The French Quarter and nearby neighborhoods are known around the world for their culture and charm.

But residents are dealing with a growing crime problem -- armed robberies.

Stories of the attacks spread quickly, even to a couple who just moved to New Orleans a few weeks ago from the Chicago area.

"A lot of people said, 'Be careful,' you know, crime is supposed to be bad in the city,” resident David Ferris said. “When we got here, we got the same sort of advice from people."

And officials from the 8th New Orleans Police District confirm that things have gone downhill.

"The biggest problem for us is that we're a 24 hour district. This district never shuts down,” said the New Orleans Police Department’s 8 ^th District Commander, Maj. Ed Hosli.

That gives criminals plenty of opportunities.

So far this year, NOPD says there have been 83 armed robberies, up from 75 during the same time period in 2007.

It isn't a staggering increase, but Hosli admits both numbers are excessive.

"They're looking for the person who is by himself, the person who is highly intoxicated,” Hosli said. “That's you know, the darker streets, that's basically what I believe they look for.

"For the most part, my criminal doesn't live in this district. You know, so they're traveling in and out."

And the crimes are happening all around the more traveled areas of the 8th District, especially the French Quarter, and Faubourg Marigny.

Put the attacks from the last couple weeks on a map and you see the robberies are scattered and unpredictable.

To make things worse, the criminals seem to be more brazen than ever.

"I can tell you that during Mardi Gras, we had police within the block and there was a shooting," Hosli said. "The officers are out there, they're working. I guess it's unfortunate that I don't have a policeman driving up and down every street blowing a horn all day long so everybody can see them, but they're out there working."