Anytime someone's a tourist in NO, you've always had to be very careful where you went because there was a real possiblity of being mugged if you wandered into the wrong area.
A few years ago my husband wanted to go to NO. I told him absolutely not. I don't really like to travel anyway, but when I do, a city (except for Charleston) is not on my agenda.
We have friends in our neighborhood who grew up in NO and I knew how dangerous it could be and had no interest in going.