With just under a month before the end of 2023, East Baton Rouge has witnessed a significant decline in homicides, marking the largest drop since before 2020.
Records maintained by The Advocate reveal that the parish’s homicide numbers have nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels after three years of unprecedented violence.
As of November 24, there have been 85 killings in the parish this year, a substantial decrease from the 103 recorded by the same date last year and nearly 40% less than the 134 recorded in 2021.
The last time East Baton Rouge concluded a year with fewer than 100 homicides was in 2019, with 83 recorded between January 1 and December 31.
The data, cross-verified with numbers from the Baton Rouge Police, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies, covers intentional and unjustified killings according to FBI crime reporting rules.
East Baton Rouge, like many other U.S. communities, experienced a surge in homicides in 2020, reaching a record of 114 killings.
This surpassed the previous high of 106 in 2017, as the parish grappled with rising violence during the pandemic lockdowns. The trend continued in 2021, breaking the previous year’s record with 149 homicides, before dropping to 115 in 2022.
While the first quarter of 2023 saw a decrease in bloodshed, a series of killings in May caused the murder rate to stabilize.
However, since then, the average number of homicides per month has considerably decreased.
In August, authorities investigated two killings, followed by three in both September and October. A slight uptick has been observed in recent weeks, with seven homicides since November 1.
According to records from The Advocate, there has not been a month with fewer than six homicides since before 2020.
BRPD spokesman Sergeant Darren Ahmed attributes much of the progress in reducing gun violence to the Public Safety Partnership, a coalition of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and community workers.
“You’re looking at work at the community level,” Ahmed said.
The partnership, comprising federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Attorney’s and District Attorney’s offices, and the mayor-president’s office, focuses on outreach to violence-affected youth, prioritizing gun crimes, addressing neighborhood blight and utilizing data and technology for proactive policing.
The coalition’s efforts heavily rely on data collected through BRPD’s Real-Time Crime Center, which opened in 2020. The center’s technology, including live traffic cameras, maps with active calls, license plate readers and other tools, aids law enforcement in targeting violence-prone neighborhoods.
BRPD Chief Murphy Paul cited the data gathered by the center as a key contributor in violent crime reduction efforts, as it aided the department’s patrol strategy.
Indeed, Paul said there was a 24% crime reduction after the center’s launch.
Ahmed further noted the importance of following the data.
“When those spikes go up, we focus on those areas, we gather that data, and we do additional proactive patrols. At some point, w’’ll see a reduction,” he said.
