Crime discussed at Scotlandville community meeting

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

The meeting took place on Monday 4 November in Scotlandville. The aim was to involve residents from all different neighborhoods in an open discussion about how crime can be prevented.

“We’ve had a rash of shootings in the last month, like one or two a month in 70807,” Banks said.

There have been six murders in District 2 this year. Baton Rouge police say there have been 29 shooting incidents, with a total number of victims of 32.

There were only about 10 community members at the meeting, but those who did show expressed many concerns. Angela White, president of the Southern Heights Property Owners Association, says she has seen the increased activity firsthand.

“There’s drug deals, there’s people gambling, there’s a lot going on at those two stations and they’re causing a problem,” White said.

White says she looked at the statistics herself through Open Data BR, the online portal that displays crime data. She says the banking community is a hot spot.

“We have spoken to the police almost every year. For years we’ve had crime workshops, and they’ll say, ‘You’re quiet, but we’re near a hot spot,’ and what happens when we talk about prevention, what happens that we can then go further to know that the hotspots are being addressed,” says White.

White says she wants police to take action to help prevent crime, but she also understands community members can help. BRPD officials say one problem is repeat offenders.

Major violent crimes are up 25% in District 2. These types of crimes include assaults, robberies, sex crimes and stabbings. Of course, officers can only arrest someone who breaks the law, but some residents want more supervision of those hotspots.

BRPD also says they are struggling with manpower, which is impacting all areas. With the help of the community, some crimes can be prevented if people notice suspicious activity in their neighborhood and report it.

BRPD officials during the meeting explained the tools you can use to track crime in your area at Open Data BR. They also discussed the ‘Connect Blue’ system that allows businesses to register their public-facing surveillance cameras as a means of preventing and solving crime in that area.

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