Breaking away from the spate of quotes by and about Dear Leader, LouisianaVoice must devote attention to its singular purpose: reporting on events others don’t. (Not to worry: the daily submission of quips and quotes will continue unabated.)
But first, it is of sufficient importance to note that Louisiana has reached the pinnacle (or abyss, as the case may be) of yet another ranking of states which, it must be said, leaves the state pretty rank, standout performances on the football field by its LSU and Saints football teams notwithstanding.
How do these rankings hit you?
- Most Violent State?
- Highest Murder Rate in America?
- Highest Firearm Murder Rate in the U.S.?
- New Orleans with the Most Gun Violence of Any U.S. City?
If you’re surprised, you shouldn’t be. Louisiana, which had temporarily ceded the claim to the Highest Incarceration Rate in the World to Oklahoma, has regained that title, along with the third-highest poverty rate in the U.S.
These latest figures come to us courtesy of 24/7 Wall Street, the Delaware-based news and opinion company that publishes more than 30 articles per day on government, business, and personalities.
For the full 24/7 Wall Street report, click HERE.
Two years ago, 24/7 Wall Street published a survey that listed Louisiana as the worst-run state in the nation based in part on its 2016 unemployment rate of 6.1 percent (third highest) and its poverty rate of 20.2 (second highest).
The state’s poverty rate has dropped to 18.6 percent, according to 24/7 Wall Street, which was third-highest in the nation—and not a figure to be included on chamber of commerce brochures.
Despite its designation as the city with the most gun violence in the U.S., it was not New Orleans but Opelousas that was tagged as the state’s most dangerous city. That’s probably because with a smaller population, any fluctuation in crime figures, no matter how small, would have a major impact on the incidence rate per 100,000 population.
The figures on violent crime (rape, robbery, aggravated assault and murder) are based on 2018 statistics, the most recent data available and they show the U.S. violent crime rate was 381 incidents per 100,000 population. Louisiana, by contrast had a violent crime rate of 537.5 per 100,000, or 41 percent higher than the national rate.
There were 530 murders in Louisiana in 2018, far fewer than number-one California (1,739), second-ranked Texas (1,322), third-place Florida (1,107), or number-four Illinois (884), but far higher than Vermont, the lowest with only 10 murders, or second-lowest South Dakota (12), third-lowest Wyoming with 13, or next-door neighbor Mississippi (23rd lowest with 171).
Despite having only one-third the number of murders as Louisiana, Mississippi’s incarceration rate of 812 adults per 100,000 population ranked third behind number-two Oklahoma (931 per 100,000) and Louisiana’s 942 per 100,000.
Residents of Baton Rouge might challenge figures that show New Orleans with the Louisiana city with the most gun violence in 2018. Statistics show that there were 87 people gunned down in Baton Rouge in 2018, a 17.6 percent drop from the historic high of 106 in 2017, the year Baton Rouge’s homicide rate exceeded that of Chicago.
Still, for a state that prides itself as a tourist destination, designation as the most violent state, the highest murder rate, highest firearm murder rate, and home to the city with the most gun violence in the U.S., tourism could become a tough sale.
Louisiana Voice 