Hard times in the Big Easy
New Orleans is the murder capital of the United States - what are the causes and does anyone have a solution?
New Orleans is the murder capital of the United States: researchers into 2022βs crime figures say it suffered more homicides per capita than any other major city. Carjackings, armed robberies and other potentially lethal offences are also at sky high levels in βThe Big Easyβ - a place better known for its happy mix of cuisine, carnival and colonial architecture.
Crime plagues many American cities, and some of these problems are down to familiar causes, with economic disparity, poor education and the prevalence of guns all at play. However, other factors appear unique to New Orleans, such as high incarceration rates; entrenched racial inequality and chronic police understaffing. Many people believe that the chaos and mistrust of authority which followed Hurricane Katrinaβs devastation in 2005 has brutalised the generation which grew up in its shadow.
For Assignment, the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔβs Anna Adams meets those at the sharp end of this crisis in her adoptive city, and asks what went wrong. But as she also discovers, the spirit of the Big Easy can still be resilient, with some local people stepping up to do their failing authoritiesβ work for themselves in a variety of different social projects. To the backdrop of the cityβs ever-present music, this is the story of a community that is literally under fire, and fighting for its life.
Presenter Anna Adams
Producer Mike Gallagher
Sound mix Rod Farquhar
Production coordinator Helena Warwick-Cross
Series editor Penny Murphy
Image: Police officers collect evidence at the scene of a shooting that occurred during the Krewe of Bacchus parade in New Orleans, 19 February 2023 (Credit: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
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