Crime discussed during meeting in Scotlandville community

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – District 2 East Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman Chauna Banks invited the community to a meeting with law enforcement to discuss rising crime rates.

The meeting was held in Scotlandville on Monday, November 4th. The goal was to engage residents of different neighborhoods in an open discussion about how to prevent crime.

“Over the last month we have had one or two shootings a month on 70807,” Banks says.

There have been six murders in District 2 this year alone. The Baton Rouge Police Department said there were 29 shooting incidents and the number of victims was 32.

Only about 10 community members attended the meeting, but those in attendance voiced many concerns. Angela White, president of the Southern Heights Property Owners Association, says she’s seen the increased activity firsthand.

“There’s drug deals, there’s people visibly gambling, there’s a lot going on at these two stations and it’s causing problems,” White says.

White says he looks up the statistics himself through Open Data BR, an online portal that displays crime data. Banks says his community is a hot spot.

“We talked to the police almost every year. For many years we had crime workshops and they would say you’re quiet but we’re in a hot spot and so when we talk about prevention what happens next or what happens next or then we can move forward or White says hot spots are addressed.

White says he would like to see steps taken by law enforcement to help prevent crime, but he also understands that community members can help, too. BRPD officials say one of the problems is repeat crimes.

Major violent crimes trend up 25% in Zone 2. Such crimes include assaults, robberies, sexual offenses and stabbings. Of course, officers can only arrest someone violating the law, but some residents want more in terms of monitoring these hot spots.

BRPD says they are also struggling with manpower, which affects all areas. They say with the community’s help, some crimes could be prevented if people noticed any suspicious activity in their neighborhood and reported it.

BRPD officers at the meeting explained the resources you can use to track crime in your area at Open Data BR. They also discussed the ‘Connect Blue’ system, where businesses can register public security cameras as a means of preventing and solving crimes in that area.

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