(The Center Square) − New Orleans has cut major violent crime nearly in half over the past two years while sending more felony defendants to prison, according to a new report from the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

From 2022 to 2024, reported homicides, nonfatal shootings, carjackings and armed robberies fell 55%, from 1,582 incidents to 704. Over the same period, felony arrests rose from 3,909 to 4,901, and the share of felony arrests ending in felony convictions climbed from 20% to 37%.

That conviction rate still trails the 44% rate reported in 2019 under former District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro.

The most dramatic shift came in violent felony cases. When shootings and homicides were surging in 2022, only 17% of violent felony arrests resulted in felony convictions. By 2024, that rate had more than doubled to 38%, roughly in line with 2019 levels.

Homicide convictions were especially strong. The share of homicide arrests ending in felony convictions rose from 57% in 2022 to 76% in 2023 and 70% in 2024, even as prosecutors moved more cases and held more trials, the commission found.

Attempted-murder cases had similar gains, with felony conviction rates increasing from 54% in 2022 to 76% in 2024. Robbery convictions rose from 31% of arrests in 2022 to 53% in 2024. Domestic-violence felonies, historically difficult to prosecute, climbed from a 6% conviction rate to 25% over the three-year period.

The district attorney’s office, led by Jason Williams, is still refusing to prosecute over a third of all felony arrests, though down from over half in 2022. The commission highlights drug and weapons cases as the biggest area for potential improvement.

In 2024, prosecutors refused 51% of drug-related felony arrests and 22% of weapons-related felony arrests. Because drug and gun cases often rely more on officer testimony, body-camera footage and forensic evidence than on civilian witnesses, the commission says it should be among the easiest felonies to prosecute – and therefore a prime target for raising overall conviction rates.

The crime commission credits a closer working relationship between the New Orleans Police Department and Williams’ office.

In an interview with WWL, crime commission President Rafael Goyeneche said that after 2022 the district attorney’s office began reshaping its approach in 2023 and 2024 by assigning assistant district attorneys to specific police districts so screeners could work directly with officers on new arrests. That closer coordination, he said, lets prosecutors flag weak evidence early, gives police a chance to shore up their cases and helps educate investigators so the same mistakes aren’t repeated.

Goyeneche also mentioned Williams’ “progressive” platform and that Williams brought a criminal defense mindset to the office. That mindset, according to Goyeneche, is at odds to the duties of the district attorney’s office.

“Over time he has learned that his role is to enforce the laws of Louisiana,” Goyeneche said. “The offenders do have representation, but their representation isn’t suppoesd to be the prosecutors working in the district attorney’s office. The district attorney’s office is supposed to apply the law and is supposed to hold individuals accountable.”

Now, things have changed, and “that’s the good news,” Goyeneche said.

“When he took office, a lot of the seasoned prosecutors left,” Goyeneche said. “So he was a first time DA brining in people who didn’t have the level of experience that his predecessor had. Its totally different skill set and experience set. While it didn’t start out very well, it has been improving. And were not anywhere near where we could or should be, but we are showing that the police department and district attorney’s office have come a long way since 2020 and their continued cooperation communication and coordiantion is critical to driving down the crime rate and were starting to see some progress in that.”