Advertisement Hot Seat: New Orleans mayor speaks to WDSU about crime perception in city Share Shares Copy Link Copy

WDSU anchor Scott Walker hosts a special Hot Seat with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as they discuss the problems of crime and the "culture of violence" in the city.WATCH: Part 1 | Part 2The one-on-one interview comes in the wake of the fatal shooting of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith last month. Landrieu also recently gave a speech on the topic of violence at Tulane University in New Orleans.Walker and Landrieu discussed the culture of violence in New Orleans and the efforts being made to make it safer for locals and visitors.Related: The city sought to help make the city safer is through a property tax increase to help expand the New Orleans Police Department. Voters in April rejected the measure, which was coupled with a measure to pay firefighters what they are owed as part of a pension settlement reached last year.Walker asked Landrieu whether he thought it would have been a better idea to separate the two measures."All of us are in the process of finding a way to make the city safer. We all have a role to play," Landrieu said.Landrieu said residents need to step up to help fix the culture of violence in the city. He said people can get involved in programs like NOLA for Life.Landrieu said statistics show that the city is becoming safer. According to figures released by the city, the number of murders by year has significantly decreased. There were over 400 murders in 1996. The city reported 164 murders in 2015.Landrieu said that despite the reduction in murders, he recognizes that one murder is too many and violent incidents affect people differently.Link: View crime data for 2015 hereResidents can view crime statistics on the city's website. Data is available to compare the statistics from the 1980s to the most recent year.The city also offers an interactive map for people to view criminal activity that has been reported in Orleans Parish. The information describes the type of violation and when and where it happened.Watch the full interview with Landrieu here on WDSU.com.Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here.Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!