BATON ROUGE, Mo. (BRPROUD) — The Baton Rouge Police Department announced that there have been 33 homicides in Baton Rouge in the first three months of 2024. This is more than double what he was in the same quarter in 2023.
The police department's crime trends analysis reports four more murders have occurred since the beginning of April.
Police announced that the actual number of homicides in Baton Rouge in 2023 was 81. This does not include negligent homicide or killing in self-defense.
“For the first 50 days, I sat down with all shifts of uniformed patrol officers and their supervisors. We have responded to nearly 30,000 calls so far this year, and we have trained officers to engage in proactive policing. Chief Thomas Morse Jr. said at a press conference in March.
Morse said he is putting more police forces on the streets and is already seeing benefits from arrests and seizures of illegal firearms and drugs.
As of April 12, police announced they had made 868 felony arrests and seized 363 firearms in the first quarter.
There have been about 134 felony arrests so far in April, for a total of 901 so far this year, according to the data report. At this point in 2023, police had made 1,134 felony arrests.
Law enforcement plans to combat gang violence
The Baton Rouge East Sheriff's Office and the Baton Rouge Police Department have created new departments. This unit focuses on crimes related to violent groups.
Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said the EBRSO Gang Intelligence Enforcement Unit will work with the Homicide Unit. They will also work with the School Drug Task Force and Special Operations Intelligence Division, the EBRSO Investigation Support Unit, the EBR Parish Jail, and the EBR District Attorney's Office.
Mayor and President Sharon Weston Broome said the purpose of the BRPD's Special Investigations Unit is “to combat criminal activity by groups and gangs.”