Record Crime in Baton Rouge

[cajun]

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/15150296.html

The mayor

[buckett5425]

It's really about family and education to solve the crime problem. Having cops patrol the streets is'nt going to stop any crime, it will only instill fear in the law abiding citizens, because the people who commit the crimes already dont care enough that they will go to jail so they dont care if a cop is watching because they are stupid. This might be sterotyping, but in many cases, poor people have a different set of values growing up. Many of these peoples parents live a life of drugs and working dead end jobs, which then lead to domestic aduse, etc. These ideas get passed on to their children, and it has become a cycle. Some how, untill that cycle is broken, crime will continue to plague the city, but I really dont see how the city can solve that problem. Teaching these people otherwise that education is the way to get out of that dead end life will take decades, so I dont blame mayor Holden at all, and I think he has done a great job running the city.

[cajun]

Many of these peoples parents live a life of drugs and working dead end jobs, which then lead to domestic aduse, etc. These ideas get passed on to their children, and it has become a cycle. Some how, untill that cycle is broken, crime will continue to plague the city, but I really dont see how the city can solve that problem. Teaching these people otherwise that education is the way to get out of that dead end life will take decades, so I dont blame mayor Holden at all, and I think he has done a great job running the city.

You can say that again.....about crime and about education, but you can't make excuses. There is a quarter million people in the city with over 100 murders last year. That is pathetic. I know it. You know it. Holden should know it.

As for the cycle- you are getting into the welfare issue which we just avoid altogether on this forum. There are generations of people that think that society owes them a check, and that drugs and crime is an okay way to get ahead. These people are okay with being stuck in the worst neighborhoods. It's a problem with stupidity, arrogance, and motivation...but it's still no excuse.

But still, we need a NYC like turn around when it comes to crime. NYC was going downhill before Rudy took over. It's one of those great cities again now that street crime is curbed and police corruption is limited.

We still have too little enforcement of laws- and that is a big problem with the Holden administration. They are weak on crime....there is a breakdown somewhere btw the Mayor's office and the police department, because one or the other (or both) isn't holding up their end of the deal.

Commit a murder in Baton Rouge? It's okay, there are hundreds of unsolved murders in this town that stumps the area detectives. You will probably get away with it because our police protection sucks and the guys in charge are there for political reasons.

They got pay raises, now start cleaning up the streets. Between this statistic and the BS that happened on the levee last year, someone should lose their job. No city can afford to make excuses and take pity on the perp because his/her parents are drug addicts. Do the crime, then do the time. It's that simple.

I like Holden, esp with regards to traffic and the green light plan, but if he thinks that he can be weak on crime and no one will notice, then he is mistaken. The Advocate and WAFB might not want to step on toes, but there will be opposition in the election that will play on Holdens' inability to strenghten our stance on crime. He needs to do something about it now, and he needs to be very visible with it. He needs to turn BRPD into a real police department, and not the joke that it currently is.

[UptownNewOrleans]

It's really about family and education to solve the crime problem. Having cops patrol the streets is'nt going to stop any crime, it will only instill fear in the law abiding citizens, because the people who commit the crimes already dont care enough that they will go to jail so they dont care if a cop is watching because they are stupid. This might be sterotyping, but in many cases, poor people have a different set of values growing up. Many of these peoples parents live a life of drugs and working dead end jobs, which then lead to domestic aduse, etc. These ideas get passed on to their children, and it has become a cycle. Some how, untill that cycle is broken, crime will continue to plague the city

This can be applied to New Orleans as well as many other cities. Not only does New Orleans still retain the murder capital crown but N.O. has the highest rate for people getting away with murder. Just because you have a crappy life doesn't give you a pass to commit crimes but at the same time, for most criminals they grow up in impoverished neighborhoods where crime & violence is all they know. Growing up in the ghetto, if the drug dealer/gangster is living better than you, of course you're gonna imitate that.

[yis2003yis]

We still have too little enforcement of laws- and that is a big problem with the Holden administration. They are weak on crime....there is a breakdown somewhere btw the Mayor's office and the police department, because one or the other (or both) isn't holding up their end of the deal.

Commit a murder in Baton Rouge? It's okay, there are hundreds of unsolved murders in this town that stumps the area detectives. You will probably get away with it because our police protection sucks and the guys in charge are there for political reasons.

They got pay raises, now start cleaning up the streets. Between this statistic and the BS that happened on the levee last year, someone should lose their job. No city can afford to make excuses and take pity on the perp because his/her parents are drug addicts. Do the crime, then do the time. It's that simple.

I like Holden, esp with regards to traffic and the green light plan, but if he thinks that he can be weak on crime and no one will notice, then he is mistaken. The Advocate and WAFB might not want to step on toes, but there will be opposition in the election that will play on Holdens' inability to strenghten our stance on crime. He needs to do something about it now, and he needs to be very visible with it. He needs to turn BRPD into a real police department, and not the joke that it currently is.

U can't blame Kip...1st u gotta look at this....We are on a budget...and i say the crime raise now is Better

(Reason)...go back to 1993....we had wayyyyy fewer people than we had now..and still had a higher crime rate than 2007. ....take a look at 2003 till 2007...we are not that little small lil country city we use to be...population is at a all-time high...so if u average out the years and the population....we are still sitting at average.....kip has done a great job..plank road use to be a war zone friday and saturday night after the club lets off....traffic everywhere......now u can ride down plank road smooth because it's atleast 3 or 4 squad cars in the area of most of the clubs...but back to the point....me growing up in the scotlandville area..i know for a fact crime is wayyyyyyyy better than it was back in the days...it's real easy so say something from the outside...but take it from a insider....i use to hear and see EMS crossing the tracks to the Avenues after 9 everynight it was guarantee EVERYNIGHT....it's very rare when i hear them now

[brresident]

Crime is a problem here.

Baton Rouge has grown, but not that much. In fact, many of the Katrina refugees have moved on back to New Orleans or into permanent housing elsewhere by 2007. So that would be an excuse for a crime increase in 2006, but it doesn't fly now.

I am a holden supporter. I wouldn't say that he is weak on crime....he gave the department a pay raise...but I certainly wouldn't say that he is as formidable as he should be.

The administration and the police department have some answering to do if you ask me. This is a disturbing statistic, but what is even more disturbing is the amount of UNSOLVED murders in Baton Rouge.

Like Cajun said...it's the cold cases that scare me and lead me to believe that you can get away with murder in this town. It's a political football and Holden won't address it. He will probably win a second term, but he will have to make a move on this crime issue. Other than that, I think he is a solid mayor....but he needs to appear to be doing something about this to win a second term. He has to be outraged and demand results from the police department or something.

[twstdndmntd]

I don't blame the Mayor for the crime problem, he isn't the police chief. If you want someone to blame blame LeDuff. I agree with what someone else said the last time the crime rate was back in 03 so we've made it 4yrs since we've been this high I don't think that is a bad stretch. Again, we are a bigger city now, when you have more ppl you have more crime thats just a fact. But I agree that we need to get tough on it now before it runs rampant like it does in NOLA. If NYC can be cleaned up then BR can be cleaned up. I say we need a bigger police force and they certainly need to be more visable.

[richyb83]

This is a good start! Good read in today's newspaper. What a challenge ahead for all. Just the sign of the times in the dirty South; and every other city in the U.S for that matter.

Restore Pride plan pays off in Zion City

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/15267871.html

The scores, Hunter said, give him hope that what began one year ago when Mayor-President Kip Holden

[dimebag1980]

116 homicides!? Really? Holy crap, I really didn't know. I recall thinking 83 in 2006 was a lot. Even 83 is a lot for having roughly 225,000-250,000 people (anyone know the latest pop. estimate for the city, not the metro)?

We are in trouble in Louisiana, guys... our 3 largest cities (NO, BR, SHV) all have high violent crime rates, but so do many of our smaller cities as well.

I was literally just posting on the three incidents lately here where we had one cop shot in the face and two others shot at... one while making a traffic stop and one while driving home. Two different people are responsible, and now in custody, for the three incidents.

But all that aside... guys it's not just your city. Baton Rouge is doing something wrong then we all are. If we're ever going to make Louisiana more desirable to outsiders, we have GOT to start by cleaning up our streets... for crying out loud! Our laws are just too lax. We are just too weak in this country - and even in this state - to give these asshats what they really deserve.

[yis2003yis]

the problem is we have to many police in our metro who wanna play Super cop insted of doin they job the right way......i work in baker for my 2nd job.....i was riding hown hwy 19........at least every week...baker,zachary & st.francisville police join up and just start harrasing people for no reason at all...just to search the peoples car.......i was delivering a pizza AT NIGHT....they pulled me over and told me my tint was too dark....i said how is my tint to dark when the factory tint is 10x darker than my tint in the front windows and you can see stright through all windows....and how did yall discover this at night????

so he put it on a so called machine and it magically said 14...he said thats against the law....end of that..then he said we doin a drug search..can we check your car.....i knew if i said no..they were going to slap a ticket on me...so i said sure..it's nothing but domino's pizza in it...chey checked and said your clean...have a nice day...and they've done it to 3 other drivers with out the dominos sign on...so imagine how many regular people they stop and and try that on ....we need to get these dirty cops off the hwy's....and get some good cops in the neighborhood...where all the REAL CRIME IS....thats the problem...

[byrde]

I find it interesting The Advocate reports 116, but that is parish wide, not just in the city of BR. They are also including 13 deaths that were automobile accidents.

[dimebag1980]

I find it interesting The Advocate reports 116, but that is parish wide, not just in the city of BR. They are also including 13 deaths that were automobile accidents.

Oh, that's the parish and not just the city. That's better... what is the EBR Parish population? It's more like 350,000 isn't it? Or something along those lines?

[buckett5425]

I find it interesting The Advocate reports 116, but that is parish wide, not just in the city of BR. They are also including 13 deaths that were automobile accidents.

haha, is that information true? I've seen the advocate spin a few articles, they are usually pretty fair, but thats pretty bad. Does the advocate not endorse Holden??

[richyb83]

Oh, that's the parish and not just the city. That's better... what is the EBR Parish population? It's more like 350,000 isn't it? Or something along those lines?

According to Wikipedia in 2005(pre-Katrina) the pop. in EBR was 412,000. Not sure exactly what it is now?? If BR was annexed properly it would have easily have 300,000. I did the math and have the list a couple months ago in the BR Development & Growth thread. "Annexation" is probably a future topic.

Something quite disturbing in the recent home invasions of the elderly. There have been 5 in less than two weeks; not sure if they are related or not, but it sounds like it??

It's ashame this "topic" thread could easily be the most active here in the forums.

[brresident]

So why doesn't the Advocate address the "cold cases" issue with our police department? Nobody wants to talk about it.

There several hundred unsolved murders from the last decade in Baton Rouge. That's scary.

I am aware that LeDuff is Holden's buddy, but this is something that the Chief and the Mayor need to address immediately.

Something needs to be done about the crime...and I think more street police and more patrols are a start.

...I remember the beginning of last year that there was a murder in New Orleans every day, sometimes more than one. There was actually more murders than days in the year for a while. I stopped keeping track in mid-January. Bloody month for NOLA.

[twstdndmntd]

I find it interesting The Advocate reports 116, but that is parish wide, not just in the city of BR. They are also including 13 deaths that were automobile accidents.

Yeah that 116 number is somewhat true and somewhat misleading. That is a parish wide number not a city number. Also they did include the automobile accidents that had deaths with them. I think those could have been left out. But I do agree that we need to get a handle on it now before it really gets out of hand.

[UptownNewOrleans]

Just a general question, what's the most murders Baton Rouge has ever had? Y'all already know how N.O. was in '94 (425 murders, 86 per 100,000 )

[brresident]

EBR is 412,000. I'd bet on four and a quarter now, maybe slightly more.

So that is still...what? 28 to 29 murders per 100,000 ppl. I wonder what percentage was in the city limits of BR? If it's 90%, then that's a real black eye.

It's not horrible like NOLA was at it's worst time, but we can do better than that. I am curious to see more stats on crime compared to other cites...things like theft, armed robbery, homicide, rape, and other violent crimes.

Maybe we should unincorporate Baton Rouge to keep stats like this from including just the city. Is that possible? I don't consider BRPD to be a strong thing that the city brings to the table. The whole parish gets to vote in the mayor/president elections and for council....both EBR and BR are getting street improvements.

So what is the benefit of being included in Baton Rouge city limits? There isn't any that I can think of. That is what is good about EBR. I consider EBR to be the real city limits- and while taxes are pretty much the same parishwide (Zachary or Central may have more eventually....but I am not sure), those outside of EBR are kind of in unincorporated zones.

Unincorporate and divide up into seperate townships.....I think it's been done before. The benefits would be:

-Parishwide police department

-neighborhood run school districts (Zachary, Baker, Central all have their own already).

-the district that wants the best schools can levy more taxes to support it and it wouldn't affect those folks in the other districts.

-individual police protection if that is what the citizens want.

New York City has borroughs.

Maybe they can divide up the school districts within the city and annex the remaining portion of the parish. IDK. There are others on this forum that would know more about that than I would.

[byrde]

I went to this website. http://www.2theadvocate.com/advocate/homicides2007 and counted more than 10 markers that are not in the city limits. A few of the murders that happened in the city limits are self defense cases so therefore no one will be charged. Including auto accidents seems to be a new thing. Not sure why the did that. If you visit the link above and click the flags, I find it interesting that there were some arrest in many of the murders, but the grand jury failed to indict.

[fla_tiger]

IMO Holden should be nervous about re-election. Two of his big campaign promises were reduction in Crime and clean up the Litter. Although he is not directly responsible, both seem far worse now than before his election.

[twstdndmntd]

But if you notice where most of those little flags are, they are all concentrated to NBR. That area has always been a problem area. In my mind that is the area that needs to be concentrated on the most. I believe more police presence in that area as well as expanding the BRPD would be benefical. Again I don't see why they included the deaths from traffic accidents.

[byrde]

According to LeDuff, there were 72 death's that are classified as true homicides in the City of BR in 2007. He made this statement on WAFB 9 News in an interview on their morning news.

[twstdndmntd]

According to LeDuff, there were 72 death's that are classified as true homicides in the City of BR in 2007. He made this statement on WAFB 9 News in an interview on their morning news.

That's a much better accurate number. Not to mention I much rather that number. LOL

[cajun]

72 in a town of a quarter million is still not good. I'd rather the big number tied in with the whole parish than that....

Oh, that's the parish and not just the city. That's better... what is the EBR Parish population? It's more like 350,000 isn't it? Or something along those lines?

I thought the parish was 400,000 or more.

Even still, the whole parish votes for the council and mayor...and the mayor runs the parish like a Parish President in lieu of a police jury.

It's a cool system, IMO....but it takes away any reason for anyone to be annexed into town.

[richyb83]

Rather than start a thread of 09'...just continue here...72 in o7'...85 or 75?? in o8'...88 in o9'...looks like they will continue to step up the security...on a positive note Gardere only had 1...but Brookstown was rough

City, parish see increase in murders in 2009

The 88 slayings mark a 3.5 percent increase over the 85 in 2008.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/82539217.html?showAll=y&c=y

East Baton Rouge Parish Homicides in 2009

Law enforcement agencies in East Baton Rouge Parish investigated 88 homicides in 2009.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/82540347.html

In related news...

Holden: BR future looks good Programs will target problems, job growth

Mayor-President Kip Holden gave an upbeat assessment of Baton Rouge’s future Wednesday, and vowed to move aggressively to address the problems of poverty, urban blight and the city’s growing murder rate. In his annual “state of the city-parish” address to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club, talked about significant accomplishments in 2009, as well as the challenges facing the city and parish in the year ahead.

One of those challenges, he said, is reducing the number of homicides in the city, which reached a record of 75 last year.

Holden said 60 of the slayings occurred in four ZIP code areas — 70802, 70805, 70806 and 70815. He said police are targeting those areas for aggressive crime-fighting efforts this year. “The police can’t do it alone,” Holden said. “Our citizens, especially in these ZIP codes, must join us to make a difference.”

He said police took 1,400 guns off the streets of Baton Rouge in 2009 and expect to take 1,500 more off the streets this year.“Our city will be defined by our greatness and not by those criminals who want to live on Easy Street and Comfort Avenue,” Holden said. “My message to you is: Get a job and get an education.”

Holden said the city-parish is at a crossroads, and he encouraged people to get actively involved in planning efforts the city-parish has dubbed “FutureBR.”

“This year, we are asking you to look forward and think about the kind of place you want your children and grandchildren to live in 20 and 30 years from today,”

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/82865027.html