	17.0	2007	14.7
1996	17.5	2008	12.3
1997	15.7	2009	11.8
1998	12.8	2010	11.2
1999	10.7	2011	11.2
2000	12.5	2012	10.8

Crime statistics: 1995–2011 (non-homicide)

Crime totals by offense in the state of Louisiana from 1995 through 2011 as recorded by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports.[4]

Year	Population	Total	Violent	Property Crimes	Forcible rape	Robbery	Aggravated assault	Burglary	Larceny Theft	Vehicle Theft
1994	4,342,000	289,873	43,741	246,132	1,855	11,662	29,484	53,481	166,667	0
1996	4,351,000	297,556	40,426	257,130	1,805	12,036	25,823	56,379	173,271	27,480
1997	4,352,000	280,671	37,248	243,423	1,799	10,407	24,360	53,935	163,114	26,374
1998	4,369,000	266,435	34,057	232,378	1,609	8,651	23,237	51,210	157,507	23,661
1999	4,372,000	251,252	32,033	219,219	1,448	7,591	22,526	47,775	149,749	21,695
2000	4,468,976	242,344	30,440	211,904	1,497	7,532	20,851	46,289	144,345	21,270
2001	4,465,430	238,371	30,678	207,693	1,404	7,864	20,910	46,451	139,555	21,687
2002	4,482,646	228,528	29,690	198,838	1,529	7,123	20,445	45,350	133,302	20,186
2003	4,493,665	222,320	28,622	193,698	1,601	7,008	19,429	44,572	129,471	19,655
2004	4,515,770	227,997	28,844	199,153	1,616	6,564	20,090	45,359	134,080	19,714
2005	4,523,628	193,500	26,889	166,611	1,421	5,337	19,681	39,382	112,840	14,389
2006	4,287,768	201,158	29,919	171,239	1,562	5,729	22,098	44,986	110,613	15,640
2007	4,293,204	206,308	31,317	174,991	1,393	6,083	23,233	44,602	115,209	15,180
2008	4,410,796	197,574	28,944	168,630	1,232	5,994	21,191	43,320	111,567	13,743
2009	4,492,076	198,305	27,849	170,456	1,359	6,105	19,855	46,246	112,493	11,717
2010	4,533,372	190,243	24,886	165,357	1,233	5,211	17,932	45,435	110,029	9,893
2011	4,574,836	194,150	25,406	168,744	1,268	5,239	18,386	46,320	113,301	9,123

By location

New Orleans

In 2018, New Orleans had 143 murders, the lowest annual murder rate since 1971.[6] Other violent crimes in 2018 also experienced a drop from previous years. New Orleans had the highest murder rate of any major American city in 2008 (42.1 per 100,000 people) 2001 (44.0 per 100,000) 2002 (53.1 per 100,000) 2003 (57.7 per 100,000) 2004 (56.0 per 100,000) 2006 (70 per 100,000) 2007 (81 per 100,000) 2008 (63.6 per 100,000) 2009 (52 per 100,000) 2010 (51 per 100,000) and 2011 {57.6 per 100,000} as well.

Baton Rouge

In 2011, there were 15,134 crimes committed in Baton Rouge, including 64 murders, 51 forcible rapes, and 12,666 property crimes. The murder rate in Baton Rouge for 2011 was the 8th highest in the nation among large cities at 27.6 per 100,000.[7][8] Baton Rouge also had the 25th highest violent crime rate in the U.S. in 2011 with a rate of 1,065.7 violent crimes per 100,000, surpassing New Orleans at 792 per 100,000.[9] The Baton Rouge Police Department currently employs 789 police personnel (police officers, dispatchers and specialty positions).[10]

Capital punishment laws

Capital punishment is applied in Louisiana. Executions are carried out by lethal injection at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola) and the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women at St. Gabriel.[11]

The first recorded execution in Louisiana occurred on September 24, 1722, when an unnamed man was hanged for theft.[12] The most recent execution took place on January 7, 2010 when Gerald J. Bordelon was put to death for the murder of his stepdaughter, Courtney Leblanc. It was the first execution in Louisiana since 2002.[13]

On June 29, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Furman v. Georgia, which halted capital punishment in the United States. Prior to this moratorium, however, Louisiana had not carried out an execution since Jesse James Ferguson was put to death in 1961.[14] Capital punishment was reinstated in Louisiana in 1976 following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia. The first execution to occur in the state following the lifting of the moratorium was on December 14, 1983, when Robert W. Williams was electrocuted.[14] In total, Louisiana has executed 660 people. Eight convicted death row inmates have been exonerated in Louisiana since 1976.[11]

Notable criminals

• Ronald Dominique - A Louisiana serial killer with at least 23 victims.
• Sean Vincent Gillis - Serial killer of eight women.
• Derrick Todd Lee - Nicknamed the "Baton Rouge Serial Killer", he has been linked to seven murders.
• John Allen Muhammad - Born in Baton Rouge, the "Beltway Sniper" killed ten people around the Washington D.C. area during the Beltway sniper attacks. Muhammad and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, are also linked to shootings outside of Washington D.C. including two in Louisiana.
• Elmo Patrick Sonnier - Convicted murderer and rapist who became the inspiration for Sister Helen Prejean's best-selling book Dead Man Walking.
• Robert Lee Willie - Convicted murderer and rapist who also became the inspiration for Sister Helen Prejean's book Dead Man Walking. Sean Penn's physical appearance in the film was based on that of Willie.
• Angola 3 - The Angola 3 refers to 3 inmates, Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace, who were placed into solitary confinement at Angola after the death of a prison guard, Brent Miller. Their case led to several high-profile documentaries and legal interest concerning solitary confinement.
• Corey Miller - Better known as C-Murder, the rapper and actor is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Steve Thomas at a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana.
• Clifford Etienne - Also known as the "Black Rhino", Etienne is a former professional boxer who fought many notable boxers including Lawrence Clay Bey, Lamon Brewster, Mike Tyson, Calvin Brock, and Nicolay Valuev. He is currently serving a 105-year prison sentence for armed robbery, kidnapping, and the attempted murder of a police officer.
• Jean Lafitte - Early 19th century French pirate who operated in and around New Orleans and Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Lafitte and his fellow privateers fought in the Battle of New Orleans after receiving a full pardon from Andrew Jackson.
• Samuel Israel III - Born in New Orleans, Israel was founder and hedge fund manager of Bayou Hedge Fund Group. He was convicted of defrauding investors out of $450 million in one of Wall Street's biggest recent frauds.[15] His crimes and subsequent manhunt have been featured on Dateline, America's Most Wanted, and American Greed.
• Edwin Edwards - Former Governor of Louisiana (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996) convicted of seventeen counts of racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud and wire fraud.
• Clementine Barnabet [16]- Clementine is considered the first African American female serial killer,[17] having reportedly confessed to orchestrating and participating in 35 murders in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas.[18]
• Axeman - serial killer in New Orleans around 1918.[19]
• Antionette Frank - Antoinette Frank was a New Orleans police officer when she and her then boyfriend Rogers LaCaze killed Officer Ronald Williams and siblings Ha and Cuong Vu, owners of the Kim Anh restaurant, during a 1995 robbery. She is currently the only woman on Louisiana's death row.
• Zachary Bowen - Former war hero and veteran met his girlfriend, Addie Hall, After Hurricane Katrina in 2006. Addie was supposedly preparing to leave Bowen. Then on October 17, 2006, Bowen jumped from the roof of a parking garage. A suicide note found in his pocket led police to his apartment where pieces of Addie Halls body was found in pots and pans on the stove.[20]

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2014-10-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12ac.pdf
3. "Louisiana tops murder rate again, new FBI data shows". Retrieved 2016-10-05.
4. "Crime in the United States". FBI. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
5. Effgen, Christopher. "Louisiana Crime Rates 1960 - 2015". www.disastercenter.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
6. https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_5a55e4d0-d958-582f-af70-645af3ab9c0f.html
7. "U.C.R.; Baton Rouge". Retrieved 30 May 2013.
8. "Baltimore falls out of top 5 murder rate cities". Los Angeles Times. 2012-06-11. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
9. Grillot, Chris. "Baton Rouge the 25th most dangerous city". LSUNow.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
10. "Frequently Asked Questions". ci.baton-rouge.la.us. Archived from the original on 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
11. "Death Penalty Info: Louisiana". Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
12. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ESPYstate.pdf
13. "Louisiana man executed for killing stepdaughter in 2002". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
14. "Lewiston Morning Tribune: Robert Wayne Williams execution". Retrieved 30 May 2013.
15. Schwartz, Nelson D.; Bhattarai, Abha (2008-06-14). "The Search for a Missing Trader Goes Global". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
16. "The 'Voodoo' Murders of Clementine Barnabet, Who Claimed to Have Killed 35 People". 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
17. "Clementine Barnabet: The Dark Mystery of Louisiana's Voodoo Axe Murders | Real Crime". www.realcrimedaily.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
18. "WOMAN CONFESSES KILLING 17 NEGROES; Leader of Church of Sacrifice Explains Creed Which Called for Wholesale Murders" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-07-13.
19. Davis, Miriam. "The Axeman of New Orleans Preyed on Italian Immigrants". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
20. "10 Famous Homicides In New Orleans That Will Never Be Forgotten". Retrieved 2016-10-05.