Criminal Justice Committee Meeting: Effects of Poverty on Crime

On July 27, 2026, the New Orleans City Council's Criminal Justice Committee met to examine the relationship between poverty, economic instability, and crime. The meeting featured a presentation from Tulane University students and a professor, followed by public testimony from youth members of the ALAS organization. Councilmembers discussed policy options and the need for integrated approaches.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes Approval: The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the previous meeting. Motion by Councilmember King, seconded by Councilmember Harris.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Lisa Rhodes (Founder/Executive Director, ALAS): Introduced youth from ALAS, an organization serving young people aged 14–24 who have faced immigration or criminal courts. She called for funding to be diverted from policing and incarceration toward organizations supporting opportunity youth and workforce creation.
• Ribas (age 17, student): Described being robbed at gunpoint outside a dollar store, linking the incident to poverty and lack of money for basic needs. She stated that when people lack jobs or opportunities, they may resort to theft or drug sales for survival.
• Valerie (age 16, ALAS Fellow): Shared her uncle's story of drug addiction, stealing from family, and incarceration. She argued that financial hardship, addiction, and lack of support create a difficult cycle, and that city budget should invest in youth programs like ALAS to break generational barriers.
• Legacy (age 14): Discussed how addiction can numb feelings and impact families. Invited councilmembers to ALAS's graduation and seventh birthday party on July 31.
• Tyree (age 16): Stated that poverty creates difficult circumstances leading to harmful choices. He noted his brother sold drugs to provide for the family, and urged investment in neighborhoods and support for families before crises occur.

Discussion Items

• Tulane University Presentation: Lillian Lofton, William Kesterson, Avery Burks, Bellamy Parker, and Professor Brian Brox presented their research on the link between living wages and crimes of necessity. Key points included:
  • New Orleans is the fastest-shrinking metro area in the U.S., losing 39,000 residents from 2020–2024, partly due to tourism-based irregular income and rising costs.
  • "Crimes of necessity" defined as offenses (burglary, theft, shoplifting, fare evasion) committed out of unavoidable survival threats or lack of economic opportunity.
  • Since 2018, the dollar lost 30% of its value; New Orleans' workforce recovered only 10%, resulting in a 20% net loss in purchasing power.
  • New Orleans has one of the lowest absolute economic mobility scores in the U.S. (0.35, Z-score -1.93) and relative mobility of 0.397, showing strong income dependence on parents.
  • MIT living wage calculator (February 2026): $20.49/hour for an individual with no children; current city living wage is $16.01–$16.73, and federal minimum is $7.25. 32% of city employees cannot afford to live in New Orleans.
  • Four policy options were presented: (1) Savannah model (community policing only); (2) New Orleans living wage proposal (raise to $19.42/hour plus $2,600 annual housing allowance = $20.75/hour, costing $9.3M); (3) Providence integrated model (wage increase + social investments); (4) Washington DC model (aggressive wage indexing + precision enforcement, noting DC's property crime surge before turnaround).
  • Limitations: difficulty defining crime-wage causation, lack of research on crimes of necessity, city-to-city comparability, and no official way to identify survival-motivated crimes.
• Councilmember Harris: Questioned whether the study examined existing New Orleans programs (e.g., youth summer program, violence interrupters, Instead program). Presenter Lillian Lofton acknowledged they had not directly studied those but were aware of them.
• Councilmember Green: Noted New Orleans was close to its lowest violent crime rate since 1969 and highlighted success of data-informed community engagement. He stressed the role of law enforcement, victims' cooperation, and state law limitations on municipal minimum wage. He disagreed that carjacking is a crime of necessity, calling it a crime of opportunity. He encouraged the students to also consider victims of crime and collaborate with law enforcement.
• Councilmember Morrell: Raised the challenge of funding wage increases without cutting elsewhere, referencing the "defund the police" movement as a trade-off example. He asked how the group would respond to the argument that raising minimum wage leads to layoffs. Professor Brox responded that academic literature sees such arguments as rhetorical threats rather than empirical fact, noting that higher wages can boost local demand. Morrell also questioned the lack of education investment in the presentation. Students responded that education, especially literacy and retention programs, is critical and can be improved without massive investment, citing Mississippi's stricter grade advancement policies.
• Councilmember King: Praised the courage of both the Tulane students and the ALAS youth, encouraging continued work.

Key Outcomes

• The committee did not vote on any policy changes, but the discussion informed future considerations.
• Councilmembers requested further study by the Tulane group, including: (1) integration of existing New Orleans programs, (2) exploration of funding mechanisms, (3) inclusion of education and victims' perspectives, and (4) coordination with state-level constraints.
• The meeting adjourned with a unanimous vote.