Tough In The Big Easy, Easy In The Big Apple
"There have been 43 fewer murders, 1,415 fewer robberies and 491 fewer cars stolen than this same time just a year ago," Bloomberg said.
That's good news for the Big Apple, but the Big Easy may be whistling a different tune.
Despite a drop in murders last year, New Orleans is hanging onto the title as the nation's murder capital, according to FBI data analyzed by the Times-Picayune.
With 64 killings per 100,000 people in 2008, the city had the highest per capita murder rate in the nation, well ahead of second-place St. Louis, which had 47 murders per 100,000 people, according to calculations done by the newspaper.
New Orleans is back on top even though the number of murders dropped almost 15 percent, from 210 in 2007 to 179 in 2008, a dip that Police Superintendent Warren Riley said is part of an overall decline in violent crime in New Orleans, according to the paper.
Nationwide, murders were down in big cities but up in small towns last year, according to figures reported to the FBI.
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FBI Reports Crime Falls In US, But Small Town Violence Up