To little surprise to anyone paying attention, Louisiana is one of the most violent states in the nation, according to 24/7 Wall Street, a digital business news service that releases articles on studies of economic, industry, marketing political, and crime statistics.
Of even more concern than Louisiana’s ranking as the 5th most violent state, was the city of Monroe’s ranking as the most violent metropolitan area in the nation with 1,187 violent crimes for every 100,000 people. That was more than double the state rate of 566 violent crimes per 100,000 population.
While the precise cause of the increase in violent crime was not clear, poverty was given as a possible explanation. While 14 percent of Americans live below the poverty line, seven of the 10 states with the highest violent crime rate have higher poverty rates than the nation as a whole.
Alaska, with 804 violent crimes per 100,000, was the most violent state, according to the news release but that ranking can be misleading because of Alaska’s relatively small population. For example, the 52 murders statewide in 2016 was 12th fewest in the nation but because of the sparse population, the impact on the murder rate was greater than for a heavily populated area. The state’s imprisonment rate of 409 adults per 100,000 was 16th lowest and the state’s poverty rate of 9.9 percent was 6th lowest.
By contrast, Louisiana had 554 murders during 2016, which was 11th highest in the nation and more than 10 times as many as Alaska. Likewise, the state’s imprisonment rate of 1,019 adults per 100,000 was the highest in the nation (the only state whose imprisonment rate exceeds 1,000—a rating the state has held for a number of years. Oklahoma is close behind with 948 per 100,000. Louisiana’s poverty rate of 20.2 percent is 2nd highest in the nation.
Other states that had higher violent crime rates than Louisiana, in order, were:
- New Mexico: 703 violent crimes per 100,000; 139 murders (22nd fewest), imprisonment rate of 440 adults per 100,000 (20th lowest), and a poverty rate of 19.8 percent (3rd highest).
- Nevada: 678 violent crimes per 100,000; 224 murders (25th most); imprisonment rate of 577 adults per 100,000 (15th highest), and a poverty rate of 13.8 percent (23rd highest).
- Tennessee: 633 violent crimes per 100,000; 486 murders (13th highest), imprisonment rate of 549 adults per 100,000 (18th highest), and a poverty rate of 15.8 percent (11th highest).
Right behind Louisiana were:
- Arkansas, with 551 violent crimes per 100,000 (6th most violent), 216 murders (25th fewest), an imprisonment rate of 774 per 100,000 (6th highest), and a poverty rate of 17.2 percent (also 6th highest).
- Alabama, with 532 violent crimes per 100,000 (7th most violent), 407 murders (17th most), imprisonment rate of 790 per 100,000 (4th highest), and a poverty rate of 17.1 percent (7th highest).
Mississippi, which is almost always clustered with Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas in such polls, defied the odds on this one, coming in with only 281 violent crimes per 100,000, which was 24th lowest. Its 238 murders, however, were 23rd most. Mississippi’s imprisonment rate of 803 per 100,000 was 3rd highest, and its poverty rate of 20.8 percent was highest in the nation.
Typically, such poll results are met with the “oh, well, this is Louisiana” reaction.
While such comments are, unfortunately, accurate, it is far past the time when we should simply yawn, laugh, and move on to LSU football, crawfish boils or some other distraction.
The only ones who are impacted by these types of results are all of us.
And the only ones who can change these studies are us.
Until we call a screeching halt to allowing LABI, the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, nursing homes, pharmaceutical companies and banks to dictate the agenda for compliant legislators, things are never going to change. We are going to have to hold our elected officials accountable.
As things are now—and as it has been for decades—legislators are outnumbered by lobbyists by more than 10-1. It’s pretty overwhelming when you have more than 1500 lobbyists swarming around the House and Senate and the various committee rooms.
What’s more disheartening is the lobbyists are paid well to do thorough research and can regurgitate impressive sounding statistical data to legislators while members of the public who will be affected by a particular bill—and who do not have the advantage of a paid research staff—generally fall back on emotional arguments that legislators are unable to hear because of campaign cash stuffed in their ears. This creates an uneven playing field.
It is incumbent, therefore, that the citizenry educate itself on the legislative process. In today’s age of the Internet, it’s so very easy to track bills through committee and to even monitor committee meetings in real time through the legislature’s web page.
So, bottom line, we have no one to blame but ourselves for our state’s pathetic standings in areas that affect our quality of life—from income to crime to education to employment to our overall health.
To sit back and trust elected officials is to make a tragic mistake, as history has clearly shown. Many of these officials are power brokers who serve as important committee chairs and as Senate President and House Speaker. We simply cannot trust them as they long ago established a tradition of ignoring the wishes of the people and acting not in our best interests but in the interests of campaign contributors—and far too often, to their own financial gain.
To continue to ignore the problem is to continue to settle for the status quo. LouisianaVoice has shown through the years that many of these elected officials are there only to build their own political base, to enrich themselves, to award family members with state jobs with little responsibility, and, or course, to collect campaign contributions to perpetuate their own tenure in office. Those were not among the reasons we sent them to Baton Rouge.
Until that mental approach on the part of our citizens is changed, nothing else will. We will always be at the bottom of those lists and we will continue voice our frustration only when LSU loses to Alabama.
Louisiana Voice 
I am shocked about the statistic on Monroe, LA. Where are the Duck Dynasty folks when they are really needed. Oh wait, they support wide open gun ownership and use, right. Now, about citizen actions. I have found that unless citizens/voters can threaten an elected official in some meaningful way, we are just ignored, no matter how much we try to influence them. We can’t even seem to field opposing candidates that reflect our views. A novel idea would be to come up with some way to outlaw all lobbying/lobbyists, period. I have yet to see how to accomplish this. Depressing, isn’t it?
Ms.Edith I am not shocked about Monroe. My daughter went to Pharmacy School there and she could hear shots going off all the time during the night. She stayed in the dorm right across from the Police Quarters on campus but it was still scary.
They have built all new dorm rooms since and this is a beautiful school. I loved the library. Monroe is a nice place to live and it is a shame but it is a place with a lot of violence.
We need tougher enforcement and skilled tough policemen who can handle the dangerous thugs. They need to start putting these thugs away in prison for life or six feet under. Sad to say though it is the criminal justice system that impedes that because it is just that, Justice for Criminal. They seem to have more rights than the good citizens and that right there is our problem.
Barbarablarpenter, your proposed solution is totally unworkable in that you are directing what you envision as a cure to the problem at the results and not at the cause.
This is so accurate. It is nauseatingly true
What do we do about it. My career and business which employed 63 people was destroyed by the corruption.
I am one of many.
You inform so well. But where do we start
I refuse to give up! I join in membership with thousands of other Louisianans in Together Louisiana (and Together Baton Rouge). We are tired of Louisiana being first in all of the worst categories and almost dead last in all of the best categories. Small steps bring us closer to holding public officials accountable.
While the lobbyists have money, we have the votes! Get out there and use yours!! In the treasurer’s race, how about letting Schroeder know exactly what the Treasurer does so he can stop with all the BS in his ads! I just love it when legislators run for another office and claim they are going to “clean up” what legislators are doing. Too bad you didn’t do that while you were a legislator!
Louisiana, love it or leave it!
How to find out more about Louisiana together organization? Thanks.
Ms. Edith, here ya go:
http://togetherla.com/
And if you’re close enough to Baton Rouge:
http://www.togetherbr.org/
Another solid report, Tom. I too am always amazed this time of year in particular at what a pervasive distraction something as seemingly trivial as a college football team persistently provides for the incredibly complacent/indifferent white middle and upper class in BR. And sentencing “reform” is way too little too late. Law enforcement seems as zealous as ever to separate men and sometimes even women from their families for years just for selling a plant. PLUS, Oklahoma voters won some prison reform in the past year, and, despite opposition from old reactionaries, are well positioned to win very substantial ones this next session, in light of which, the rinky-dink sentencing changes the LA Legis passed this year will probably ensure LA remains #1 in incarceration for years to come. So, good news for all our Boss Hogg DAs and profiteering Roscoe P Coltrane Sheriffs out there.
The petroleum influence is far & away THE strongest. In addition to the most destructive. The earth does all the work. All they have to do is drill.
Great column and great comments!
Unfortunately, we have a POTUS who seems to actively encourage violence and the kind of anger that leads to violence, including most tragically, the mass shootings that are clearly on the rise. It would be bad enough if the perpetrators were all terrorists, but the shooters in Las Vegas and yesterday in Texas were not (by most people’s definitions), nor are the ones doing the individual killings we read about daily in our local newspapers.
We all have to do something! If you don’t do anything else, vote. If you can take an extra step, let your legislator hear from you. Though it is unrealistic to believe our Congress members read anything we send them, somebody on each of their staffs keeps a tally of what we are for and against so let them know how you feel as well – not just about violence, but about the many other things they should be doing something about.
Ms. Edith: The Duck Dynasty “folks” are in West Monroe, a world apart from Monroe.
Mr. Winham: Are you, seriously, blaming the President for the two tragic events you refer to? Let’s see, which President’s people gave automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels that came back to harm Americans?
The Duck Dynasty folks are close enough to Monroe and wealthy enough that they could help combat violence there. The other point you make is something that started under George Bush. Do you have any good solutions or do you just wish to divert attention from the problem of violence in Monroe, Louisiana, America?
I am saying just what I said, i. e., that he stirs up the kind of raw emotions and frustration that can lead to those kind of acts – and he has even been videoed encouraging actual violence against people not on the same page as he imagines we all should be. However, as you know, correlation does not mean causation – but it doesn’t rule it out either.
Very Concerned:
To answer your question more succinctly, no, that isn’t what Mr. Winham said at all. And it was Trump, at one of his campaign rallies, who encouraged thugs to beat up a protester by telling them he would pay their legal bills. If that isn’t “encouraging violence and the kind of anger that leads to violence” (which is all Mr. Winham said, actually), then I don’t know what is.
(You have to love it when people try to put words in your mouth.)
Actually, the designation as most dangerous city was for the Monroe metropolitan area, which includes West Monroe, Calhoun, Ruston, Bastrop, Farmerville, and a few other surrounding cities and towns.
Tom I put two links in a comment and it went to moderation. Can you release it? Thanks
La.Voice Fan, I think the cause of the problem is lack of leadership in the area where the shooting is being allowed to take place. I don’t know why they are shooting so much but if I had to guess, I think it would be just like in any other parish or county, drugs running rampart with people being too afraid to stepping up to stop it.
Whatever problems there are in Monroe, it is still a beautiful place and The School of Pharmacy is awesome too. They are very lucky to have such an asset in their sweet, comfy little country setting town.
I’m from Monroe – have lived in Ouachita Parish most of my life. This is so sad, but true… Yet, we keep electing the same mayor for term after term after term, despite public revelation of corruption and good-old-boy politics. I wonder why things don’t improve? Incidentally, to respond to the comment about Duck Dynasty and those folks – that’s *West* Monroe, a very different place politically, socially, and economically, even though just a river separates the two.