In 2002, New Orleans had the highest homicide rate among cities of 250,000 population or more."
NEW ORLEANS -- Last year, university researchers conducted an experiment in which police fired 700 blank rounds in a New Orleans neighborhood in a single afternoon. No one called to report the gunfire.New Orleans residents are reluctant to come forward as witnesses, fearing retaliation. And experts say that's one of several reasons homicides are on the rise in the Big Easy as other cities are seeing their murder rates plummet to levels not seen in decades.
The city's murder rate is still far lower than a decade ago. But in recent years, the homicide rate has climbed again to nearly 10 times the national average.
"We're going in the reverse of 46 of the top 50 cities in the United States. Almost everyone is going down, but we're going up," said criminologist Peter Scharf. "There is something going on in New Orleans that is not going on elsewhere.
[snip]New Orleans has had such a problem with retaliation against witnesses -- including murder -- that the district attorney's office took the unusual step of starting a local witness protection program.
Witnesses may also be reluctant to talk to police because of allegations of police brutality and corruption.