Baton Rouge and crime (Shreveport, Gardere: apartment, crime rate, home) - Louisiana (LA) -Metro area - City-Data Forum

buildings_and_bridges · 10-22-2007, 11:18 AM

I understand that crime has risen by about 70% in Baton Rouge. Lately I have been hearing jokes about it, some of which are offensive (depending on who you are and how personally you take these things, I suppose). I was wondering if anyone visiting this forum who lives in Baton Rouge could comment on this issue. Has your day-to-day life in the city changed recently? Are you feeling the increase in crime, or is more or less just something on the news that doesn't reflect reality as much as outsiders think?

Willowmena · 10-22-2007, 11:24 AM

I recently moved from Baton Rouge due to crime. I now live in Livingston Parish (not Denham, no jokes about in-breeding here please - That is offensive and arrogant) and although it isn't 100% crime free, I do feel more at ease here. I used to live off of O'Neal lane and it got to where I couldn't sleep at night nor did I like to go outside - even standing on my balcony from the 2nd floor seemed uncomfortable. I'm originally from NO but lived in BR for 5 years. I do not take offense at the fact that some of the evacuees are troublemakers. They were troublemakers and lawbreakers in NO and we couldn't stand it there either. This is why most people moved from NO to start with.

Caa · 10-23-2007, 02:12 PM

I have a friend whose husband is a cop and he says the crime rate in most of BR is exactly the same, but in North BR, it went up and is still going up. I have no problem going anywhere at night in the area in which I live, south BR, and have not felt afraid at all. I love BR and the 70 percent jump is totally not true, maybe up in the "bad" areas it has gone up, but they do that to themselves. My friends and I talk about crime in depth and they feel prefectly safe in BR.

buildings_and_bridges · 10-23-2007, 05:11 PM

Hm. I wonder if I'd be having a difference experience and feel differently about the city if I lived in the northern part.

mrmojo32 · 10-24-2007, 07:58 AM

Wait a minute here… I am 36 and was born at Woman’s Hospital and have lived in the BR area my whole life. I am not blaming the crime on displaced persons from Katrina but it is on the rise none the less. Why in the world do you think everyone is moving from BR to go to Ascension and Livingston? You cannot send your kids to public school in the EBR school system. The traditionally good neighborhoods are quickly turning bad. There are robberies at places of business in broad daylight in BR on roads that recently were safe areas of town.

It may also be that crime has not hugely increased but that it has just spread to areas where it was not before.

katMason · 10-24-2007, 11:45 AM

I think the biggest factor in the crime has been rising costs in general. Everywhere you go things cost more. Housing, electric, water, groceries, etc. etc. I am sure we will see the increase again with the increase in minimum wage. Criminals have to step it up a notch. Thjere are more crimes theft, car theft, etc. Especially in the areas where they are more vunerable. We have alot of college kids Grandma & Mom & Dad buy nice electronics and they leave them out in the car.

mrmojo32 · 10-24-2007, 12:07 PM

So does that mean that in Livingston Parish where there is less crime things must cost less?

darylwi · 10-25-2007, 03:23 PM

Crime is a relative question. I think property crimes have gone up somewhat, which was to be expected. There have been more robberies, but murders have stayed somewhat the same and can still be found in the same ol shady areas of North BTR and Gardere in South BTR. The neighborhoods that I transverse the most have not see any big changes. And even most changes have already been absorbed.
And most people leave BTR for schools. I don't have children, so I wouldn't dream of leaving BTR just to add an hour to my commute time every day. Although if i was to live somewhere outside of BTR, I would have to go west into WBR. I think WBR is the biggest secret of this area. Subdivisions are moving in, a new urban development center is planned near the locks, and a new movie studio is also planned. WBR will only continue to grow and hopefully that will translate to better schools and a better quality of life.
So in summary, for what i do and for where I go in BTR and the immediate area, NO, crime has not changed one bit. It is a big city, so just don't be stupid and you should be fine.

Caa · 10-25-2007, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darylwi

Crime is a relative question. I think property crimes have gone up somewhat, which was to be expected. There have been more robberies, but murders have stayed somewhat the same and can still be found in the same ol shady areas of North BTR and Gardere in South BTR. The neighborhoods that I transverse the most have not see any big changes. And even most changes have already been absorbed.
And most people leave BTR for schools. I don't have children, so I wouldn't dream of leaving BTR just to add an hour to my commute time every day. Although if i was to live somewhere outside of BTR, I would have to go west into WBR. I think WBR is the biggest secret of this area. Subdivisions are moving in, a new urban development center is planned near the locks, and a new movie studio is also planned. WBR will only continue to grow and hopefully that will translate to better schools and a better quality of life.
So in summary, for what i do and for where I go in BTR and the immediate area, NO, crime has not changed one bit. It is a big city, so just don't be stupid and you should be fine.

You hit the nail on the head in your post! I just wish that people would stop saying how bad crime is in Baton Rouge, it is everywhere..my parents live in south Florida and their fancy new Mall just had a major shoot out, and that area was nearly crime free just a year ago. I also think the Katrina evacuees may have something to do with it, but they went everywhere, not just to BR.

LSUstudent · 12-26-2007, 06:09 PM

I beg to disagree with some of the above posters who say it has not risen in Baton Rouge. I live in Edward Gay graduate student housing on the LSU campus (north end) and we just had 2 students get murdered by a home invasion. They were shot in the head in an apparent robbery attempt. I am not saying THIS is indicative of increased crime because it can, and does, happen anywhere. However, for the last 6 months or so before these murders we had all been talking about how it seems that violent crime (gun related robberies) has definitely gone up. We were all feeling it and talking about it. It wasn't this bad until this past year so I don't know if it can be blamed on Katrina refugees. We were all starting to feel less safe and now we feel not safe at all. Fortunately the university has 24/7 police security here right now, have installed video cameras and are working hard to implement other measures. It has just been the last night or two that I have gone outside less to see that the police were still there.

I have talked to people who live in the very crime ridden north part off of Govt. and S. 17th street and they said that it has gone from really bad to completely bad, and are not sure why. It seems different groups are having turf battles and possibly some thug groups from NOLA have gotten settled in.

All I, and others know, is that gun related incidents are increasing. I personally know of 4 other students who have been robbed at gunpoint. At Tiger Manor (independent complex not a part of LSUModerator cut: no consumer complaints - don't move there, the management sucks) off of E. Chimes, 3 students were in an apartment and it got 'home invaded' by thugs with guns who stole their laptops and hit one over the head with the gun butt requiring 11 stitches. LSU immediately gave them housing at Ed Gay on the assumption that it was safer. Another student I know personally was robbed at gunpoint on campus when some people drove up in a car to ask for directions and then pointed a gun at him and demanded his money. All he had was a cell phone so they took that. This crime happened at least 3 other times on campus and now if anyone approaches in a car we would run immediately and not wait to find out what they want.

So to summarize - there are people here in baton rouge willing to arm rob people for a laptop and a cell phone. There are people here who are willing to murder, shoot people in the head at point blank range, to rob grad students in grad student housing - people who generally have no money. Perhaps they were thinking the students had Christmas presents which is pretty damn dumb considering they were HINDU Indian students who don't even celebrate Christmas. It is really freaky that they supposedly were waiting in the lot for someone to rob. It sounds like NOLA and right outside the French quarter to me. In fact, the only other 'home invasions' I knew of were taking place in NOLA a year after Katrina.

All I know is it seems the judicial system is broken in NOLA and the police stretched. I heard (am not sure here) that they can't even prosecute criminals half the time in NOLA because the courts were all flooded and they don't have the manpower or there is some sticking point with the govt. over funding of the DA or something. I forgot. So maybe the thugs are getting bolder.

I found this quote in an article about crime in Louisiana: Turner said with Louisiana being No. 1 in the nation in homicides and in the top 10 in violent crimes, "this is something we have to fix."
The Shreveport Times

A word of advice to those who want to portray a positive image of Baton Rouge etc. I totally understand this. Baton Rouge IS a lovely city and I love it here. However, the crime is starting to get to me. The way to get it fixed is to publicize it far and wide, not sweep it under the table. Only with accountability will the officials be pressed to fix it. We might suffer a bit of reputation loss but if it is fixed that will be restored. It is going to come out anyway, so let us be proactive and push for changes.