Violent crime rates in New Orleans have fallen for a third consecutive year, police officials confirmed on Monday 5 January 2026, even as armed National Guard troops commenced patrols in the city under orders from President Donald Trump.
Crime Statistics and Political Deployment
The release of the annual crime figures came less than a week after troops arrived in the Louisiana city, marking the latest urban centre where President Trump has deployed the National Guard on crime-fighting missions. This move follows a separate federal immigration crackdown that began in December, placing hundreds of additional agents in the region.
According to the data, murders, shootings, armed robberies, and carjackings have decreased significantly since 2022. Notably, while New Orleans was labelled the per-capita murder capital of the United States in 2022 with 266 murders, the number fell to just 121 in 2025. This figure includes 14 victims of a vehicle-ramming attack on 1 January last year. The police department clarified that its murder count refers to criminal homicides under investigation, excluding suicides, accidents, and justifiable homicides.
Local Pushback and Support for Troops
Local officials had resisted the prospect of a Guard deployment for months, arguing that crime was already on a downward trend and that soldiers lack training for arrests, investigations, and prosecutions. However, New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick stated she supported the troops' presence as a deterrent.
"The National Guard’s presence will certainly have impact," Kirkpatrick said. "We’re just grateful that crime is down, and I don’t care who gets the credit." She added that she would welcome Guard members in other crime hotspots beyond their current confines in the historic French Quarter, noting the deployment bolstered the city's understaffed 910-member police force.
President Trump approved the deployment of 350 National Guard members to Louisiana months after a request from the state's Republican Governor, Jeff Landry. During a news conference on Saturday, Trump credited the deployment with the drop in crime, stating, "We have crime down to almost nothing already."
Broader Context and Future Uncertainty
The decline in New Orleans mirrors a wider national trend of falling crime in major US cities following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to former CIA crime analyst Jeff Asher. "We’re generally seeing a dramatic drop in overall crime pretty much everywhere across the country," Asher noted.
Political reactions remain mixed. Democratic mayor-elect Helena Moreno initially opposed the deployment but has since said she welcomes federal support for safety during major events like the ongoing Mardi Gras season. A spokesperson for Governor Landry said the office had no answer yet on whether troops would be deployed beyond the French Quarter.
The situation highlights the ongoing tension between federal intervention and local crime-fighting strategies, even as the statistical trend for violent crime in New Orleans continues its positive trajectory.
