What Is Troop NOLA and Is It Working? The Numbers Make a Strong Case.
Commander Rodney Hyatt on targeted enforcement, inter-agency coordination, and why New Orleans is on pace for under 100 murders in 2026.
New Orleans is on pace to record fewer than 100 murders this year.
Four years ago this city was averaging 220.
I recently attended a private event here in New Orleans where Commander Rodney Hyatt of Troop NOLA, Louisiana State Police, spoke candidly about crime in this city. What he shared was worth putting on paper for anyone making a decision about New Orleans, whether that is buying a home, selling one, or simply deciding whether to stay.
The numbers first. Homicides are down 74% since 2022. Carjackings have followed the same trajectory. These figures come from the Metropolitan Crime Commission, an independent body that tracks crime data separately from law enforcement agencies.
Commander Hyatt was direct about what drove the change. Three things stand out.
Targeted enforcement. Troop NOLA focuses on stolen vehicles and illegal firearms. Not expired plates. Not broad sweeps. Deployment follows the crime stats, and the stats tell them where to go.
A dedicated prosecution track. Anyone arrested by state troopers operating in New Orleans is prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office rather than the local DA. That freed up capacity and created a separate, faster moving track for these cases.
“High crime, has a drastic effect on real estate.”
Structural coordination that has never existed here before. Troop NOLA is a permanent state police presence embedded in New Orleans for the first time in the city’s history. It operates alongside NOPD, the sheriff’s office, federal partners, and that dedicated prosecution track simultaneously. Commander Hyatt put it plainly: the coordination infrastructure is new. The results followed the infrastructure.
He also said something that stuck with me. High crime, in his words, has a drastic effect on real estate. He is right. Sustained crime reduction is one of the variables that moves real estate markets over time. Buyers who were watching this city from a distance start to lean in. Families who were on the fence about committing to a neighborhood start to plant roots. Investors who were sitting on the sidelines start to run numbers.
None of this means the city’s challenges are solved. Some neighborhoods still have a long way to go. The homeless situation remains unresolved. The infrastructure problems are real. A city rebuilding its public safety record after decades of damage does not turn the corner in two years.
But the direction is right. And in real estate, direction matters as much as destination.
If you have been watching New Orleans and waiting for a reason to feel more confident about its trajectory, the data is starting to give you one.
Questions? Reply to this email or call me at 504.335.7481.
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Philip Ewbank,
Realtor Keller Williams Realty New Orleans
8601 Leake Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118
C: 504.335.7481 | O: 504.862.0100
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