Baton Rouge has experienced a disappointing spike in homicides in the month of November. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy J. Paul Jr. are in ongoing communication about this situation and want the public to know they are taking action.

Three arrests have been made in connection with the 14 homicides that occurred in November. Also, thanks to the community, investigators have solid leads on most of the others.

“I want to reassure our citizens that we are continuously taking steps to address violence in our city. There will always be ebbs and flows when it comes to crime, and we are being proactive to stop it,” said Mayor Broome.

Chief Paul and his officers have been working to address this unprecedented increase in homicides.

• Sixty detectives have been reassigned to assist the Narcotics Section and the Street Crimes Unit to increase police presence in areas of concern, as well as to assist in ongoing investigative efforts.
• Twenty officers have been reassigned from specialized units (Mounted, K-9 and Traffic) to assist with proactive patrols in designated areas.
• The Crime Gun Intelligence Center will continue working with federal, state and local partners by responding to shots fired incidents and providing immediate investigative assistance. Nineteen personnel from partnering agencies (BRPD, ATF, EBRSO, EBRDA, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Probation and Parole) are assigned to this operation.
• Twenty-six new officers will be released from the Field Training Program this week and will be permanently assigned to Uniform Patrol in an effort to put more boots on the ground.

The Baton Rouge Police Department is committed to making this holiday season safe for residents and visitors. As concerning as all this is, the fact is the total number of homicides in the city of Baton Rouge remains on track to fall below the peak experienced over the previous two years. City leaders are doing everything in their power to stem this violence, but cannot do it alone. According to Chief Paul, continued help from the public is needed.