This article refers to

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Statistics

According to the Louisiana Uniform Crime reporting program, there were 177,710 crimes reported in Louisiana in 2018. 2018 had the least amount of non-violent criminal offenses since at least 2008. Violent crime decreased from 2017 to 2018, but 2012 still remains the lowest with its record of 22,868. Rape went up 12.7% from 2017 while murder/non-negligent manslaughter declined 7.8%. Additionally, robbery dropped 15% and aggravated assault dropped 1.5%. Handguns remain the leading murder weapon with a rate of 44.7% with firearm (type unknown) following close behind at 35.7%. Together, these two contribute for 80.4% of the murders. Similarly, robberies were committed mostly with firearms in 2018. Firearms were leading with 52% and strongarm listed with a percentage of 35%.

Homicide statistics

Louisiana experienced the highest per-capita murder rate (15.8 per 100,000) among all U.S. states in 2020 for the 32nd straight year (1989–2020), according to The 2020 FBI Uniform Crime Report. Louisiana averaged 13.7 murders per 100,000, compared to the U.S. average of 6.6 murders per 100,000 from 1989- 2014.

Crime statistics: 1995–2019

Crime totals by offense in the state of Louisiana from 1995 through 2018 as recorded by the FBI's

Uniform Crime Reports The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and co ...

. Numbers vary by year. Some reports list statistics for the previous year higher/lower than shown on said previous year's report.

By location

New Orleans

In 2019, New Orleans had 121 murders with a rate of 30.7, ranking it number four in the top homicide city rates in the U.S. Despite this high number nationwide, this is still one of the lowest homicide rates for New Orleans since 1971. In 2018, New Orleans had 143 murders. 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 as well.

Baton Rouge

In 2019, Baton Rouge had 83 murders with homicide rate was a per-capita homicide rate 31. This is a downwards trend from the 106 murders in 2017, the recent record high.

2011

In 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. 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. The

Baton Rouge Police Department The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) (French: Département de Police de Bâton Rouge) is the primary law enforcement agency in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Chief of police, Chief of Police, as of March 8, 20 ...

currently employs 789 police personnel (police officers, dispatchers and specialty positions).

Capital punishment laws

Capital punishment is applied in Louisiana. Executions are carried out by lethal injection at the

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

(also known as Angola) and the

Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) is a prison for women with its permanent pre-2016 facility located in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. It is the only female correctional facility of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Correct ...

at St. Gabriel. The first recorded execution in Louisiana occurred on September 24, 1722, when an unnamed man was hanged for theft. 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. On June 29, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in

Furman v. Georgia ''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all then existing legal constructions for the death penalty in the United States. It was 5–4 decision, with each memb ...

, 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. Capital punishment was reinstated in Louisiana in 1976 following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in

Gregg v. Georgia ''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the use ...

. The first execution to occur in the state following the lifting of the moratorium was on December 14, 1983, when Robert Wayne Williams was electrocuted. In total, Louisiana has executed 660 people. Eight convicted death row inmates have been exonerated in Louisiana since 1976.

Notable criminals

Nathaniel Code Nathaniel Robert Code Jr. (born March 12, 1956) is an American serial killer, stalker, and rapist who committed at least eight murders in the city of Shreveport, Louisiana, between 1984 and 1987. He was sentenced to death in 1990 for four of th ...

– 1980s

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

of eight people. *

Ronald Dominique Ronald Joseph Dominique (born January 9, 1964), known as The Bayou Strangler, is an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least 23 men and boys in the state of Louisiana between 1997 and 2006. On September 23, 2008, Dominique was foun ...

– A Louisiana

with at least 23 victims. * Sean Vincent Gillis –

Serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

of eight women. *

Derrick Todd Lee Derrick Todd Lee (November 5, 1968 – January 21, 2016), also known as The Baton Rouge Serial Killer, was an American serial killer. Between 1992 and 2003, Lee murdered seven women in the Baton Rouge area. Prior to his murder charges, Lee had be ...

– Nicknamed the "Baton Rouge Serial Killer", he has been linked to seven murders. *

John Allen Muhammad John Allen Muhammad (born Williams; December 31, 1960 – November 10, 2009) was an American convicted murderer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He, along with his partner and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo (aged 17), a native of Kingston, Jamaic ...

– Born in Baton Rouge, the "Beltway Sniper" killed ten people around the

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

area during the

Beltway sniper attacks The D.C. sniper attacks (also known as the Beltway sniper attacks) were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, M ...

. Muhammad and his accomplice,

Lee Boyd Malvo Lee Boyd Malvo (born February 18, 1985), also known as John Lee Malvo, is a convicted murderer who, along with John Allen Muhammad, committed a series of murders dubbed the D.C. sniper attacks over a three-week period in October 2002. Malvo was a ...

, are also linked to shootings outside of

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 Robert Lee Willie (January 2, 1958 – December 28, 1984) was an American serial killer who killed at least three people in Louisiana from the late 1970s to 1980. He was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 18-year-old Faith Hathaway and ...

– Convicted murderer and rapist who also became the inspiration for Sister Helen Prejean's book '' Dead Man Walking''.

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

's physical appearance in the film was based on that of Willie. *

Angola 3 The Angola Three are three African-American former prison inmates ( Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace) who were held for decades in solitary confinement while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Ang ...

– The Angola 3 refers to 3 inmates,

Robert Hillary King Robert Hillary King (born May 30, 1942), also known as Robert King Wilkerson, is an American known as one of the Angola Three, former prisoners who were held at Louisiana State Penitentiary in solitary confinement for decades after being convict ...

, Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace, who were placed into solitary confinement at

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

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 Harvey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Harvey is on the south side (referred to as the "West Bank") of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner metropolitan sta ...

. * 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 Lamon Tajuan Brewster (born June 5, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 2004 to 2006, and is best known for scoring an upset knockout victory over Wladimir Klitsch ...

, Mike Tyson,

Calvin Brock Calvin Vance Brock (born January 22, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.9 heavyweight by BoxRec at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankello. In ...

, 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 Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...

– Early 19th century French

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

who operated in and around

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and

Barataria Bay Barataria Bay (french: Baie de Barataria), also Barrataria Bay, is a bay of the Gulf of Mexico, about 15 miles (24 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide, in southeastern Louisiana, in Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish, United Stat ...

, Louisiana. Lafitte and his fellow

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s fought in the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

after receiving a full pardon from

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

. *

Samuel Israel III Samuel Israel III (born July 20, 1959) is an American fraudster and former hedge fund manager for the Bayou Hedge Fund Group, which he founded in 1996. In 2008, Israel was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $300 million for ...

– Born in New Orleans, Israel was founder and

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as s ...

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. His crimes and subsequent manhunt have been featured on ''Dateline'', '' America's Most Wanted'', and ''

American Greed ''American Greed'' (also known as ''American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals'' and as ''American Greed: Scams, Schemes and Broken Dreams'') is an American documentary television series on CNBC. The series focuses on cases of Ponzi schemes, ...

''. * Edwin Edwards – Former Governor of Louisiana (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996) convicted of seventeen counts of racketeering,

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, money laundering,

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

. * Clementine Barnabet – Clementine is considered the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

female serial killer, having reportedly confessed to orchestrating and participating in 35 murders in southwest

and southeast

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. * Axeman – Serial killer in New Orleans around 1918. *

Antoinette Frank Antoinette Renee Frank (born April 30, 1971) is a former officer of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) who, on March 4, 1995, committed a violent armed robbery at a restaurant which resulted in the killing of two members of the Vietnamese- ...

– 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.

Year by year

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 crime Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, property, o ...

s 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 Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

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 New Orleans ( , ,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. 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.http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12ac.pdf

2018

References

{{CrimeUS